Sporting SP Greatest All-Time Team

1963-1964 Cup Winners' Cup winner

 Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.

Portugal 

Benfica, Porto, Sporting SP

This is my selection of a 25 member all-time team for the club.  The number 25 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the Champions' League.

Sporting Clube de Portugal is one of the big three in Portuguese football.  They won numerous of domestic titles and the 1963-1964 European Cup Winners' Cup.  They are also famous for their football academy.  Paulo Futre, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Figo, João Moutinho, Nani, Simao, Ricardo Quaresma, Rui Patricio, Nuno Valente, etc are some of their most famous graduates.  Eight of Portugal's starting eleven and two of three subs used at the Final of Euro 2016 came from the academy.

2001-2002 Primeira Liga winner (also the double that year)

Team
GK: Rui Patrício (Portugal)
Rui Patrico was a graduate of Sporting CP's academy. Between 2006 and 2018, he played for their first team.  In 2018, he moved to play in for Wolverhampton Wanderers. He became a part of Portugal's player pool in 2008, but only made his debut in 2010.  He was the starting keeper at Euro 2012 and 2016, World Cup Finals 2014 and 2018. Euro 2016.  His performance at Euro 2016 helped Portugal to win their first major international tournament.  

Rui Patricio

GK: Vitor Damas (Portugal)
Vitor Damas was the starting keeper for Sporting CP from 1966 to 1976, winning two leagues and three cups, including the double in 1973–74. He had spells with Racing Santander in Spain.  He played for with Vitória S.C. and Portimonense SC before returning to Sporting in 1984.  He had 29 caps.  He was second-choice at both Euro 1984 and the 1986 World Cup, but in the latter tournament, he played two matches. 

GK: Joao Azevedo (Portugal)
Born in Barreiro, Setúbal District, Azevedo started playing football with two local teams, F.C. Barreirense and Luso Futebol Clube. He signed with Sporting Clube de Portugal in 1935, going on to remain with the club for the following 18 seasons and win 13 major titles, including nine Primeira Liga championships. He earned 19 caps for Portugal.

RB: Pedro Gomes (Portugal)
Pedro Gomes spent his entire career with Sporting Clube de Portugal, going on to appear in 516 matches over 13 seasons (youth, friendlies and official), eighth-best at the time of his retirement. He was a member of the team that won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1963–64. He also won 3 league titles. Between 1964 and 1970, he earned 9 caps for Portugal.

RB/CB: Octávio Barrosa (Portugal)

Barrosa made Sporting CP's first team in 1940.  He was a member of the legendary Cinco Violinos era. Over ten seasons with the main team, he won 5 National Championships, 3 Portuguese Cups, 5 Lisbon Championships, and the Taça Império. Barrosa primarily played as a central defender but often featured on the right — the position he held for the National Team. He had 7 caps.

CB: Andre Cruz (Brazil)
Andre Cruz played central defender with Flamengo.  In 1990, his European career began with Standard Liege.  He later played for, Napoli, A.C. Milan and Sporting Clube de Portugal. His best years were spent with Napoli and Sporting CP.  Internationally, he made 47 appearances for Brazil. He went to the 1998 World Cup Finals with Brazil and also took part in the 1989 and 1995 Copa América, where he won the 1989 edition.

Andre Cruz

CB: Jose Carlos (Portugal)
Jose Carlos joined Sporting Clube de Portugal in 1962, from G.D. Fabril in Barreiro.  He won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1964 with Sporting CP.  At the end of his career, he played for Braga. He earned 34 caps for Portugal.  He went to the 1966 World Cup Finals in England, appearing at the semifinal against England and the third place match.

CB: Beto (Portugal)
From 1994 to 2006, Beto played for Sporting Clube de Portugal  and served as its captain.  He won two league titles, including the "double" in 2001-2002 season.  He also played with Bordeaux and Recreativo de Huelva.  With Portugal, he earned 31 caps.  He participated at Euro 2000, World Cup Finals in 2002 and Euro 2004. He scored a goal against USA at the World Cup Finals in 2002, where the Americans pulled an upset.

CB: Alvaro Cardoso (Portugal)
Cardoso played for Vitória Setúbal from 1933 to 1938. In 1938, he joined Sporting CP, where he would spend ten years. He is regarded as one of the best captains of the club. He captained the team during the famous Cinco Violinos ("Five Violins"). In this period, he won the Primeira Divisão 4 times, the Taça de Portugal 4 times, as well as the Campeonato de Lisboa four times. He earned 13 caps and 11 of those as the captain.

