In an editorial in Sporting, Federico Varandas assesses the year and mandate, after announcing that the 2022-2026 elections will be held on March 5th.

“Three years ago, Sporting’s situation was completely different. We were not football champions for many years, but many years. We lost major sporting assets without any financial compensation. The prospects for future success seemed remote. The financial sustainability of the club was under threat. Demand for a loan The bonds (to pay off the loan we defaulted on) did not live up to the issuance. A crisis of identity and values ​​haunted us. We walked away from our DNA”, he writes.

“But after a year of reconstruction (2019), and the year of resilience (2020), 2021 was the year of the lion, and it brought us the glory that all athletes wanted and deserved. Three years based on a strategy that never veered in the face of the inevitable hype, threat, or sporting setbacks in a growing enterprise backed by training. Nothing comes out of nowhere and victories are not the result of chance. It took time and stability to plan, work and conquer. It also took a lot of courage to never deviate from our plan, which we always believed would lead to success. Sporting is now the football champion, 19 years later. In three years we’ve celebrated five football titles, won 41 European titles, our first world title, and in 2021 concluded one of the best seasons ever in the club’s 115 years. Confidence in the future holds. We have achieved financial credibility,” he analyzes, leaving expectations for the future:

“We did a lot with a little. We started from the back, in a passive context, with much less financial resources than our competitors, we ended up moving forward. This was only possible on the basis of the accuracy, intelligence and efficiency we committed to and we will have to continue to use them as our main weapons. We have We did it our way. The forty-year gap that separated us from our competitors has not been completely closed, however, today we breathe hope. We walk along our green and white strip with a clear conscience, our heads held high and proud of the clean scoring path we covered. Let us learn from the lessons of the past and support the path we follow. Every day. With reassurance. Let us know how to defend our club before those who want to divide us. Success is never always and the task of keeping it closer from afar rests with each of us.”