Sure it wasn’t easy, but it was certainly successful. When Pablo Sarabia decided last summer to leave PSG and join Sporting Portugal on loan, many thought he was taking a step backwards in his career. Nothing is further from reality. What the Madrid winger did with that move was to keep his options intact to go to the next World Cup in Qatar 2022 and not fall off Luis Enrique’s lists due to lack of minutes. The signing of Messi by PSG and the overbooking of offensive stars in the Parisian team closed the doors of the eleven, something vital for a player with World Cup aspirations. In Lisbon, Sarabia is indisputable in a team that, after winning the Liga NOS last season, aspired to everything in Portugal and played in the Champions League.
Amorim’s project, a very young and promising sportinguista coach, benefited him. Sporting are a solid team at the back who like to be vertical and use the flanks to get to the opponent’s box. His style, so to speak, is similar to the one that has been implanted in Sevilla for years, the team where Sarabia has achieved the most and most successes throughout his career. So much so that in his first season in Portugal, Sarabia is already very close to making the same numbers that he achieved in his best season at Sánchez-Pizjuán, in 2018-19. In that course, the winger scored 23 goals in 52 games. So far this season, Sarabia has scored 15 goals in 40, plus another five goals that he has accumulated in four games with the National Team. Some numbers that have made him Sporting’s top scorer to date, with a goal more than Paulinho and Pedro Gonçalvezhis usual partners in Amorim’s offensive trident.
To all this, we must also add its direct relevance in achieving this year’s Taça de la Liga. The former Sevilla, Getafe and Real Madrid left-hander scored in both the semifinals and the final against Benfica, in this case a goal that ended up winning the title and being recognized as MVP of the final.
This week, Sporting plays the Lisbon derby against Benfica. If he wins, Amorim’s men will practically guarantee their qualification for the next Champions League and will continue to have options to fight for the league title. They are second six points behind Porto, whose calendar is more difficult (they have to visit Braga and Benfica) with five games to go. If he succeeds, there is no doubt that Pablo Sarabia will be named Portugal’s player of the year, an award for which he is already the clear favourite.