The coach speaks on the eve of the Champions League opener

Sporting CP return to the Champions League this season, and begin their campaign on Tuesday at home to LOSC Lille.

Coach Rúben Amorim previewed the game in his usual press conference, beginning by highlighting the importance of the club being back at the highest level.

"It is very important for all clubs to play in the UEFA Champions League, for the growth of the team, for the appreciation of their players, for the financial gain that allows us to not sell more than we should, and we have proven that," he said.

"I don't know if it will be harder or easier with the new format, but I think it is more appealing. It allows for more games, which is good for the clubs, giving more excitement and games against different teams. We are all excited to play with this format -and especially to be playing in the Champions League".

When asked about the large number of players in the squad who could make their debut in the competition, Amorim downplayed their inexperience.

“Viktor [Gyökeres] will play his first Champions League game, but nobody would say he is not ready to play these types of games, and the same goes for Morten [Hjulmand]. I think the first time we played in the Champions League, we were very inexperienced. Now, I feel the team are anxious for the first game, but more prepared -perhaps also because I feel more prepared to help them in this competition."

"The first game is at home and the fans' expectations are very high. We have to learn to live with that. It will be a difficult game, with some anxiety, but we are more prepared than we were three years ago", he added.

LOSC Lille reached the UEFA Champions League after finishing their last domestic campaign in fourth place, then beating Turkish team Fenerbahçe SK and Czech side SK Slavia Praha in the qualifying rounds. This season, they are on a run of three consecutive defeats coming into this contest.

"The French championship is much more evenly matched, and it is more difficult to see LOSC Lille with a more marked positional attack, while we spend most of our games like that," commented Amorim. "They are a very strong team physically, also very gifted technically and have a great striker, with great quality [Jonathan David], and three very fast central defenders who can cause more difficulties for our attack."

"They play a more open game every week and we don't, and that can make a difference in terms of fitness. So we have to keep the ball for ourselves and try to push the opposition, knowing that it's more difficult than in our league. It's a great incentive to watch tomorrow."

Defender Eduardo Quaresma will not be able to take part in the game, due to an ankle sprain, joining Vladan Kovačević, Jeremiah St. Juste and Diogo Pinto on the sidelines.

On youngster Tiago Santos, who was part of the Sporting CP youth system and has now become a standout at LOSC Lille, the coach said "He even trained with the first team, but I didn't see what others saw, just like with [Renato] Veiga. It's good to see that the academy produces players who, sometimes despite the different views of the coaches, are getting called up to the national team even without playing for our first team. I hope he's welcomed here, that he plays badly tomorrow, but that everything goes well for him afterwards."

One young player who is on the books, however, is Geovany Quenda, who at 17 could make his UEFA Champions League debut.

"He's not anxious about the game, because he fell asleep today and arrived late for the teamtalk, and he lives at the Academia," he joked.

"If there's one player I don't feel anxious about, it's Quenda, but when he hears the Champions League music and the atmosphere, he'll feel it. There's no way around it."

"The objectives for us now are to be two-time champions of Portugal, go as far as we can in the Champions League and win the Taça de Portugal and Taça da Liga. To do that, we will have to rotate the players and everyone is ready. I feel that this team are ready to be competitive and to play our game in the Champions League."