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Added to the imbalance of other young players' mentalities and their premature association with Inter Milan, Sporting Lisbon actually faced the rare occurrence of three consecutive winless matches!
This included two losses.
At one point, their position as leaders in the Primeira Liga was even overtaken by Porto.
After the winter break, it seemed like everything had changed.
Sporting Lisbon, once hopeful for the Primeira Liga crown, now seemed to have fallen off a cliff.
Let's not even mention the championship.
If they fell out of the top four, the fans wouldn't be surprised.
For a time, the media also started causing trouble, not giving Sporting Lisbon a moment to breathe.
"Quaresma Spends the Night with a Model, the Portuguese's Mind Clearly Not on the Game!"
"Viana's Persistent Minor Injuries, Players' Mindset No Longer Composed, On-Field Performance Declines!"
"Drogba's Scoring Efficiency Remains Low, Jokingly Referred to by Italian Fans as the Reverse Vieri!"
