The man who kept Sporting Lisbon on top after Ruben Amorim’s departure was playing in amateur football barely eight years ago and had not taken a single step on the coaching ladder.
Tonight Rui Borges will complete the next stage of his steep rise when he pits his wits against one of the finest coaches in Europe – Antonio Conte. When Borges was making his way in coaching in 2017, Conte had recently won the Premier League title with Chelsea at his first attempt.
Borges was a player for his hometown club Mirandela, in north-east Portugal, in the fourth tier of Portuguese football, but always had one eye on coaching. Now 44, he is in charge of a bona fide European giant and won the league and cup double in his first season.
Not many coaches outwit Conte. With eight titles in Italy and England to his name, the Italian is a ferocious competitor and, after leading Napoli to the Serie A crown last year, he is determined to improve his record in European competition. As a student of Italian football, Borges understands the size of the challenge ahead.
Do not bet against him. Still young in coaching terms, Sporting is nonetheless Borges’ ninth club and he has been successful at most, despite wildly differing demands.
When he took charge of Mirandela in the 17-18 campaign, their aim was survival. They finished fourth and Borges quickly jumped a couple of divisions, to Academico Viseu, who were in the second division and staring at relegation. After steering the club to a comfortable survival, Borges took them to eighth the following year, when they also reached the semi-finals of the Portuguese Cup, losing only to FC Porto.
Rui Borges comes from a humble footballing background, but he is making a name for himself
A title winner after replacing Ruben Amorim at Sporting Lisbon, tonight he faces Antonio Conte’s Napoli
He likes to be close to his players but can also be a strict disciplinarian, and so far it has paid dividends
There were spells with Coimbra, Nacional, Vilafranquense and Mafra before Borges took the reins at Moreirense in the top flight. Thanks largely to a seven-match unbeaten run, which included an impressive draw at Benfica, Moreirense finished sixth – the highest placing in their history – and Borges was on the move again.
He would remain less than six months at Vitoria Guimaraes – where seven straight wins at the start of the season, and an excellent league phase in the Europa Conference League, persuaded a faltering Sporting to pay his £3.5million release clause. Amorim had left for Manchester United and his successor, Joao Pereira, had departed after only eight games. It was left to Borges to pick up the pieces and how impressively he did so.
Not only did Borges win the double, until now he has lost only one league game – a home defeat by Porto on August 30 – since replacing Pereira soon after Christmas last year.
Though his preferred system is 4-2-3-1, Borges switched back to Amorim’s 3-4-3 system early on amid a huge injury crisis. Now, though, Borges is pressing ahead with what he favours and though Porto are the early league leaders in Portugal, Sporting are only three points behind in second.
In an industry where expensive watches are worn as status symbols, Borges still uses the Casio device he bought for 20 euros while a player at Mirandela.
He likes to be close to his players and seeks to learn as much as possible about their lives off the pitch but will give them only limited rope – as Marcus Edwards found to his cost. The Tottenham academy product, now at Burnley, was sidelined by Borges last January for disciplinary reasons and quickly joined the Clarets on loan.
Though Amorim’s difficulties in England show how rapidly a coach’s life can change, there is considerable excitement about Borges in Portugal. Though the country has produced many accomplished coaches, from Jorge Jesus to Abel Ferreira, from Fernando Santos to Artur Jorge, they have probably not had a superstar boss since Jose Mourinho. With the old master now at Sporting’s great rivals Benfica, the Lisbon derby at the Stadium of Light on December 5 will be a must-watch.
For a time, it looked as though Amorim would be that man, but he continues to flounder at Manchester United. Borges is the latest to make his case. Clubs from Europe’s top five leagues are keeping a close eye on him. If Borges can now outsmart Conte in his own backyard, his reputation will only grow.
