Tonel takes courage from Ibrox tonic
Friday, April 4, 2008
Article summary
Defender Tonel says Sporting Clube de Portugal can "reach the final of the UEFA Cup and win it" following
a gritty scoreless quarter-final first leg at Rangers FC.
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Cause for belief
The Portuguese club withstood heavy pressure at Ibrox to secure their fourth clean sheet in the competition this term, and centre-back Tonel is confident of progressing with victory in the return match at the Estádio José Alvalade next Thursday. "It would have been really great to have won, but we can be satisfied with a 0-0 because, at home, Rangers are a very good team," the Portugal centre-back told uefa.com. "We expected them to be strong and they were, but I felt we played well. It was a good result for us. Unfortunately, we never scored the away goal, but, in front of our own fans in the second game, we believe we will go through."
Final target
Sporting face SC Braga on Sunday as they bid to claw their way back into the top three in the Portuguese Liga. However, with the Lions 20 points adrift of leaders FC Porto, Tonel admitted success in Europe is now the Lisbon club's main objective. "Our aim is to reach the final of the UEFA Cup and to win it," he added. "We think we can do it, although the tie against Rangers is not over and we know we must be cautious. Hopefully our fans can back us the way the Scottish fans supported their side in the second match because, at this moment, it is 50-50. Next, we must concentrate on our upcoming match in the Portuguese championship and, after that, we can really focus on Europe again."
Test of maturity
Much of Sporting's current side has been drawn from the club's illustrious youth academy, whose renowned exports include the likes of Luís Figo and, more recently, Manchester United FC pair Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani. And 27-year-old Tonel, already a veteran member of Paulo Bento's side, praised the new crop of youngsters after watching them prosper in the intimidating surroundings of Ibrox: "We have many young players in the team between 19 and 23 years old, and I was particularly impressed with how they performed in this atmosphere in Glasgow. To play as they did in such a difficult match gives us real confidence for the future."
