The captain talks about the challenge ahead

Before Sporting Clube de Portugal face English side Manchester City this Tuesday in the UEFA Champions League, captain Morten Hjulmand talked about what he sees as "a great opportunity."

“I think they are the toughest opponents,"  highlighted the Danish international, adding: “We know their quality and the way they play, so it will be a big challenge."

Asked to choose the best player between City striker Erling Håaland or his team's own Viktor Gyökeres, the midfielder was firm, saying “Gyökeres, because he plays for Sporting CP."

Inevitably, many questions were about coach Rúben Amorim's upcoming departure to Manchester United, and Hjulmand did not deny that “it was difficult” to receive the news.
“It's part of football, and the squad see the change as a positive challenge. Winning the Liga Portugal title without the coach will be our main objective. Life goes on and now we want to show that we no longer need him,"  he said, smiling.

“He was one of the reasons why I came to play for Sporting CP. With him, you have a clear idea of how you see football and each player knows their role. The way he manages the team on and off the pitch is something I hadn't seen before in my short career. I can't tell you everything, but I think Manchester United will be in good hands,” he said.

On the game, he commented that, “It hasn’t been easy in the run-up to this one. It was a very tough week, with three games -the coach didn't give us a rest- and also because of everything that was happening. As a team we had to think about beating CD Nacional and CF Estrela da Amadora," he explained.

Finally, asked about his interest in, one day, perhaps playing in the Premier League, the Danish midfielder preferred to express his happiness at being where he is.

“I'm living a dream here, at Sporting CP and in Lisbon. I don’t know what the future will bring, but right now I’m living my dream at Sporting CP."