Player Analysis: Pedro 'Pote' Gonçalves

History is unfolding in Portugal. Sporting Clube de Portugal are on track to seal their first league title in 19 years and put an end to Benfica and Porto's duopoly. Whilst the Leões came close to winning the Primeira in 2015/16 under the management of Jorge Jesus, they fell two points short as Rui Vitória's Benfica clinched their third consecutive championship.

Since then, things started to get worse. The team wasn't playing well and the fans were unhappy. In 2018, a group of ultras invaded the academy and attacked the players. In 2018, Frederico Varandas was elected president, but things didn´t get much easier. There still was a lot of contestation against the board and also against the team.

The club even won a couple of cups (1 Portuguese Cup and 1 League Cup) but it would be Rúben Amorim appointment that would make things better. The ex-Portuguese international took the 1st team manager role in 2020, with Sporting paying €10 million to Braga. 

This year, things are going really well. Sporting are 1st with a 9-point advantage (before gameweek 22 was played) and, although Rúben still doesn´t admit they´re in a good position to win the league, the media and the fans are predicting that the 19 years drought will end soon. Many players are performing in a really good level and showing themselves to the football world. One of those players is Pedro Gonçalves, also known as Pote.