League Cup. It’s always time to play a final

by João Sena

The football week in Leiria ends with the League Cup final, at 7:45 pm, between Sporting and FC Porto. Both teams are at full strength, so an intense game is expected, with the lions looking for their fifth victory in this competition, the third in a row, while the white and blues will fight to win the only trophy they have never won in 16 editions.

Sporting won the last two editions with triumphs over Braga (1-0) and Benfica (2-1), and wants to keep the title of winter champion, as the winner of the League Cup is usually known. The Leon team reached the final after beating Arouca (2-1), with two goals from Paulinho, who is the competition’s top scorer, with eight goals in five games. The striker injured his shoulder in that game but recovered for tomorrow’s final and is yet another threat to the Porto players’ goal. Gonçalo Inácio is confident for the final, as he said to the Sporting newspaper. «We have had a good League Cup, but we haven’t won anything yet, the most important thing is to win on Saturday. We managed to win all the games and we want to continue this good campaign and win another League Cup», said the leonine central defender.

FC Porto is once again present in the League Cup final, a competition it has never won. He has played in four finals and has always been defeated, twice by Braga, but also by Benfica and Sporting.

After defeating Académico de Viseu in the semi-finals (3-0), FC Porto wants to break the problem. “Now it’s time to rest. We have 24 hours less rest than the opponent. If the League Cup wants to change something, it has to start there. It’s not fair that we arrive on Saturday with less rest than the opponent», said Sérgio Conceição at the end of the game with Académio de Viseu. Still in the quick interviews zone and in a different register he said: «It is a final and the finals are to be won. We will prepare it in the best way». If he wins the League Cup, he becomes the white and blue coach with the most titles (16), surpassing Artur Jorge. ′′ I expect a different final. Let it not happen like in the finals with Sporting and Braga in which we were better and who took the cup were the others. This competition is one of our goals for the season and we are prepared to beat a strong Sporting», assured the coach of the blue and whites.

Benfica is the club with the most wins in the League Cup (7), followed by Sporting (4). In addition to the two big ones in Lisbon, only Sporting de Braga, with two titles, Moreirense and Vitória de Setúbal, with a victory, won this trophy.