Sporting's Bento eager to win the Liga

First-night defeat
Bento's team kicked off Group C with a 3-1 defeat at FC Barcelona but will be unfazed by the visit of FC Basel 1893 on Matchday 2. However, if the coach is adamant he would love to reach the knockout rounds for the first time, his priority remains ending Sporting's seven-year wait for a Portuguese title. Balancing the demands of the two competitions is the task at hand.

Different demands
"They're difficult competitions," Bento told uefa.com. "One demands a lot of consistency as there are 30 Liga matches. The other has two phases. You need consistency over the six group-stage games, and from there it is home-and-away ties where things tend to go a bit differently. For those kind of games you have to change strategy and play every game differently. But the big objective for Sporting this year, as in previous years, is the league."

Back on top
A 2-0 home win over CF Os Belenenses on 20 September gave Sporting top spot in the league, albeit alongside CD Nacional, for the first time since the 16th round of the 2004/05 campaign – an absence of 1,349 days. Hence the promise of better things at the José Alvalade. The club managed to retain their top players, João Moutinho and Miguel Veloso, over the summer while being reinforced by Marco Caneira, Fábio Rochemback and Hélder Postiga. Sporting, Liga runners-up for the last three seasons, may be more equipped than ever to challenge. "Sporting have an identity to our game, and over the last two seasons in the Champions League we have left a good impression," Bento said. "Sporting have a chance to reach [the knockout stage] this year, partly because, apart from having the ability, teams at this level also need experience."

From interview with David Lemos at the UEFA Elite Coaches Forum.