Let’s continue with our ‘Top 5 products of the best football academies’ series and talk about the best players produced by Sporting Lisbon.
Sporting Clube de Portugal has always been considered one of the top clubs in Europe to produce young talents.
The training methods on this renowned academy are focused on individual improvement, as the players who train at the club from a young age are usually technically excellent and are not afraid to take opponents on and take risks.
They’ve produced two Ballon d’Or winners and eight of the 11 players who started for Portugal in the Euro 2016 Final against France.
We’ve listed the top 5 products of Sporting’s football academy and invite you to check them out and share your opinion in the comment section below.
5. Ricardo Quaresma
Ricardo Quaresma joined the Sporting Lisbon Football Academy in 1994.
He was promoted to the first team six years later, at the age of 17, as one of the most promising youngsters in the game and helped Sporting to win a domestic double in his first season with the senior team.
Barcelona snapped him up in 2003, but the Portuguese didn’t adapt well to the Spanish league and was sold to Porto only one year later.
Quaresma won three successive titles with Porto and signed for Inter in 2008. He was loaned to Chelsea immediately but spent the 2009-10 season at Inter and won the Treble with the Nerazzurri.
The winger also won the UEFA Euro 2016 with the Portugal national team, scoring the extra-time winner in the Round of 16 against Croatia.
He is currently playing for Besiktas, where he won the Turkish League in 2016 and 2017.
4. Luis Nani
The former Manchester United winger, Luis Nani also started his professional career at Sporting Lisbon.
He won the National Junior Championship in 2004–05 with Sporting’s youth team, before being promoted to the senior squad at the start of the 2005-06 season.
Nani moved to Old Trafford in 2007 and hade the most successful years of his career with the Red Devils. He won four Premier League titles, two League Cups and the 2008 Champions League under Sir Alex Ferguson.
The Portuguese spent his last season as Manchester United player on loan at his former club Sporting in 2014-15. He also played for Fenerbahce, Valencia, and Lazio, before coming back at Estadio Jose Alvalade for his thirst stint with the club.
Luis Nani was part of the Portugal national team which won the UEFA Euro 2016 in France. He scored three goals in the competition and was awarded the captain’s armband in the Final after Cristiano Ronaldo was forced off in the opening 25 minutes of the match.
3. Simao Sabrosa
Simao Sabrosa is another great Portuguese winger who started his career at Sporting CP.
He joined the club as a 13-year-old boy and made his senior debut in the 1996-97 at only 17 years old.
Having established himself as one of the most talented players in Europe, Simao moved to Barcelona in 1999. However, he couldn’t get into Barca’s first team and came back to Lisbon, joining Sporting’s local rivals – Benfica.
Simao won in 2005, before joining Atletico Madrid – where he won the 2010 UEFA Europa League.
He was part of the Portuguese national team which reached the 2004 UEFA Euro Final at home soil but lost 1-0 to Greece – the most surprising European champions in the history of football.
2. Luis Figo
Luis Figo is one of the Ballon d’Or winners produced by Sporting’s youth system.
He started his career in 1989, spending six seasons at the club before moving to Barcelona.
The Portuguese played for Barca and Real Madrid in his career and is one of the few players to win the Spanish La Liga with both rivals.
Figo won the Ballon d’Or in 2000 and became a European champion after winning the Champions League in his first year at Santiago Bernabeu.
He finished his career at Inter, winning four successive Serie A titles with the Nerazzurri.
The winger was part of the Portuguese national team which played in the UEFA Euro 2004 Final and won the fourth place at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is the best-ever Sporting Lisbon academy graduate and arguably the greatest footballer in the history of the beautiful game.
He made his debut in 2002 and was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson after only one season as a professional.
Ronaldo spent six seasons at Old Trafford, winning nine major trophies, including three Premier League titles, the FA Cup and the 2008 Champions League.
The Portuguese was signed by Real Madrid in the summer of 2009, for a reported fee of €94 million, making him the most expensive player in football.
He broke every single record in Madrid, guiding the club to four Champions League crowns and two La Liga titles in his nine years with the club.
At the international level, Ronaldo won the UEFA Euro in 2016 and played in the EURO 2004 Final, which Portugal lost 1-0 against Greece.
Cristiano Ronaldo is currently playing his first season as a Juventus player. He is pursuing his fourth successive European crown and the first for the Bianconeri since 1996.
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