In fact,
one of the main reasons for Benfica’s incomparable popularity in its home
country are its achievements since the club’s early years. The “reds” are the
ones who won most championships (34) and Portuguese cups (25), they are the
Portuguese club playing the highest number of finals of European competitions (Ten
– seven Champions League and three Europa League) and the only one to have triumphed
in two consecutive Champions Leagues (1961; 1962) and to have conquered the
Latin Cup (1950), considered to be the predecessor of the Champions League.
In the most
comprehensive study about Portuguese society (published in 2002), 50.3% of the respondents
stated that they are Benfica fans, while F.C. Porto (23.1%) and Sporting Lisbon
(22.5%) occupied the runner up positions. Another interesting fact highlighted
in this study is the insignificance of age, regional or social and economic
factors when it comes to Benfica’s popularity. In other studies, the relative
values changed; however, the comparison between Benfica and its two main rivals
is constant: Benfica has more fans than F.C. Porto and Sporting Lisbon taken
together.
With this
information in mind, a less watchful observer might link Benfica’s greatness to
the 1960s. The team of this glorious decade is considered to be amongst the
best teams ever, for reaching five Champions League finals and winning two of
them, and also for Eusébio. The “black panther”, one of the best footballers
ever, is Benfica’s biggest figure and the only one honoured with a statue on the
premises of the “Estádio da Luz”. In fifteen seasons, he celebrated eleven national
championships and scored 638 goals in 614 games.
However, in
1961, when Benfica beat Barcelona (3-2) in the Champions League final, Eusébio
was still in the early stages of his career and didn’t play in any of the games
of that year’s competition. In that season, Benfica won its eleventh championship,
holding the record for the most titles. And, at the time, the capacity of Benfica’s
stadium was already 70,000. So, we have to go back further still to understand the
origins of Benfica’s popularity.
In the
beginning of the twentieth century, enthusiasm for football was on the rise in
Portugal. Belém was, at the time, one of the youngest and most populated
neighbourhoods. It also had the city’s then biggest teaching institute, which
was geared towards accommodating orphaned children and preparing them for
adulthood. From the shared will of many young men of that area of Lisbon to
play football, Benfica was born. All enthusiasts were welcomed and integrated
into the club, causing it to grow rapidly; while at the same time, it preserved
an important premise: all athletes had to be Portuguese, Benfica being one of
the few clubs that did not accept foreigners into their squads (Jorge Gomes,
Brazilian, was, in 1979, Benfica’s first foreign player).
At the time
of Benfica’s foundation, the team of Carcavellos, made up exclusively of British
players who worked on the Submarine Cable, had long been invincible. In 1907,
after a nine-year English domination, it finally fell to Benfica to defeat them.
This triumph had a significant impact on football fans, not only for the
achievement itself, but also because, among the Portuguese, a sense of outrage prevailed
towards the British. The "British Ultimatum" of 1890, where the UK
urged Portugal to abandon the territories between its colonies of Angola and
Mozambique, had caused anger which now found an outlet in football.
In the
following years, the club, which had already moved to another major Lisbon
neighbourhood, Benfica, became the most successful one, winning eight Regional
Championships (the most important competition in this period) in eleven seasons
between 1909 and 1920, and establishing itself as the main promoter of football
(and other sports) in Portugal. Since that time, Benfica focused efforts on its
growth. It participated regularly in matches in regions distant from Lisbon: for
instance, it was the first Continental Portuguese club to travel to the astonishing
island of Madeira and was the first Lisbon club to play in Oporto. It also opened
an office in downtown Lisbon to better serve its members, started publishing a
weekly newspaper in 1913 and established delegations around the country,
including in the former African colonies.
In 1925, Benfica
inaugurated its first own stadium, the Amoreiras stadium. It was situated
between two of Lisbon's most populous districts in the first half of the last
century, in which predominated the working classes. The following year saw the
"National Revolution", the movement that led to the dictatorship that
ruled Portugal until 1974. However, Benfica did not let itself be influenced by
the political situation in the country, never ceasing to hold free and democratic
elections for its board, and it was one of the few Portuguese institutions, if
not the only one, to do so in this period. Although Benfica’s democratic stance
was not meant to antagonize the political regime (or the opposite, as a matter
of fact: the principle was that of non-interference in political life), there
were some political events that did contribute to Benfica’s massive popularity.
First of
all, this was the expropriation of the Amoreiras stadium by the State (1941),
which forced the club to look for a new location. Further, the anthem of the
club was censored due to its title because it included the word "Avante"
(“forward” in English), which, then as now, carried Communist connotations.
Later, it was common for protesters to use Benfica’s red flags in political
protests against the dictatorial regime. Moreover, it was in the decade of the
five Champions League finals, the 1960s, that the largest wave of Portuguese
emigration took place, which meant that, for hundreds of thousands of
Portuguese who sought better living conditions abroad, Benfica often was the
only link to Portugal.
Furthermore,
Benfica was the first club having a black player amongst its shining stars in a
Portuguese society still reluctant to integrate black people. Espírito Santo
(1936-1950, 199 goals in 285 games) is considered one of Benfica’s best players
ever. The club’s openminded approach was also reflected in the origin of the
players, which resulted in a strong connection to the former colonies. Out of
the many examples that could be given, José Águas, captain of the two Champions
League victories and Benfica’s second best goalscorer, was born in Angola. Mário
Coluna, "the captain of captains" was born in Mozambique. So was
Nené, who is the player with most games for Benfica (802) on record. And of
course, the "king" Eusébio, who joined Benfica at the age of 18, from
Mozambique.
António
Lobo Antunes, one of the country’s major writers, often says that in the
colonial war, Benfica's games were the occasion for a temporary truce. On each
side of the barricade, all followed the matches closely, replacing the weapons with
radios and listening to the reports of the achievements of Eusébio and his
teammates.
All these
facts and events contributed to an estimated 14.5 million supporters, including
the former colonies and Portuguese communities throughout the world. Benfica is
the biggest club in Portugal, Angola, Mozambique and Cape Verde. And it is
probably the most popular in Switzerland and Luxembourg, and one of the largest
in France. A tour of Benfica in North America, France, Germany or Switzerland means
a guaranteed box office success. As Benfica fans usually say, "Benfica is bigger
than Portugal".
Pickles Magazine - 14/2/2016
Ilustração de Akacorleone
