 "2023 Kempa Super Cup: Sporting Aims to Break 10-Year Trophy Drought in Classic against FC Porto")
Clube de Alvalade has not won a competition for 10 years and the dragons won the competition in 2021, precisely against the lions; Benfica and Marítimo star in the other semi-final
The Santo Tirso Municipal Pavilion will host the 2023 Kempa Super Cup this weekend. Today, December 16th, Benfica and Marítimo cross paths in the first semi-final (3pm), while Sporting and FC Porto star in another classic and fight for the last place in the grand final (5.30pm).
The current leader (undefeated) of the championship with 42 points, the lions, are looking to lift the trophy that has eluded them for 10 years, with the last achievement being achieved precisely against the dragons, after victory by the minimum margin (35-36), already for beyond 60 minutes. In their history, the green and white teams have three Supercups. Pedro Portela, Fábio Magalhães and Rui Silva are the only players who have already won the competition with Clube de Alvalade, however, only the first still represents this team, while the other two wear the colors of the northern team.
This season, the only duel played between both teams, referring to the 11th round of the national league, fell to the side led by Ricardo Costa, once again with a difference of one goal (25-26), at Dragão Arena.
Salvador Salvador takes on extra motivation to win a trophy that has eluded Sporting for 10 years (FPA)
Salvador Salvador, Sporting full-back, highlighted the difficulty of the competition, but he does not feel extra pressure to lift a cup that has eluded his club for 10 years, he expresses, on the contrary, increased motivation also due to the good form in which the Lisbon team it presents.
«Victories obviously bring confidence, but we are on a weekend that has nothing to do with the championship, it is one game, at least two for whoever wins, which are completely different, whoever wins goes through. We are in a competition that is quite complicated to play. But it’s a different weekend, we have the ambition of lifting this trophy that has eluded Sporting for some time and, therefore, we are very motivated for the match”, he highlighted.
On the other side will be FC Porto, the club with the highest number of Super Cups in its history – eight – and with the last achievement dating back to 2021 where, interestingly, the blue and whites won the Final against Sporting, 29-34. .
Daymaro Salina wants to avoid mistakes made in the championship game (FPA)
Daymaro Salina, center and captain of FC Porto, recalled the defeat in the Championship game, but states that Porto’s ambition is to win the classic to fight to regain the trophy and confirm its record as the club with the most Super Cups.
«The league match didn’t go the way we wanted, we suffered our first defeat but each game has its own story. But we learned from the mistakes we made and I think we are prepared to face them tomorrow. All trophies are important for FC Porto and the objective is always to win them, which is why we are here to take it home. The four teams present here have a lot of quality and merit, I think it will be a weekend of high quality handball here in Santo Tirso », he concluded.
2023-12-16 00:00:00
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