Eu quero o Sporting campeões

If you had told me yesterday morning that I’d go to bed with Sporting confirmed as Portuguese champions I wouldn’t have believed you. Sure I knew there was a chance that if Famalicão could draw the game with the neighbours then that would be enough and yet it really was a big ask. Still knowing there was a chance I had the game on in the background, however I wasn’t engaged with it. Who wants to waste their Sunday evening watching the red and white half of Lisboa? First half underway and I looked up to see the neighbours had gone 1-0 up. Well that was short lived I thought to myself. Disallowed for offside and I’m breathing a sigh of relief. I was celebrating minutes later as I looked up to see Famalicão go 1-0 up only for that to be disallowed for offside. Bubble well and truly burst. Half time 0-0. Around 60 minutes in and with the score still 0-0 I’ve engaged now. Suddenly I’ve got hope – but in fairness still I’ve got zero belief. I’m just sat waiting for that kick in the teeth. I go outside for a smoke and I’m using the light from the game as a torch down the alley to the back garden. I turn it back to the game just as the pass is made to José Luis Rodriguez on the right wing. Despite the attention of two defenders he makes room for himself to get a shot away in between them and from 17 yards he fires into the bottom right hand corner past a flatfooted Trubin. Cue pandemonium in my back garden. It was one of those moments of pure unbridled joy as the surge of excitement ran through my veins causing a grown middle aged man to skip with excitement like a small child and then throw my arms around wildly gesticulating. I was the literal definition of giddy. Thank fuck it was pitch black and you couldn’t see me. 

Flares were thrown onto the pitch causing a temporary stoppage from the away fans. I’m not sure it helped their team and broke any sense of rhythm which is a beautiful irony as they sort about finding not only an equaliser but a winner on top. For all my excitement I’m still waiting for it to go Pete Tong. Except this time it doesn’t. On 85 minutes a misplaced pass is intercepted by Topic who sets Zaydou Youssouf off and running down the centre with one defender desperately trying to catch him up. He can’t get to him though and from 17 yard’s centrally he smashes it into the bottom right hand corner. Famalicão 2 Benfica 0. Before tonight I’ve never celebrated a Famalicão goal and now I’ve celebrated two like I’ve supported them since I was knee high to a fucking grasshopper. Was it real or was I having a cheese dream? Oh it was real alright. Turns out Amorim was lying when he said he wouldn’t be watching the game as the entire squad, playing staff and family members were together watching on. They clearly knew something the rest of us didn’t. I hope someone sent both those gentlemen a large crate of beer to say thank you. Six days earlier than expected and it was all said and done. Sporting were champions without having to kick a ball. Estoril can breathe a sigh of relief.

A few weeks ago Ruben Amorim had said we all had to suffer en route to a possible title win. Well having witnessed the scenes in Lisboa last night into the early hours of this morning there will be thousands suffering the after effects today that’s for certain.

It seems incredible that a little over three months ago the Estádio Municipal 22 de Junho was the scene of anger and frustration from Sporting as PSP strikes caused the postponement of the game. Now there will be calls for the ground to be renamed the Estádio Municipal 5 de Maio from the green and white quarters of Lisboa.

There are fans who were super confident for weeks that this was our season. I was taken enough at the end of December to bet the title win at 17/10 after A Bola stated in an article that Sporting have never failed to go on to become champions having been top at the end of the calendar year. It wasn’t until the equaliser in the Clássico that I finally let the anxiety go and went yes – this will be our year. Living with OCD is not fun. Too many people go ‘oh that’s the hand washing thing’ or ‘that’s the thing where everything has to be a certain way.’ You hear people go ‘I’m a little OCD’ to which I go Bollocks. Most don’t know it’s an anxiety based condition where you’re bombarded with intrusive, irrational thoughts every single day. There’s no off button for it. The hand washing, the symmetry, all the other quirks – they’re repetitive actions to try to stop the consequences of the negative thoughts coming to fruition. So if regular readers think Jesus why the extra layers of worry with every post that got closer to the title being awarded – now you know. It doesn’t quite seem real yet. Winning any title is special but this one seems all the more poignant given the last one was during COVID times and played out in the main in front of empty stadiums.