LB: Hilario (Portugal)
Hilario was first noticed at Sporting de Lourenço Marques along with teammate Eusébio.  He joined Sporting CP while Eusebio went to Benfica. He played his entire professional career with Sporting CP, appearing in nearly 450 official games and winning seven major trophies. He was a member of the team that won the 1963 Cup Winners' Cup).  At the international level, he was the starting leftback of Portugal in 1960's.   He went to the 1966 World Cup finals in England.

LB: Jorge Vieira (Portugal)
Vieira was Sporting CP's one of most important figures. He debuted in the first team in 1914, when he was only 15. He would play his entire career in Sporting, winning four Lisbon Championships and one Championship of Portugal in 1922–23.  He played in the first ever game of Portugal in 1921. He went on to earn 17 caps for his country, 15 of them as captain. The highest point of his international career was as the captain of the "Selecção das Quinas", that played at the 1928 Summer Olympics, reaching the quarter-finals.

DM/LM: Oceano (Portugal)
Oceano was probably the greatest player born in Cape Verde. His family emigrated to Portugal when he was a child. He started his career at Almada AC, Odivelas F.C. and C.D. Nacional. He signed with Sporting CP for the 1984–85 season.  He appeared in over 400 matches for two spells.  In between, he played for Real Sociedad and Toulouse.  He earned 54 caps and was a top player in the early 1990's.  He went to Euro 1996.

Oceano

CM/DM: Fernando Mendes (Portugal)
Fernando Mendes was a star in the 1960's.  Except for one season, he played his entire career for Sporting CP.  He earned 21 caps between 1959 and 1965.  During the World Cup qualifying round for England 1966, he got injured and never fully recovered.  He did not make it to the World Cup Finals and never played for Portugal again.  He later played for Atlético Clube de Portugal.

CM: Joao Moutinho (Portugal)
Joao Moutinho established himself at Sporting before moving to Porto.  In his first season, he won the treble, including the 2011 Europa League.  In 2013, Porto sold him to Monaco. For Portugal, he became a key player since Euro 2012.  He was a part of the team that won the Euro 2016 in France. In 2012, he missed the penalty against Spain in semifinal shootout. Four years later, urged by Cristano Ronaldo, he converted his penalty kick against Poland.

AM/CM: Bruno Fernandes

Bruno Fernandes began his career in Italy, starting at Novara before moving to Udinese and then Sampdoria. In 2017, he joined Sporting CP in Portugal. He was recognized as the Primeira Liga Player of the Year. In 2020, Fernandes moved to Manchester United. 

On the international stage, Fernandes made his senior international debut in 2017. He was part of the victorious Portuguese team in the 2019 Nations League, where he also earned a place in the Team of the Tournament.

RW: Luis Figo (Portugal)
Luis Figo is probably one of Portugal's greatest players.  He was the 2000 European Footballer of the Year and  the 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year. He started with Sporting CP. He was known for his controversial 2000 transfer from Barcelona to bitter rivals Real Madrid. It set a world record fee of £37 million (€62 million).  With Real Madrid, he was the first member of the Galacticos. He won the Champions' League title in 2002. He played for Inter Milan and Sporting SP.

Luis Figo

LW: Albano Pereira (Portugal)
Albano was a member of Sporting CP's attacking line dubbed Cinco Violinos (Five Violins) that also included António Jesus Correia, Fernando Peyroteo, José Travassos and Manuel Vasques and winning eight Primeira Liga championships and four Taça de Portugal trophies. He was capped 15 times for Portugal between 1947 and 1954.

AM: Krasimir Balakov (Bulgaria)
Krassimir Balakov was one of the star player from the Golden Generation of the 1990's. He made 92 appearances for Bulgaria, between 1988 and 2003.  He was best remembered for forming a successful attacking partnership with strikers Fredi Bobic and Giovane Élber at Stuttgart, where he won two UEFA Intertoto Cups (2000 and 2002) and a DFB-Pokal (1997).  Before Stuttgart, He also had a successful spell with Sporting CP, playing with Luis Figo.

Krassimir Balakov 

FW: Manuel Vasques (Portugal)

Vasques joined Sporting CP  in 1946. During his spell with the club, he appeared in 349 games all competitions. He scored 225 goals, being part of  Cinco Violinos (Five Violins) that also included Albano, António Jesus Correia, Fernando Peyroteo and José Travassos and winning ten major titles, including eight Primeira Liga championships. In the 1950–51 season, Vasques was the league's top scorer.

