S.L. Benfica
| Logo | |||
| Full name | Sport Lisboa e Benfica | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Águias (Eagles) O Glorioso (Glorious One) | ||
| Founded | 1904 | ||
| Ground | Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal (Stadium of Light) | ||
| Capacity | 65,647 | ||
| Chairman | Luís Filipe Vieira | ||
| Manager |  Ronald Koeman | ||
| League | SuperLiga | ||
| 2004-05 | SuperLiga, 1st | ||
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Sport Lisboa e Benfica (commonly referred to as simply Benfica, SL Benfica or Benfica Lisbon; pron. IPA /spɔɾ liʒ.'βo.ɐ i bɐ̃j̃.'fi.kɐ/) is a comprehensive sports club based in Lisbon, Portugal. It is notably renowned for its football branch, which is its most popular department. Benfica was founded in 1904 as Sport Lisboa, but underwent a name change in 1908 after merging with Sport Club de Benfica. It is also known to its fans by the nickname "Glorioso" (Glorious), because it's probably Portugal's best football team.
Benfica was one of Europe's first powerhouses, and was the first team to break Real Madrid's dominance in the early European Champions Cup. Having won two European Cups in a row (1961 and 1962), the Lisbon club never managed to win a European trophy again, despite losing several ECC finals to A.C. Milan (1963 and 1989), Internazionale (1965), Manchester United (1968) and PSV (1988), plus a UEFA Cup in 1982 (Anderlecht). In 1968, it was considered the best European Team by France Football. Many of its successes in the 1960s were with all-time football great Eusébio in the side.
During the 1970s, the team faded slightly from the European scene, but remained the main force inside the Portuguese football scene. However, financial problems began undermining the club. In the 1980s the board decided to close the third level in the Estádio da Luz, and a questionable signing policy (which included squads composed of well over 30 players, signing players for hefty sums without any sporting or financial return, and signing fading Portuguese star Futre in the early 1990s), resulted in several problems in the years ahead.
Recently, the club has managed to regain some of its sporting and financial prowess and, after an 11 year drought, won the 2004/05 Superliga, a victory which set off worldwide celebrations.
Benfica play their home games in the new Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica (unofficially "Estádio da Luz", literally the stadium of light , also called "A Catedral" meaning the cathedral) - which is partly built on top of the old stadium grounds -, one of Europe's largest sporting stadiums and host of the Euro 2004 final. They are Portugal's internal most decorated football team, having won 31 domestic league titles (44 percent of Portuguese national titles), 24 Portuguese Cups, and the second most decorated Portuguese team abroad having two European Cups. It is the most popular and supported sports club in Portugal.
It is said to be the only Club in the world whose official anthem is sung by a tenor (Luis Piçarra), and a musician/maestro (Antonio Vitorino d'Almeida) has recently written a symphony to commemorate the club's first 100 years.
As club oriented to multiple sports, Benfica also fields teams in basketball, roller hockey, indoor football (futsal), volleyball, handball, water polo, rugby and an athletics team. In total, Benfica have won 12 international titles: 2 in football (two European Cups - 60/61 and 61/62); one in roller hockey (CERS Cup - 90/91); 4 in rugby (3 Iberian Cup + 1 Torneio Ibérico) and 5 in athletics (Athletics European Cup).
Symbols
The color red has a strong association with the team.
The emblem comprises the following items:
- A shield with the team colors red and white.
- In the middle the acronym SLB for Sport Lisboa e Benfica, above a soccer ball, the main club activity
- Behind a bicycle wheel, original taken from Sport Club de Benfica (one of the founding clubs)
- The eagle, club's most important and well-known symbol
- E Pluribus Unum, the club motto From many, one - an expression of unity
SL Benfica's major rivals are FC Porto and Sporting Clube de Portugal. The three are the most successful and profitable clubs in Portugal, and generally accepted as the reigning powerhouses.
Current Football Squad (2005/06 season)
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Team honours
SL Benfica, the most successful club in the history of the game in Portugal, was one of the leading teams in Europe at 1960s.
- European Cup of Champions: 2
- 1960/61, 1961/62.
- Portuguese Championship (I Divisão, I Liga, Superliga): 31
- 1935/36, 1936/37, 1937/38, 1941/42, 1942/43, 1944/45, 1949/50, 1954/55, 1956/57, 1959/60, 1960/61, 1962/63, 1963/64, 1964/65, 1966/67, 1967/68, 1968/69, 1970/71, 1971/72, 1972/73, 1974/75, 1975/76, 1976/77, 1980/81, 1982/83, 1983/84, 1986/87, 1988/89, 1990/91, 1993/94, 2004/05.
- Portuguese Cup: 24
- 1939/40, 1942/43, 1943/44, 1948/49, 1950/51, 1951/52, 1952/53, 1954/55, 1956/57, 1958/59, 1961/62, 1963/64, 1968/69, 1969/70, 1971/72, 1979/80, 1980/81, 1982/83, 1984/85, 1985/86, 1986/87, 1992/93, 1995/96, 2003/04.
- Portuguese Championship (between 1921/22 and 1937/38): 3
- 1929/30, 1930/31, 1934/35.
Noted players
Coaches
Former Benfica's football team coaches include:
External link
- UNOFFICIAL - SL Benfica Website
- UNOFFICIAL - SL Benfica Website in English
- UNOFFICIAL - SL Benfica Website in German
- All Football results since 1906/07
- SL Benfica Supporters:
- SL Benfica Humor Page:
Fans
Fans of SL Benfica are called Benfiquistas, but are also often referred by other teams supporters as Lampiões. Benfiquistas claim 6 million of Portuguese natives are Lampiões, but this number is not verified. The number on fans abroad also isn't known, but Benfica is known to have large support overseas, especially in former portuguese colonies Angola and Moçambique.
Since their 2004-2005 championship, club membership figures have seen a significant increase.
Template:Champions League 2005/06
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