As the title of the blog suggests I don’t live in Lisboa, I don’t even live in Portugal hence outside of the pride. Oh just in case I really have to spell it out, a group of lions is called a pride – there will be one. There’s always one. As my mother would point out, that means it’s usually me in any given situation. I’d like to say thank you to everyone who regularly reads my posts. Thank you to anyone who has read even just one of these posts. They’ve been read in far flung corners of the globe such as Kazakhstan, Finland, South Korea and Uruguay which blows my tiny little mind. I don’t write them because I think my view is important, I write them because it helps with my anxiety. For 90 minutes during a game it helps me focus my worries elsewhere. I like patterns, statistics, data – they all help me manage my condition. I also like to think I’m funny though many may disagree. 

I grew up following Portsmouth FC and I ran a notorious supporters site which at the height of its popularity was getting 750,000 views a month. When the club went into administration in the Premier League I was being fed information every day in trust and it was a privileged position to be in but it had a huge detrimental effect on my mental health along with other parts of my life. I was spiralling out of control. I was a full blown alcoholic drinking myself to death. That I’m here to write this is a miracle in itself and testimony to the fact that being stubborn can sometimes be a good trait to have in life. I drew a line in the sand with the club I’d supported for decades, fed up with the lies and the threats and I never went back. I needed a new drug and found one in Portugal.

For someone who is painfully shy face to face, words come far easier written than having to be said in person. I met a woman online through a shared passion for photography and Sporting were her club and so naturally keen to impress her I started watching Sporting and I was hooked. I’ve somehow seen every league game since 2014/15 starting with dodgy feeds having to refresh every few minutes, kill hundreds of adverts directing me to all sorts of sites which would try to attack my laptop with viruses. Thankfully now all games are shown on betting sites in the UK so viewing is way easier even if it means I have to watch on my phone. I’ve stayed despite the lows. I started with the potential of the Marco Silva side only to be undone allegedly by a club tie and his departure. The failure of Jorge Jesus to break the dominance of his former employers. The madness that generally came with BdC at the helm, the attack on the players at the training ground. The constant loss of talent to other parts of Europe. The football under Keizer and Silas which was frankly painful to watch at times week in and week out. I’ve seen Bruno Fernandes often on a one man mission having to drag his side over the line, Bas Dost the Dutch giraffe who made goal scoring as easy as turning on the TV. Title wins in the Taça’s and finally to two titles in four years under Ruben Amorim. I mentioned Bruno on a one man mission, maybe I should say the same for Viktor Gyökeres as well but I’ll save the gushing plaudits for him until the end of the season.

The lady in question is Maria Isabella Silva. She hates being called by her first name but she forgets my birthday every year so that’s her penance. I’ll always be grateful to her on a personal level but for also introducing me to Sporting. An incredibly talented photographer who I was always in awe of, she is now employed for those talents by Sporting. I’ll go on record as saying I was probably more excited and happy at that announcement than she was. Fully deserved it is to and I hope she continues to be able to use her talents for many more years to come. So obrigado Maria and yes you did once more forget my birthday last month but I’ll forgive you like I have for the past ten years. I’ll die of shock if you ever remember so probably best you don’t. Is the title your late birthday gift to me or my early birthday gift to you? Yours is closer and mine is long gone.

Please forgive the personal ramble at the end. Obrigado to you all reading. Obrigado Sportinguista’s for letting me tag along. Obrigado Pedro and Barbara and sorry to the latter stuck in London yesterday with me going it’s fine they won’t win the title while you’re out of the country, you won’t miss any celebrations. Obrigado Amorim, Gyökeres and everyone else connected with Sporting. Parabéns you’re deserved campeões… And you thought Gyökeres’ Portuguese was still bad when he was interviewed yesterday. I got you brother.

Sporting allez…
Eu quero o Sporting campeões
Eu quero o Sporting campeões
Eu quero o Sporting campeões 

Oh and final word to Trincão for him taking the time out to thank Paulinho for the work he does behind the scenes. I thought that was truly a touch of class. It’s a team effort whether you’re on the pitch or part of the support staff.