The restaurant A Tasquinha Do Logarto in Lisbon’s city centre has an unassuming entrance. But step inside and it is a hidden treasure trove.
A glass cabinet to the right contains footballs signed by Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes.
A Sporting CP shirt with Ronaldo’s signature adorns the wall, hung among signed cycling and rugby jerseys.
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And just opposite the cashier is a caricature of each member of the 2023-24 Primeira Liga-winning Sporting squad. On the bottom row, in the centre, a face with an infectious smile: their former head coach Ruben Amorim.
On a night when Amorim, now head coach of Manchester United, is 900km away in Bilbao for the Europa League final, every table in the restaurant is reserved for Sporting and Benfica fans, gathered to watch as United take on Tottenham Hotspur.
The Athletic takes a seat alongside them, as the local hero faces one of the hardest nights of his football life.
When Amorim left Sporting for United in November, 23-year-old Joao Rodrigues was “heartbroken”.
“It was the most painful feeling in my life — worse than when I broke up with my first girlfriend,” he tells The Athletic, minutes before the final starts. The dagger to the heart was Amorim leaving mid-season, despite having said he would stay until the end.
Caricatures on the wall of A Tasquinha Do Logarto in Lisbon (Charlotte Harpur)
The fans The Athletic spoke to were sad that Amorim left, perhaps bitter for a few days, but also grateful. They loved Amorim and still do. He was the “greatest manager in Sporting’s history” who “changed the club’s status”, according to Rodrigues. Despite the perceived betrayal, he says will always root for the Portuguese head coach, hence he is supporting United in the final.
Sporting and Benfica supporters are too caught up in their own rivalry to be truly invested in United’s defining game of the season — Sporting won the league last Sunday with new coach Rui Borges and will face Benfica in the final of the Taca de Portugal this Sunday — but the fans in the restaurant are drawn to United given Amorim is in charge, and by the club’s Portuguese link, including Ronaldo, Jose Mourinho, Fernandes, Nani and Diogo Dalot.
Although Amorim has not yet managed Benfica, it was his boyhood club and he played for them for six seasons. Benfica fans Goncalo Silva and Pedro Almeida were happy when Amorim left Sporting, as they felt it would benefit their team, and it seems they would not mind if United lost the final as Benfica fans still dream Amorim will come back to manage his boyhood club one day.
The thought of that is “our nightmare,” chips in Joao Caetano Costa, another Sporting fan. “A tough pill to swallow!” says his colleague Francisco Rodrigues, as they enjoy after-work drinks.
Fernando Santos, the 2016 European Championship-winning manager with Portugal, and Fulham head coach Marco Silva sometimes pop in to A Tasquinha Do Logarto for lunch. The restaurant’s co-owner, Ricardo Rodrigues, has become used to famous patrons and once took a call here from the United captain. His view of the final is that Amorim “has a lucky star”.
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“He wins against all odds,” he says. “I think he’s going to win because Tottenham don’t win any titles. It’s a historic fact.”
At the beginning of the first half, Rodrigues weaves in and out of tables taking orders. Soon, local dishes of cod and octopus are served. The atmosphere is far from tense, a convivial evening among friends who are curious about their former head coach’s fortunes. An eerie silence, however, cuts through the chatter when Brennan Johnson puts Spurs 1-0 up with a scrappy goal in the 42nd minute.
At half-time, Rodrigues puffs his cheeks before quickly returning to the kitchen. Another fan says: “It’s tough but you have to still believe”.
Memorabilia from Cristiano Ronaldo, who started his professional career at Sporting (Charlotte Harpur)
Leny Yoro’s chance in the 57th minute momentarily distracts customers from their steak, eggs, rice and chips while there are jeers in the 62nd minute when Spurs fail to make the most of their counter-attack.
“Eeeesh,” is the reaction to Rasmund Hojlund’s header being acrobatically cleared off the line by Micky van de Ven. Another Sporting fan, Joao Costa, puts his head in his hands as Alejandro Garnacho’s shot is parried wide.
“Manchester United don’t have a striker,” says Costa.
With seven minutes to go, the boys tuck into their desserts, a traditional Portuguese sponge cake, fuelling themselves for extra time.
Heads drop as Yoro’s shot goes way over the bar. United are pressing but cannot find a way through. Vicario saves Luke Shaw’s header in the 96th minute and time is running out. The final whistle blows.
Many of those present are sad and disappointed for Amorim and United. “Maybe he’ll come here!” says Silva, the Benfica fan. Rodrigues believes the club will give Amorim more time — patience is required, just like when he first started at Sporting.
Miguel Pinheiro, another Sporting fan, is less empathetic. “It’s quite funny, in a sarcastic way, to see Ruben losing. It’s good to see his losing face.”
A memorabilia cabinet in the restaurant (Charlotte Harpur)
Asked if he is bitter that Amorim left Sporting, Pinheiro replies: “There is a soft bitterness. Even when people leave, you can still win titles (referring to Sporting’s league triumph this year).
“He (Amorim) went to do something he wanted to do. He failed and we won. Funny days, right? I’m sorry to say, if it were my decision, I would sack him immediately. I’m only being rational.”
There is a magnetic pull from Portugal to United, and Amorim’s move to Manchester strengthened that connection. His fans before he made that journey are as intrigued as anyone to see what his future holds.
(Top photo: Inside A Tasquinha Do Logarto; by Charlotte Harpur)
