New Sporting Clube de Portugal manager Paulo Fonseca has moved into the club's Academia de Alcochete training complex, sleeping overnight on site to prepare his team. According to Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manhã, journalist Mário Figueiredo reported that the coach is spending 24 hours a day working at the facility to save time on his new planning.
Fonseca, who succeeded Rui Borges in charge of the Lisbon club, has focused his exhaustive preparations on two major late-November fixtures. Sporting face Manchester United Football Club on November 25 in the UEFA Champions League before meeting Portuguese league leaders Futebol Clube do Porto on November 29.
While Sporting return to competitive action first on November 21 against União da Serra in the Taça de Portugal, Fonseca has kept his main focus on Manchester United and FC Porto. In the league meeting with FC Porto, Sporting's objective is to end the unbeaten run of the current table leaders.
International break and squad planning at Alcochete
The coaching push comes during the November international break, which has left Fonseca with a depleted senior roster. Seventeen Sporting players have been called up to represent various national teams during the international window.
Despite having a reduced squad, Fonseca remains determined to speed up his tactical and organisational processes. He is using the break in club competition to assess several players from Sporting's B team, work with the remaining senior squad members, and plan for the remainder of the season.
Located across the Tagus estuary from Lisbon, the Academia de Alcochete serves as the training headquarters for both Sporting's senior side and its reserve and youth levels. Opened in 2002, the complex includes residential rooms alongside its training pitches and performance centres, allowing staff and players to stay overnight on site.
Coaching staff overhaul and early results
Fonseca's arrival as successor to Rui Borges has also brought a clear-out of Sporting's coaching staff as the new manager reshapes the technical setup at Alcochete.
On the pitch, Fonseca has broken records during his early spell in charge of Sporting, although he has not avoided whistles from sections of the crowd.
In league action, Sporting added three points with a victory against Moreirense Futebol Clube, a match in which Suárez played a pivotal role in helping Fonseca pass the test.
Upcoming schedule across three competitions
A veteran Portuguese coach, Fonseca previously managed Paços de Ferreira, FC Porto, and Sporting Clube de Braga in Portugal's top flight before spells abroad with Shakhtar Donetsk, AS Roma, Lille, and AC Milan. His return to Portuguese club football puts him in immediate contention across three competitions this month.
Sporting's first match after the international break pits them against União da Serra, a side competing in the fourth-tier Campeonato de Portugal, in the Taça de Portugal knockout cup on November 21. Four days later, Sporting contest their UEFA Champions League fixture against Manchester United on November 25 before facing unbeaten league leaders FC Porto on November 29.
