Former Everton defender Nuno Valente believes the final pre-season friendly of the summer against Sporting CP will be a tough test for the Blues.
As well as playing 60 times for Everton under David Moyes, Valente also starred for Sporting after starting his career with the Lisbon-based outfit, and he is expecting them to provide stiff opposition at Goodison Park this Saturday 5 August (3pm KO).
“It will be a good game for both teams as part of their pre-season schedule,” he told evertonfc.com. “Sporting are very competitive and played well last season, and they have done for the past three or four years.
“There is a wave of optimism at the moment for the club and for their fans. Sporting will be under a bit of pressure this season because they need to win something.”
Sporting are coached by the highly-rated Ruben Amorim, who was just 36 when he steered the team to the 2020/21 Primeira Liga title. Valente is a big fan and subscribes to the notion that Amorim has a great future ahead of him, maybe even in England.
“He is young but he is very good,” he said. “Everyone was surprised when Amorim led Sporting to the Portuguese title and people were referring to him as ‘the next Mourinho’. Everyone appreciated the job he had done and the way he spoke and handled the media.
“I think in one or two years we could maybe see him in the English Premier League. The newspapers are saying that it could be one of his options.”
When it comes to the attributes of coaches, Valente certainly knows what he’s talking about. He won the Champions League under Jose Mourinho when they were together at Porto and, indeed, the man who would later manage Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, played a part in Valente coming to Everton in 2005.
“Mourinho was Chelsea at this time and David Moyes called him to talk about me,” the 33-cap Portugal international explained. “Mourinho said good things and then told me that Everton would make contact. I had a medical, with a lot of tests on my knee, and everything was okay, so I signed for Everton.”
As much as he would like to come to Goodison to watch two of his former clubs, Valente will be home in Portugal settling into his new role with the Primeira Liga.
“I have recently started as an ambassador for the Portuguese League. I enjoy it and it keeps me in contact with people involved in football, which is important for me,” he explained. “The role is to promote the League and not just the football - but also the work that gets done in the communities.”
Tickets for Everton v Sporting CP are now on general sale. To buy online, click here. Alternatively, call 0151 556 1878 or visit the Goodison Park box office.
