Tonel: We've No Sporting Sporting Chance With Penalties

Apr 6 2008 By Gavin Berry

SPORTING star Tonel has admitted his side are dreading a UEFA Cup penalty shoot-out with Rangers.

Paulo Bento's men have missed 11 out of 24 spot-kicks this season and crashed to a League Cup Final defeat at the hands of Vitoria Setubal after a 0-0 draw.

Now, with their UEFA Cup quarter-final evenly poised following a scoreless draw at Ibrox, the Sporting players are desperate to avoid another shoot-out.

And stopper Tonel has his own reasons for not wanting to take on Rangers from the spot after being part of the Maritimo side beaten at Ibrox on penalties in the UEFA Cup four years ago.

He said: "How can you trust penalties? It's down to luck - and we don't have any.

"In training we score nine out of 10 but in a game it's different.

"It has become a mental problem - a psychological barrier. When you miss one then two by the time you take a third you can't be 100 per cent confident of scoring.

"After what happened when I played against Rangers for Maritimo I want to make sure history doesn't repeat itself.

"I can't remember EVER winning a shoot-out and against Rangers I didn't take a spot-kick because I'd injured my knee.

"I won't be volunteering to take a penalty this time. I'm no good at them."

Boss Bento is well aware of his side's problem but insists there's nothing more he can do. He said: "Look at England at Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup. I don't believe Sven-Goran Eriksson didn't prepare his players for penalties yet look at the problems they had. I don't believe penalties are something you can coach."

Tonel would rather look at the positives ahead of Thursday's return.

The defender has already beaten Rangers on Portuguese soil and now has his sights set on a repeat.

He said: "I beat them 1-0 with Maritimo and if I can do it again I will be in the semifinal of the UEFA Cup.

"I remember Maritimo's game at Ibrox well because of my knee problem.

"Unfortunately, Dado Prso scored with 20 minutes left and it went to penalties.

"Rangers are similar to the side I played against four years ago but Sporting are stronger than Maritimo.

"I prefer to remember the game in Madeira when we won. I was marking Prso that night but Jean-Claude Darcheville is a different type of striker. He is faster and likes the ball played to his feet.

"Prso is one of the best strikers I have played against but the toughest is Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Inter Milan.

"Rangers tried to play football in the first leg with Sporting but when they had a problem they played the ball up to Lee McCulloch who was good in the air.

"That wasn't surprising because we spoke about the tactics Rangers would employ. We have scored in Rome and at Old Trafford this season but it's not surprising we didn't net at Ibrox because Rangers are strong at home."

Tonel (right) insists Sporting's fans must be patient this week and said: "I hope they stay with us for 90 minutes.

"I want them to be like the Rangers supporters who were fantastic.

"I like British fans and if I was offered the chance to play in the UK I would take it. But for now I'm happy at Sporting."