TThere’s a welcome symmetry to Sunderland’s trip to Portugal to face Torreense in the Europa League on Thursday night. The club’s last competitive venture on European soil 53 years ago was for the FA Cup holders, then in the Second Division, in the second round of the European Cup Winners’ Cup against Sporting Lisbon in Lisbon.
In a surprising parallel, second-tier Torreense caused a wide surprise by defeating Sporting in the Portuguese Cup final last season. The prize was a place in the Europa League preliminary round and their chances of reaching next spring’s sudden death rounds increased when they beat Lillestrom 2-1 in Norway last month.
Torreense are struggling in the LigaPro in 15th place with 6 points after 7 games. They face a side who have made an incredible start to their Premier League campaign with a win against fellow strugglers Fulham.
Regis Le Bris is expected to rotate his squad with Sunday’s trip to eighth-placed Bournemouth, one place and one point below Sunderland. Even so, it would be a minor shock if Sunderland fail to land Torreense.
Torreense’s home ground, Estádio Manuel Marques in Torres Vedras, 31 miles north of Lisbon, holds 2,431 spectators, which UEFA dictates do not meet capacity rules. This led to the match being moved to the medieval city of Leiria, an hour’s drive north of Torres Vedras and around two hours from the luxury Logic hotel, where Sunderland had been unable to find suitable accommodation elsewhere.
Almost 4,000 Sunderland fans usually travel to the 23,888-capacity Estádio Dr Magalhães Pessoa, home of second-tier União Leiria. With a limited supply of local hotel rooms, some are staying in Lisbon or Porto, while others have found accommodation in nearby towns and villages, including Fátima. A city of many pilgrimages, Fátima is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the Catholic world, attracting more than six million tourists each year. As visitors to Wearside see the sights in bright sunshine and 25C forecast, they may be tempted to pray for a reprieve from the harsh north-east winter at the Stadium of Light.
While Sunderland have played well at times this season, their failure to sign a specialist right-back in the summer has led to Régis Le Bris often fielding two natural right-backs in Trai Hume and Thomas Meunier. Hamstring injuries to Brian Brobbey and Dan Ballard have caused problems at both ends of the pitch, and the previously reliable Robin Roefs has been subject to some unusual goaltending swings.
It requires context, though. Sunderland’s first six league games have been against the current top four – Manchester City, Arsenal, Brighton and Brentford. Nevertheless, if the next two domestic games – at Bournemouth and then at home to Leeds – fail to secure at least one win, the quiet anxiety will clearly turn to panic. There are also concerns that the £30m left-back, who is struggling to displace the erratic Nilsson Angulo, who was signed from Lyon on deadline day, may be too light for England’s top flight.
On Tuesday evening, Sunderland announced the departure of their manager, James Brayne, to be replaced by Thor Herdal. The 34-year-old comes from Nordsjælland, where he is head of dead balls and analysis. He also worked for the Danish national team.
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With Sunderland also traveling to Poland to face Lech Poznan next Thursday, minimizing travel and fatigue has become a priority. It explains why they will fly direct from Lisbon to Bournemouth on Friday.
Torreense isn’t just going to make up the numbers. Local residents returning to the club’s hometown are preparing for the annual national holiday on October 20. It commemorates the role played by the magnificent fortress and military defenses known as the Torres Vedras Lines, built in 1809-10, in the defense of Lisbon against French invaders during the Peninsular War. Torreense hopes to put up an equally strong resistance against a team led by a Frenchman and featuring many French-speaking players.
Sunderland have reason to be cautious with Torreense’s influential 38-year-old captain and left-back Stopira, who played for Cape Verde at this summer’s World Cup, and their talented playmaker João Marques and Ghanaian forward Malik Abubakari. The challenge for Sunderland is to use this latest burst of southern European warmth to revive a season in danger of falling apart.