In Portugal, two of the most familiar sayings claim that “green is the colour of hope” and that “hope is the last thing to die”. For Sporting, a club draped in green, those proverbs are not merely poetic – they are operational.
After a humiliating 3–0 defeat in Norway by Bodø/Glimt in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, logic suggested it was all over. Sporting disagreed. Backed by about 50,000 supporters, the team surged with belief and delivered a 5–0 victory that carried the club to their first quarter-final in the tournament in 43 years. Arsenal come next, as does an old question: is hope a cultural relic or Sporting’s most powerful ally?
“The fact that Sporting beat Arsenal not too long ago helps the players believe it’s possible,” says Ricardo Sá Pinto, the former Sporting coach, player and club legend, of their Europa League last-16 win on penalties in 2023. “Anything can happen in football, even when teams are theoretically uneven.”
Sporting also carry hope thanks to the way they replaced Viktor Gyökeres, who is in line to face his former team in Tuesday’s first leg in Lisbon. When the Sweden striker moved to Arsenal last summer, many believed a suitable successor would be impossible to find. In two seasons, Gyökeres scored 97 goals for Sporting, driving the team to back-to-back league titles. Yet, despite those numbers, he is hardly missed.
Part of the explanation lies in the bad blood he left behind after in effect forcing his exit – a betrayal in the eyes of most Sporting supporters. But more important, the club secured Luis Suárez, the Colombia international who has repeatedly saved the team this season, often with goals deep in stoppage time. Before coming to Portugal, he had made a name for himself in Spain’s second tier with 31 goals in the 2024–25 season for Almería.
“Luis has shown the ability to score very important goals, even after people stop believing it’s possible,” says Sá Pinto. “Replacing Gyökeres is never easy. Historically, South American players rarely make a strong impact in their first year in Portugal. Thankfully, with all the confidence shown by the manager and his teammates, he has been very important.”
Where Gyökeres stood out for physical power – bullying defenders, dominating duels and attacking space behind the backline – Suárez operates differently. He is far more involved in the buildup, dictating movements in the final third. He has superior technique to Gyökeres, even if he is slightly less lethal. With 33 goals in 42 appearances, the 28-year-old has quickly made supporters forget his predecessor and tops the league’s scoring chart.
Sá Pinto coached Sporting in 2012, when the club had their last major European run: to a Europa League semi-final. Sporting eliminated Manchester City in the last 16 but missed out on the final after conceding an 88th-minute goal to Athletic Bilbao. In the European Cup, Sporting’s most recent appearance at this stage dates back to 1983, and they have never gone further. They have a chance to make history.
Sporting are by far the most prolific attacking side in Portugal, but this season their offensive output has been overshadowed by Porto’s efficiency in defence. Sporting sit second in the league, five points behind with a game in hand. Porto’s slip last Saturday at home to Famalicão has reignited Sporting’s hopes for a third consecutive title.
Last season the manager, Rui Borges, picked up the pieces after Ruben Amorim’s sudden departure for Manchester United and the misstep of João Pereira, the youth coach briefly promoted as his replacement. Borges lost his star striker but kept the core of the squad together.
Under Borges, Sporting play the majority of matches in a 4-2-3-1, a shift from Amorim’s traditional 3-4-3. For Borges, midfield control and possession are paramount.
In the league, against smaller sides, Sporting often advance with slow, deliberate circulation of the ball but Arsenal will almost certainly deny those rhythms and, against such an experienced team, any loss of possession in a sensitive area could be punished.
Morten Hjulmand, the Danish defensive midfielder and Sporting’s captain, plays with high intensity and is a key figure in transitions. He is also a regular target in the box at corners and free-kicks. Sporting, like Arsenal, are the team with the most goals from set pieces in their domestic competition.
Pedro Gonçalves, best known for his stunning 50-yard goal at the Emirates Stadium in 2023, remains one of Sporting’s most influential players. He has freedom of movement, exploiting opponents’ flaws, especially in wide spaces, but can also drop to collect the ball and initiate play.
Arsenal may dictate the tempo, and the tie will hinge on how well Sporting manage the spaces they usually control in domestic games. Whether through Suárez’s late interventions or Gonçalves drifting between lines, will they have enough nuance in the final third to disturb the Premier League leaders?
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