FC Porto and Sporting battle it out for the Handball Super Cup | OneFootball

Is it, perhaps, the repetition of a familiar plot, but with the difference of being a major record – one of those that are kept with devotion, the so-called classics – an expression that also applies to this confrontation, one of the most exciting in recent years in Portuguese handball and between the most successful clubs in the country. The new season kicks off this afternoon with the usual dispute of the Super Cup, between Sporting, winner of all internal competitions in 2024/25 – just like the previous season – and FC Porto, runner-up of the Portuguese Cup. It is also a duel between emblems that have alternated in the leadership of the roll of honor: at the end of 2021/22 FC Porto had 43 trophies and Sporting 40; currently, the lions have 47 and the dragons 44.

With the squads renewed, as is customary, both teams have undergone precise adjustments, with deeper changes on the blue and white side, which have recovered players from loans. "From what we've seen, it's a strong FC Porto that went after a right-back [Linus Persson], a position where they had difficulty. They have an international-level player. They went after defensive references, strong and tall players like Jesús Vergara or Timmy [Petit]," commented coach Ricardo Costa, for whom "the most important thing is what we can and want to do without being so focused on FC Porto". On the northern side, captain Daymaro Salina spoke. "Sporting was happier than us last season, but this is a different scenario, with new players. Both teams have strengthened and I think it will be a very intense game. It's a classic, a game of grit and passion," he highlighted.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.