AM: José Travassos (Portugal)
José Travassos was one of the first Portuguese players to earn international recognition. He scored against England while playing for a FIFA all-star team.  He was dubbed as "Europe's Joe" by the English press. He was also a member of Sporting CP's attacking line dubbed Cinco Violinos (Five Violins) of the late 1940's. He played 35 times for Portugal between 1947 and 1958.

ST: Rui Jordão (Portugal)
Rui Jordão played for Benfica, Sporting CP, Racing Zaragoza and Vitoria SC.  He was the league's top scorer twice(one each with Befica and Sporting CP) and was Portuguese Player of the Year in 1980 while playing for Sporting CP.  He had 37 caps in total.  He was probably best remembered for scoring twice against France at the semifinal of Euro 1984. It was one of the greatest games in that tournament.

ST: Hector Yazalde (Argentina)
Hector Yazalde started his career with Club Atlético Independiente. He moved to Europe and played for Sporting CP.  In 1973-1974 season, he scored 46 goals in one single season with Sporting Clube de Portugal, being awarded that season's European Golden Shoe.  The following season, he scored 30 goals and won European Silver Shoe.  He earned 10 caps, scoring two goals at the World Cup Finals in 1974.

Hector Yazalde

ST: Manuel Fernandes (Portugal)

Manuel Fernandes started his career with CUF.  He joined Sporting CP from CUF in 1975.  At 386 goals in all official competitions, he is the second-highest goalscorer in the club's history. He was bets remembered for netting 4 goals against rival Benfica in a 7-1 victory in 1986. He later played for Vitoria FC. He earned 31 caps, but was controversially left off the 1986 World Cup squad, despite being the top scorer in the Portuguese league.

FW: Liedson (Brazil/Portugal)
Liedson moved to Sporting CP in 2003 after playing for Corinthians and Flamengo without successes. From 2003 to 2011, he scored 173 goals for them, becoming one of the club's greatest players.  He helped them to reach the UEFA Cup Final in 2005.  With Corinthians, he won the Copa Libertadores in 2012. Although he is a Brazilian by birth, he chose to play for Portugal.  He was first capped by Portugal in 2009 and went to play at the World Cup in 2010. He had 15 caps in total.

ST: Fernando Peyroteo  (Portugal)
Fernando Peyroteo was born in Portuguese Angola. He played his entire career with Sporting CP, between 1937 and 1949, scoring 544 goals for them.  He was the star of the forward line known as  Cinco Violino (Five Violins).  He was the league top scorer 6 times.  His goals-per-game ratio was arguably the best in the history of football, at 1.6 successful strikes per game. He played 20 times for Portugal during nearly 11 years between 1938 and 1949, scoring 14 goals.

Fernando Peyroteo

Honorable Mention

Carlos Gomes (Spain), Joaquim Carvalho (Spain), Peter Schmeichel (Denmark), Tomislav Ivkovic (Yugoslavia), Ricardo (Portugal), Alexandre Baptista (Portugal), Jérémy Mathieu (France), Sebastián Coates (Uruguay), Ânderson Polga (Brazil), Marco Aurélio (Brazil),  Nourredine Naybet (Morocco), Lizinho (Brazil), João Laranjeira (Portugal), Stan Valckx (Netherlands), João Morais (Portugal), Fernando Manuel Mendes (Portugal), Carlos Xavier (Portugal), William Carvalho (Portugal), Veríssimo (Portugal), 

Augusto Inácio (Portugal), Morten Hjulmand (Denmark), Rui Jorge (Portugal), Samuel Fraguito (Portugal), Manecas (Portugal), Juca (Portugal), Crisitiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Matías Fernández (Chile), António Jesus Correia (Portugal), Paulo Futre (Portugal), Pedro Gonçalves (Porugal), Fernando Peres (Portugal), Emmanuel Amunike (Nigeria), Ricardo Sa Pinto (Portugal),  Nani (Portugal), Simao Sabrosa (Portugal), Mário Jardel (Brazil), Manuel Soeiro (Portugal), António Oliveira (Portugal), Alberto Acosta (Argentina), Jorge Cadete (Portugal), Ricardo Quaresma (Portugal), Osvaldo Silva (Brazil), Ivaylo Yordanov (Bulgaria), Francisco Stromp (Portugal), Viktor Gyökeres (Sweden).

