Francisco Trincao’s first ever senior hat-trick, according to Sporting Lisbon coach Ruben Amorim, was not the result of any ground-breaking man management.
It was not the result of some inspired tactical shift.
It was, Amorim argues, simply a footballer finding confidence in consistency. The by-product of a man who has represented four different clubs in the last three years – Braga, Barcelona, Wolves and now Sporting – finally settling down and benefitting from a sustained run of starts.
“He scored on the first attack,” Amorim tells Mais Futebol; Trincao netting the first of his three goals inside a minute of Sporting’s 4-3 Primeira Liga victory over Casa Pia.
“When I talk about unlocking (your potential), it’s much more than that. It’s a sequence of games. Trincao, since leaving Braga, has not stayed anywhere.
“It’s impossible for someone to develop like that. He has found his home here, it’s going to be much better in the future. There’s a lot to improve. Today was very important.”
Former Wolves man Francisco Trincao shining at Sporting
If Trincao’s early opener was a rareity – a seldom-seen right-footed finish from the left-footed winger – his second just before the break was more in line with tradition; the former Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee cutting inside and curling, Arjen Robben-like, into the far corner. The sort of finish reminiscent of those early-career Lionel Messi comparisons.
Trincao’s volleyed third, meanwhile, took his tally to 11 for the campaign. This is the first time the Portugal international has ever hit double figures in a single season. A massive improvement upon his tally of three from 2021/22 at Molineux.
Wolves opted not to trigger the £25 million option-to-buy clause in Trincao’s contract following his underwhelming loan spell in England. But, after Barcelona lowered their demands considerably, there appears to be a very real chance that Trincao will still be wearing the green-and-white of Sporting next term.
A departure from Barcelona at last?
According to Sport, the Portuguese giants need only pay a further £6 million this summer to turn the 23-year-old’s latest short-term deal into a permanent transfer. And with Amorim insisting that Trincao needs somewhere to call home after three years of sofa-hopping, more Man of the Match performances like Sunday’s in Lisbon could be on the way.
“Sports performance depends on a series of factors,” sports psychologist Jorge Silverio tells Record. “And one of them is the psychological factor. Constant changes always bring uncertainty which, together with the tactical schemes and the idea of the game that change from coach to coach, makes a good adaptation more difficult.
“When (Trincao) spends time at the same club, as is happening at Sporting, quality reappears. When the coach knows the players well, it is easier to get performance out of them.”
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