Sporting Clube de Portugal’s academy has always been, for me, one of the finest in Europe, producing some of Portugal’s finest talent to date. This is due in part to the quality of the Academia Sporting facilities, based in Alcochete, which is where many young players have honed their talents before stepping up to the senior side or moving on to clubs around the world. However, the level of coaching available to the youth prospects at Les Leões will also have been a huge factor in their development at the Lisbon club. In this article I aim to analyse some of the best players to have emerged from the club, and also some of the players just coming through into the first team in the last couple of seasons.
27-year-old Miguel Veloso is perhaps one of the lesser-known players to come out of the Sporting academy. After starting with Benfica as an 8-year-old, he moved to Sporting after a short stint with CAC Pontinha, and hasn’t looked back since. He spent five years in the SCP academy, before stepping up to the plate in the senior side. In five seasons (albeit with one out on loan), Veloso made nearly 120 appearances in all competitions. He moved to Italians Genoa in 2010, and then Ukrainian giants Dynamo Kiev in 2012, and has enjoyed success with both of those teams as well as his first. 43 appearances for Portugal’s national side do not lie about the quality of the midfielder either.
João Moutinho is another very good midfielder to have come out of Academia Sporting. Born in Portimão, the midfielder started with Portimonense, before joining Sporting as a 13-year-old. Moutinho made the step to the senior team six years later, and played nearly 260 times before departing for rivals Porto for a sum that could have reached €11 million, in 2010. The player won three consecutive league titles and a European trophy, before departing for Monaco in a €25 million move this summer. Moutinho has also played 64 times for Portugal’s senior national team, scoring twice since his debut in 2005.
Manchester United’s Luís Nani is one of the more well-known products of the Sporting academy – of recent times, anyway. The winger started with Queluz-based Real Massamá at the start of the millennium, and joined Les Leões in 2003. After two years plying his trade in the youth sides, Nani broke into the first-team, and caught the eye. He played over 75 times in all competitions in just two seasons, before making a big-money move to Old Trafford, for €25.5 million. The tricky winger has now played over 200 times for the Red Devils, as well as over 70 times for his country too.
The next two on this list will come as no surprise to anyone. They are both superb players – well, at the prime of their career(s) – and this article would not be complete without them. They have both caused controversy at some point during the senior careers, and have spent much of their respective careers at big clubs. These two players’ names? Why, of course it was only going to be Luís Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Figo is a name hated in Barcelona, but thought highly of in Madrid. The now-retired attacker famously made a shock €60 million, world-record move from the Catalans Barcelona to Los Galácticos in 2000. The 127-time Portuguese international once had a pig’s head thrown at him on one return to the Nou Camp, and this is after much success and being a fan favourite for years with Barça. Before this affair, Figo played nearly 170 times in six years at the Estádio José Avalade, and following his stint in Spain, finished his career with Serie A side Internazionale, where he spent four years.
Cristiano Ronaldo is possibly the finest product to have ever come out of Sporting’s academy. The player who can play effectively in almost any role in the attacking half of the pitch has been world-class for several years now, first with Manchester United, and now with Real Madrid since his 2009 move. The 28-year-old had spells in the youth academies of Andorinha and Nacional, but joined Sporting’s illustrious set-up in 1997. After five years developing in the youth teams, he starting lining up with the senior side. However, after just a year, Sir Alex Ferguson signed the future star for €15 million in 2003; this came after Ronaldo had hugely impressed whilst defeating United 3-1 in the inaugural match at Sporting’s new stadium.
Since his 2003 move, the attacker has played over 500 times for Manchester United and Real Madrid, scoring 350 goals in the process. Many now regard the Portuguese star as the best player in the world ahead of Lionel Messi, and believe he should be the rightful winner of this year’s Balon D’Or title. Whether he is crowned the winner remains to be seen. Cristiano was for a time the world’s most expensive player, following his move from United in 2009 – for €94 million. That stood as the record until this summer, when Welshman Gareth Bale moved to the Santiago Bernabéu for €100 million.
However, there have been players to come through the Sporting academy over the last couple of years who could stake a claim to be on this list if it is re-done in 10 years. Whilst many top prospects are leaving the Portuguese league in search of better football and higher pay-checks, some have decided to stay. English defender Eric Dier, who was linked with a move to Chelsea in the summer, has been with Les Leões since 2003, and apart from a short stint on loan at Everton, has spent his entire career in Lisbon. Now-Liverpool defender Tiago Ilori left Portugal in the summer in search of a bigger challenge at Anfield, but is a rising star for the Portuguese national team, with some fans labelling him as a future captain.
Winger Bruma also left the club this summer, as he joined the Galatasaray side now managed by former Inter and Manchester City coach Roberto Mancini. The Guinea-Bissau-born player joined the Turkish giants for €10 million and has impressed in the limited playing time he has had so far. The 19-year-old has played several times in league and cup games, as well as in Europe against Real Madrid. This youngster is certainly one to keep an eye on over the next few years; something tells me he won’t be in Turkey for long.
For the foreseeable future, I believe the Sporting academy will continue to produce top-class youth products, like the ones discussed in this article. There are lots of people in the youth and “B” teams who didn’t make the cut, but who will be in and around the top European leagues over years to come. Of course, football is the most unpredictable thing going, so you never know, but there’s few better places to start your footballing life than in the state-of-the-art facilities at the Academia Sporting.