FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Primeira Liga - Benfica v Vitoria S.C. - Estadio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal - December 7, 2024 Vitoria S.C. coach Rui Borges reacts REUTERS/Rodrigo Antunes/File Photo
LISBON (Reuters) -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.
"The time for me is right. It's always right. I'm very positive, I believe things happen when they have to. It's an opportunity we've all worked for," Borges told reporters.
"I'm the leader of the Portuguese champions and I couldn't be happier... I look at the squad and it's the best... It's not even time to talk about signings."
Sporting next host Benfica in a top-of-the-table clash on Sunday.
($1 = 0.9616 euros)
(Reporting by Patricia Rua in Lisbon and Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Pritha Sarkar)
