Portugal Football - Lisbon's Obsession with SoccerPortugal Football. This small country is crazy about football and Lisbon is a football obsessed city. This page covers the Lisbon teams particularly Benfica and Sporting. For information on the Portuguese National Football team see
Portugal Football Team
The Portuguese love football with a passion, no other sport has the same appeal. Both sexes are enthusiastic fans and go to games. Benfica have the most members of any team in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records. Every weekend fans of all classes head off to the stadiums or huddle in front of bar room TVs to watch the games. Benfica and Sporting share the limelight in Lisbon Soccer with huge city fan bases. Poorer cousins Belenenses in the Belem district are somewhat overshadowed. Belenenses lose more often than they win but the fans are compensated by wonderful views to the historical monuments and the river ! They once beat Barcelona here, a moment the fans rarely forget. Whichever team you choose, a trip to see a Lisbon team is bound to be full of excitement and surprises. Benfica
Benfica are the romantic heroes of Portugal Football. They are the biggest team in the country in terms of fans and are supported fanatically from the Minho to the Algarve, well beyond Lisbon. Their strip is similar to Manchester United and they also have a glorious history. They scraped a title in 2005 but have often been incapable of stopping arch rivals Porto from winning the league. Now with a new dynamic manager and a new attacking style fans are beginning to dream again. The real glory days of Benfica were in the years Eusebio played. He is now a Portuguese national hero but in 1960 Eusebio was an unknown Mocambican with a fantastic ability to score goals. With Eusebio up front, Benfica dominated Portuguese football, and won two European Cups. He was also one of the most elegant footballers to watch and Benfica still have a reputation for playing attractive football. Their players are also particularly dashing. Some fans say that they are more concerned with their hairstyles than scoring goals !
Benfica and Sporting, now city rivals, were once the same team. Set up by an Anglophile Cosme Damiao, who became the club captain.Benfica were well educated and middle class, wearing red shirts with the motto "one for all". The symbol of Benfica is the Eagle. They now play in a fantastic new stadium which was constructed when Portugal hosted the Euro 2004. The Stadium of Light is a major landmark in the North West of the city just off the ring road close to Monsanto Park and Columbo Shopping Centre. A fantastic structure of intertwined red girders. The tube station Alto dos Moinhos is close by. There are guided tours of the Benfica Stadium which are especially popular with younger fans of the game. See Lisbon kids for more Lisbon Sporting
Portugal Football - Sporting Lisbon - the most central lisbon team. Less well known in the world beyond Portugal, they can claim a major influence on the world stage. Through their youth development programme they have given the world many exciting players including Luis Figo and Cristian Ronaldo and Nani who have played for Real Madrid and Manchester United . Ronaldo was transferred from United to Madrid in Summer 2009 - the highest ever transfer deal worth 80 million pounds, 90 million Euros - 130 million dollars. Jose Mourinho was also manager here and is remembered fondly by the fans. He started as translator for Bobby Robson who was also a successful Sporting manager! The club was originally a break away group from Benfica supported by Viscount of Alvalade, a local aristocratic landowner. They are based in the Alvalade area of the city just next to Campo Grande metro near the University and Aiport. The most central of Lisbon's clubs and the easiest to get to.The best years of Sporting were in the early days of the Portuguese Soccer League just after the second world war. They won the title year after year in the forties and fifties. They also won in 99/2000 and 2001/2. They had a good run in 2008/9 with a run of victories. Their fans are ever hopeful. Lisbon Derby GamesPortugal Football - Derby matches between Benfica and Sporting electrify Lisbon. There is a buzz and a nervousness in the preceding weeks. Demand for tickets is sky high and the city transport system is stretched to accommodate the fans. Those who can not get to the game arrange their schedule to ensure they are in front of the screen at the right time. Families are divided. The day after arguments rage. As in the 2008 cup final when Benfica scraped by with a disputed goal which horrified Sporting fans. In the bars there was talk of little else for days. Then in the league a similar disputed goal gave the spoils to Sporting.Referees have a hard time in Portugal some fans are always angry with their decisions and are not afraid to express their opinions. Benfica have won more Derby games than Sporting over the years and form would suggest they should win this season but the game will be as eagerly awaited as ever and the temperature just as high. Portugal Football - always passion and drama ! The Portuguese Football TeamThe National team unites all Lisbon football supporters. the games are often played at the Lisbon stadiums. The team recently beat Bosnia 1-0 at the Benfica Stadium of Light and will play the return game in Bosnia Wednesday November 18. It is a narrow margin but the Portuguese will be hoping for at least a draw in Bosnia to ensure a place in the World Cup. The continuing absence of Ronaldo will make the Portugal Football team more nervous than usual going into this crucial game Portugal Football Team it is a fascinating story and with the World Cup play offs ahead there is plenty of excitement to come. Portugal Football top Enjoying Lisbon Lisbon Kids Lisbon Sights
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