Squad Explanation

--  The original team was created in August, 2016.  I redid it in May 2025.

-- Sporting CP won the 1963-1964 Cup Winners Cup.  They were the only Portuguese clubs ever to lift the Cup.  In the quarterfinal, they lost 4-1 in the first leg against Manchester United, a team that featured Bobby Charlton, George Best and Denis Law. In the return match, they beat the Red Devils 5-0 and advanced to the next round. From that team, I selected Hilário, Jose Carlos, Joao Morais and Fernando Mendes. Hilário did not play in the Final due to an injury. Osvaldo Silva who scored a hat trick against Manchester United made honorable mention.

-- Portugal won the 2016 European Championship with significant contributions from Sporting CP.  Eight of Portugal's starting eleven and two of three subs used at the Final of Euro 2016 came from the academy.  They are Cristano Ronaldo, Rui Patricio, Joao Mario, William Carvalho, Adrin Silva Jose Fonte, Joao Moutinho, Nani, Ricardo Quaresma and Cedric.  However, only Rui Patricio, Joao Mario, William Carvalho and Adrin Silva were active player for the club in 2016, but they are largest representatives from a Portuguese club.   

-- The wikisporting contained many information for the club.

-- Apostapedia created the 10 greatest footballers from Sporting CP. The ranking was as followed: 1) Cristano Ronaldo, 2) Fernando Peyroteo, 3) José Travassos, 4) Vítor Damas, 5) Luis Figo, 6) Manuel Fernandes, 7) Jesus Correia, 8) Hilário, 9) Liedson, 10) Krasimir Balakov.-- The Sportinguistas conducted a poll in 2011 that selected the Best 11 players who had play for Sporting CP. This became a book "Sporting - O Melhor 11 da História" by Ricardo Galvão. The starting XI was as followed: Vítor Damas, Carlos Xavier, Roberto Severo 'Beto', André Cruz, Hilaro, Luis Figo, José Travassos, Fernando Peyroteo, Krassimir Balakov and Cristiano Ronaldo.
-- The Cinco Violins "the Five Violins" was famous forward line in the 1950's. The five players on the line were Fernando Peyroteo, Jesus Corriea, Albano Pereira, Manuel Vasques and Jose Travassos. However, Jesus Corriea only made honorable mention. Fernando Peyroteo is probably Sporting CP's greatest player. Cristiano Ronaldo only played a single season here.

Goalkeepers

-- Both Rui Patrico and Vitor Damas were undisputed selections for goalkeepers. Rui Patrico was rewarded a spot for his performance at Euro 2016.  Normally, I do not consider national team performance for club selection.  However, he is the Lions' second appearance leader. Vítor Damas had two long spells with the club.  he earned legendary status with his duels against Benfica's Eusebio.  He was the third in appearance record after Hilario and Rui Patrico.  He was probably Sporting CP's greatest goalkeeper.

Vitor Damas

-- João Azevedo played for Sporting CP before and after Five Violins.  In 17 seasons, he defended the Lions' nets for 567 games. In 1947, he got injured against Benfica in a decisive match.  With his arm tied in bandage, he returned the field and led the Lions in a 3-1 victory.  And it was not the first or the last time he played with injuries.  He fractured vertebrae and ribs, played with a broken foot and even with 12 stitches in his head

-- Carlos Gomes who would replace João Azevedo in Sporting CP was the other option. Joaquim Carvalho spent 12 seasons with the Lions.  He helped them to win the Cup Winners' Cup in 1964. Tomislav Ivković gained fame for saving penalties taken by Diego Maradona twice in the same year—once while playing for Sporting CP and again during the World Cup finals while representing Yugoslavia. I never considered Peter Schmeichel because he only spent two years there at the end of his career. Ricardo was capped many times while with the club.  Those goalkeepers made honorable mentions.

Defenders

-- Both Andre Cruz and Beto were voted into Sporting CP All-Time Best XI.  They were constantly mentioned as the club's greatest defenders.  Beto spent ten seasons here playing 315 official games and five major titles.  However, historically, Jose Carlos would be considered the club's greatest central defender.  He was one of the few footballers to win the "Prémio Stromp" given by the club. I felt this three would be the top choices for central defenders.

Jose Carlos

-- Alvaro Cardoso was the captain of the legendary "Five Violins"team. For the national team, his leadership was being question and later suspended after England beat Portugal 10-0 in 1947. However, his national team issue would not count against him for Sporting CP.  Over here, he was affectionally known as “Senhor Cardoso”.

