Sporting CP appoint Silas as new head coach

Sporting CP have appointed former Portugal midfielder Silas as their new coach following the dismissal of Marcel Keizer earlier this month.

Dutchman Keizer was cut loose on September 3 after Sporting won only two of their first five matches of the season across all competitions, a run that included a humiliating 5-0 loss to bitter rivals Benfica in the Super Cup.

Leonel Pontes stepped in as interim coach, though he failed to win any of his four games at the helm, losing three.

Everton's Marco Silva had been linked with the vacancy, but it is Silas who will take over, returning to work having been sacked by Belenenses SAD the day after Keizer lost his job.

The 43-year-old had been appointed by Belenenses SAD ahead of their first ever season existing as a separate entity following last year's acrimonious split from historic club Belenenses, who were forced to start again in a regional Lisbon league as a result of the contractual dispute.

Silas guided the SAD club to a respectable ninth-place finish in the Primeira Liga last term, but he was shown the exit after they failed to score a single goal in their opening four games of the 2019-20 season.

His first match in charge of Sporting - for whom he played as a youngster - will be at Desportivo Aves on Monday.

Silas told Sporting's website: "I'm very happy and even surprised because I left a club so recently and did not think I would receive an invitation from Sporting CP, but here we are. Everything has gone so fast in my career."