But soon, Maxa publicly stated: "Mr. Trigueira was my mentor during my youth academy days. His appointment as head coach of the club's first team reflects the wishes of all of us."
"I'm the first to raise my hand in support!"
"I'm willing to fully support Mr. Trigueira as his assistant coach at Sporting Lisbon!"
This wave of teacher-student loyalty left everyone stunned.
He clearly has the stronger ability, yet he's willing to step aside just because the other man once guided him.
How long has this kind of respect for teachers, elders, and juniors disappeared in European football?
This… is humanity shining!
"The Light of European Humanity — Maxa!"
"Top coaches can positively impact a team, whether they're the head coach or not!"
"It doesn't matter who the head coach is. What matters is that Maxa is still here!"
"A huge gift from Maxa to Trigueira — Quaresma expresses his willingness to stay!"
"Quaresma: Both Trigueira and Maxa are my teachers. They helped me grow at different stages of my career. I'm very happy to continue working with them! I don't necessarily have to go to Barcelona. I hope more teams will recognize my ability in the future!"
Honestly, if Quaresma stays, the fans are basically satisfied.
Although the club claimed it would invest €10 million in the transfer window…
Quaresma alone is worth nearly that much. If he doesn't leave, the club effectively earns less than €10 million.
If things end like this, Sporting Lisbon fans would be quite content.
However…
Trigueira didn't see it that way.
He had previously discussed team structure and ceiling limits with Kai when analyzing Moreirense.
Sporting Lisbon's framework is only mid-table level in the Primeira Liga.
Even with a few big-money signings and some well-known players—like Schmeichel—it wouldn't fundamentally improve the team.
If you want real results, you have to tear everything down and rebuild!
And then…
"Sporting Lisbon sells Abel for €2.5 million. Why is Trigueira offloading quality assets so cheaply? After two more years of development, Abel's value could easily double!"
"Selling starting midfielder Delfim for €1.5 million—what the hell is Trigueira thinking?"
"Selling Jorge for €3 million—one of the best left-backs in Sporting Lisbon history! How dare he?!"
"Three players sold in a package for €1 million. Fans feel cheated. Are Sporting Lisbon even planning to sign anyone this summer?"
"Trigueira officially announces: In the new season, we will build a new framework centered around young players such as Quaresma, Hugo Viana, Kai, and Cristiano Ronaldo! Sporting Lisbon needs a youth storm! Only in this way can we break Porto and Benfica's monopoly over the league!"
"Maxa: Without destruction, there can be no construction. If we want better results, we must endure this pain. I believe Mr. Trigueira will provide strong support to the team!"
"A Bola: Trigueira's idea is good, but he ignores one thing—the Portuguese league is only second-tier. Even with money, it's hard to attract stars. And Sporting Lisbon isn't exactly rich!"
Sporting Lisbon's player sales sparked heated debate across the league.
Looking at last season's squad, the problem is obvious: serious aging.
Of the eight players who made over 30 appearances, six were over 30 years old.
Most of the remaining regular substitutes were over 26.
That's Sporting Lisbon's dilemma.
Without these veterans, results would only get worse.
But if you want better and more stable players, you have to spend big money.
And players of that level are already stars.
Among Portugal's "Big Three," Porto is the club most willing to spend—and they've won three consecutive league titles.
If others want to surpass them, they need even more money.
And money alone isn't enough.
As A Bola pointed out, leagues like Portugal's Primeira Liga or the Eredivisie are attractive to young players—but not to established stars.
Given the choice, no one would pick this league… unless they're Portuguese and want to return home.
Even Record, usually supportive of Trigueira, opened a column criticizing his summer decisions.
In that column, Jiang Yunzhu analyzed Trigueira's biggest challenge:
"A youth storm is not impossible—especially with Quaresma staying, Hugo Viana recovering, and Kai and Cristiano Ronaldo returning."
Fonte: "I'm used to not being included in your conversations."
Jiang Yunzhu: "But a youth storm requires one key condition—fans must see hope. At the same time, there must be experienced veterans to guide the young players and teach them things that only time can provide."
"To win over the fans, you need heavyweight signings."
"To solve the experience issue, you need veterans. Right now, only Schmeichel meets that requirement—but he joined just last season, and…"
"After suffering a heavy blow in the European Championship, Schmeichel is already considering retirement. One of Trigueira's key tasks is to convince him to stay. Otherwise, things will get even worse."
"Trigueira's approach is extremely radical. He's trying to cut through the mess quickly. Of course, it's for the good of Sporting Lisbon—but such an aggressive method is hard for people to accept."
"If these issues aren't resolved, he may be dismissed before the new season even begins. After all, everyone knows Maxa has the ability to lead Sporting Lisbon to success."
Sporting Lisbon's situation was a complete mess.
But Trigueira remained calm and methodical.
He signed João Pinto, a member of Portugal's golden generation, from Benfica for €2.4 million.
Fans could see that Trigueira hoped Pinto would bring experience to the squad—but one veteran was far from enough.
Soon after, Trigueira brought in another "leftover" from the golden generation—Paulo Bento—from Real Oviedo in Spain's second division, via a player exchange deal.
Yes, that same Paulo Bento—the one who tried to snatch a referee's red card during the European Championship and got heavily punished. The future South Korea national team coach.
"Is Trigueira trying to assemble Portugal's golden generation? If he can pull that off, fans might actually be satisfied."
"First of all, Figo is impossible. €60 million—even if Sporting could afford it, he wouldn't come back."
"Rui Costa? No chance. Even if he wanted to return, fans wouldn't allow him to waste himself here."
"Sérgio Conceição? Also not happening."
After breaking it down, fans realized…
These two signings might be the only realistic options from that golden generation.
Are you seriously trying to fool us with just two puzzle pieces?
No way!
Some impatient Sporting Lisbon fans, encouraged by former executives, began criticizing Trigueira.
However, no one noticed that Maxa—the man widely seen as Trigueira's successor—was not even in Portugal during this time.
…
England, Buckinghamshire, Duke's Hotel.
Maxa stood outside the door, taking a deep breath to calm himself.
He never imagined that one day he would sit under the same roof as Zidane, Figo, Beckham, Matthäus, Deschamps, Guardiola, and other stars—
Discussing the future of football.
Everyone sharing their own views.
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