-- Alexandre Baptista was a big part of the defensive unit in the 1960's that included João Morais, José Carlos and Hilário.  He also played five of the six games for Portugal at the 1966 World Cup Finals. Jérémy Mathieu was named on the Primeira Liga Team of the Year for the 2018–19 season.  Sebastián Coates (Uruguay) won the award twice. I also looked into Ânderson Polga (Brazil), Marco Aurélio (Brazil), Luizinho (Brazil) and Nourredine Naybet (Morocco).  They all made honorable mention.

-- João Morais played as a rightback on a famous backline with Alexandre Baptista, José Carlos and Hilário, which earned him his first cap for Portugal.  He would play three games in this position in the 1966 World Cup Finals, where he was also remembered for his infamous foul on Pele at the Finals, which sent him out of the tournament. However, his preferred position was left wing.  In fact, he only became a rightback for the Lions because Pedro Gomes was injured in the 1965.  Gomes would reclaim the position in the 1967-1968 season.  He would be a better choice for the position.  He is the 8th player with the most appearances for the club.  He also won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1964.

-- Octávio Barrosa was a part of the iconic "Cinco Violinos" team. He mainly played centrally but often featured as a right-back — the position he also held for the National Team. Carlos Xavier was voted as Sporting CP's greatest rightback in 2011.  He started his career as libero, but later he played mainly in the midfield. He played as the right-back as the club reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup in 1990/91.  However, overall, he seemed to fail to live up to expectation, and he was not much of a rightback. So, it was between Barrosa, Carlos Xavier or Morais as the second rightback. 

-- Hilaro is Sporting CP's record appearance holder.  He is probably the club's greatest ever defender.  For the second leftback, I picked Rui Jorge in 2016 largely because he was a better known player in the modern era.  He appeared with Portugal at the 2002 World Cup and two European Championships.  In 2025, however, I looked a closer look at Jorge Vieira. Following his illustrious playing career, Jorge Vieira continued to receive recognition for his lasting contributions to Sporting CP. In 1931, he was awarded the Medal of Merit and Dedication. He won the prestigious "Prémio Stromp" award.  In 1969, during a celebration of the club’s heritage, Vieira was chosen by fans as the patron of “Os Cinquentenários”, an organization representing the highest honor within Sporting CP, making him the most important figure in the club’s history. Further recognition came in 1981, during Sporting CP’s Diamond Anniversary, when Vieira was awarded the prestigious title of Knight of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator, one of Portugal’s highest civilian distinctions. Beyond his accolades, Vieira was also a central figure in a pivotal moment in the club’s history. In 1928, the “Questão Jorge Vieira” (Jorge Vieira Question) arose, marking a major internal conflict regarding the future of football at Sporting CP—amateurism versus professionalism. In sum, Jorge Vieira was a towering figure in Sporting CP's history, whose legacy continues to shape the identity of the club today.

Hilario

-- Fernando Manuel Mendes was another famous leftback who played in the 1980's for the club while Fernando Mamede Mendes was a midifielder and the captain on the 1964 Cup Winners' Cup winning team.

Midfielders/Wingers

-- Despite playing for one of the worst period in the history of the club, Oceano was one of the most beloved players ever for the club.  he ranked 6th in appearance for the club.  Fernando Manuel Mendes was another famous leftback who played in the 1980's for the club while Fernando Mamede Mendes was a midfielder and the captain on the 1964 Cup Winners' Cup winning team.  He was a technical midfielder, with great physical availability and a fantastic leadership capacity.

--  There were several defensive midfielders I considered. William Carvalho was famous because of his performance at the Euro 2018. Manecas (Portugal) is Sporting CP's second most decorated player. I believed that he was a defensive midfielder. Veríssimo of the "Five Violins" team was also a serious candidate.

-- Joao Moutinho made more than 250 appearances for the club, but he also made the controversial move to rival FC Porto.  However, he was one of the heroes of the UEFA campaign.  

--  In terms of trophies, Krasimir Balakov only won a Portuguese Cup while playing with  Luís Figo, Ivaylo Yordanov and Paulo Sousa. However, he was often mentioned as one of the club's greatest imports. Apostapedia listed him as the 10th greatest player over here.

