Sporting Sack Pereira, Borges Appointed as Replacement

Sporting Lisbon's Portuguese coach Joao Pereira is pictured during the Portuguese League football match between Gil Vicente FC and Sporting CP at the at the Cidade de Barcelos stadium in Barcelos, on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
Sporting Lisbon's Portuguese coach Joao Pereira is pictured during the Portuguese League football match between Gil Vicente FC and Sporting CP at the at the Cidade de Barcelos stadium in Barcelos, on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
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Sporting Sack Pereira, Borges Appointed as Replacement

Sporting Lisbon's Portuguese coach Joao Pereira is pictured during the Portuguese League football match between Gil Vicente FC and Sporting CP at the at the Cidade de Barcelos stadium in Barcelos, on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
Sporting Lisbon's Portuguese coach Joao Pereira is pictured during the Portuguese League football match between Gil Vicente FC and Sporting CP at the at the Cidade de Barcelos stadium in Barcelos, on December 22, 2024. (AFP)

Sporting have appointed Rui Borges as head coach, the Portuguese champions announced on Thursday, following the sacking of Joao Pereira.

Sporting said Borges has signed a contract until June 2026, with an option to further extend it by a year.

Pereira, who took over after Ruben Amorim's departure to Manchester United in November, was in charge for eight matches, of which Sporting won just three.

Under the former Portugal and Sporting defender, the Lisbon club suffered successive Champions League defeats and fell to second in the Primeira Liga standings behind cross-town rivals Benfica.

Pereira's replacement Borges takes charge of the club after stepping down from his role at fellow Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes.

Sporting paid Vitoria a settlement of 4.1 million euros ($4.26 million) for the 43-year-old's services.

Borges, who has coached a string of Portuguese clubs, took charge of Vitoria in May. He guided them to the knockout stages of the Conference League, where they finished the group stage as one of only two unbeaten clubs alongside England's Chelsea.

Sporting next host Benfica in a top-of-the-table clash on Sunday.



Tsitsipas Hoping to ‘Reinvent’ Himself in Search for Stability

This handout photo released by Tennis Australia on December 27, 2024, shows Greece's team member Stefanos Tsitsipas attending a press conference at the United Cup tennis tournament in Perth. (Tennis Australia / AFP)
This handout photo released by Tennis Australia on December 27, 2024, shows Greece's team member Stefanos Tsitsipas attending a press conference at the United Cup tennis tournament in Perth. (Tennis Australia / AFP)
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Tsitsipas Hoping to ‘Reinvent’ Himself in Search for Stability

This handout photo released by Tennis Australia on December 27, 2024, shows Greece's team member Stefanos Tsitsipas attending a press conference at the United Cup tennis tournament in Perth. (Tennis Australia / AFP)
This handout photo released by Tennis Australia on December 27, 2024, shows Greece's team member Stefanos Tsitsipas attending a press conference at the United Cup tennis tournament in Perth. (Tennis Australia / AFP)

Two-time Grand Slam finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas said on Friday he needs to break out of a rut and start afresh in 2025 after winning just one title in the previous campaign and dropping out of the world's top 10.

The Greek world number 11, who claimed his only win at the Monte Carlo Masters, has also ended his collaboration with his father Apostolos as his coach.

"I'm looking at kind of reinventing myself," said Tsitsipas, who begins his season at the Dec. 27-Jan. 5 United Cup mixed team event.

"I felt like I've been stuck in a pattern over the last few months. I haven't been able to kind of unlock the pattern.

"I'm looking for a fresh, new 2025. That doesn't mean to suddenly just start winning everything.

"It's just to see a trajectory of constant improvement and improving in all fields in my career, but also in my outside life ... I want to have stability in my life," he told reporters.

Tsitsipas is starting the year outside the top 10 for the first time since 2019 and he hoped that would take some of the pressure off him.

"I don't think there's that much pressure when you're outside of the top 10. Well, probably there is some pressure in terms of like now it's my opportunity to add on points and get some good weeks going," he said.

The United Cup will serve as part of Tsitsipas' preparations for the Australian Open, where the 26-year-old reached the final in 2023.