-- Pedro Barbosa played 9 seasons there.  He helped the club to reach the Final of the UEFA Cup in 2005 as their captain. His longevity over here was definitely more important over Bruno Fernandes. But at their peak, Bruno Fernandes was better. He won the Primeira Liga Player of the Year twice during his time with the Lions. He was also named the UEFA Europa League Player of the Season in the 2017–18 season, and was recognized as the highest-scoring midfielder in Europe. At times, I felt the team had an excess of attacking midfielders. Bruno was a unique blend — not just an attacking midfielder, but also someone who operated as a box-to-box player, bridging both roles effectively. So I decided to take him.

Bruno Fernandes

-- José Travassos should be considered to be Sporting CP's greatest player. António Oliveira was a Porto legend but in Sporting CP, he formed  an attacking triangle with Manuel Fernandes and Jordão, which would go down in the Club's history as one of its best forward lines of all time. As a player-coach, he led Sporting to the quarter-finals of the European Cup, in what was then the club's best performance ever in UEFA's most important competition. 

-- Luis Figo also came from their academy. He played for them between 1989 and 1994.  He was firmly established as a star here.  His status as one of Europe's greatest ever wingers later in his career was a factor. Jesus Correia was the right winger of the famous forward line that became known as the Five Violins ,

-- Ricardo Quaresma made his debut with the first team a year earlier tha Cristano Ronaldo.  That season, Sporting CP won the Double.  Ronaldo made his debut a year later and played with him.  The pundits at the time actually considered him a better player than Ronaldo and projected a bright future for Sporting CP and Portugal with the pair on each side of the wing.  Quaresma never lived up to expectation after his departure. 

-- Cristiano Ronaldo was listed numerous times as Sporting CP's greatest player.  I think most of Sporting CP fans would want him to be on his team.  However, he only played 31 times for the first team scoring 5 goals. Paulo Futre also came from the academy, but he played only a single season before leaving for Porto.  So, I left both of them off the team.  

-- Fernando Peres was a left winger who was on Portugal's framed 1966 World Cup team, but he did not make an appearance in England.  So, I have to cut both Simão Sabrosa and Nani.  I have no space for Emmanuel Amunike. Instead, I took Albano Pereira,  He was a part of the famous forward line that became known as the Five Violins , but he also played in a transition phase of Joseph Szabo's great team in the 1950's.

Forwards

-- Fernando Peyroteo has established himself as the greatest scorer football has ever seen. He scored 331 times in just 197 games for Sporting, giving him a goal-to-game ratio of 1.68, the highest in football history.  Vasques was Peyroteo's lines mate and the third highest scorer in the club's history. 

-- Liedson led the club to the Final of 2004-2005 UEFA Cup Final. João Moutinho, Beto and Pedro Barbosa also played on that team, but he was a symbol of an era.

Liedson

-- Rui Jordão was Portugal Player of the Year in 1980.  He formied a fearsome duo with Manuel Fernandes while winning two National Championships, two Portuguese Cups and a Super Cup.  Manuel Fernandes is the second all-time leading scorer for Sporting CP.

-- Héctor Yazalde scored an impressive 104 goals in 118 official matches for Sporting CP. He was the top scorer in the Portuguese League during the 1973/74 season with a remarkable 46 goals, earning him the prestigious European Golden Boot that year.

-- Mario Jardel, on the other hand, netted 67 goals in just 62 official appearances for the club. The Brazilian striker was the league's top scorer in both seasons he played for Sporting CP and played a crucial role in securing the national championship in the 2001/02 season. However, his time at the club was relatively short. Despite both Yazalde and Jardel winning the European Golden Boot, only Yazalde earned legendary status at Sporting CP. Jardel, perhaps due to his prior association with FC Porto and his brief stint with the Lions, received only an honorable mention among the club’s all-time great strikers.  His deep association with FC Porto, where he was already considered a legend before joining Sporting, overshadowed his contributions in Lisbon. His time at the club, though brilliant, was too brief to rewrite his legacy.

-- Liedson presents an interesting contrast. Though he played a few matches for Porto late in his career, he is remembered solely as a Sporting CP icon. His long-term commitment and consistent performances for the Lions solidified his status, and fans often forget he ever wore Porto’s colors. In contrast, Jardel could never quite shake off the "Porto legend" label, which limited his place in Sporting's pantheon of greats.

-- I also looked in to Alberto Costa.

-- Francisco Stromp was a co-founding member of the Sporting Clube de Portugal.  he was one of their earliest star players.

-- At the time of writing, Viktor Gyökeres scored 68 goals in 66 games for Sporting CP.   In his two seasons for the club, he won both league titles  as well as being the top-scorer in the league.

Formation
4-3-3