WHEN Benfica hosted Glasgow Rangers in Lisbon on matchday three of the Europa League, it sounded like a game carved out of a distant, glorious past, twice-winners of the old European Cup against one of Britain’s greatest footballing names. If they had met in the 1960s or 1970s, it would have been one of the […]
BENFICA are to Portugal what Real Madrid and Juventus are to Spain and Italy. In other words, wherever you go in the country, fans of the club can be found, from Algarve villages to the biggest towns and cities. And across Europe, wherever there are Portuguese people, the chances are they will be Benfica fans, […]
THESE are troubled and uncertain times for Britain’s Jewish population. With accusations of anti-semitism aimed at the country’s biggest political party, the mere mention of which sends a shiver down the spine of anyone with knowledge of the Holocaust, there is an underlying fear that history could be repeating itself. From that dreadful period, the […]
WITH Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in their autumn years and Zlatan Ibrahimovic on a retirement tour, the football world is asking itself where is the royal line of succession? Kylian Mbappé is being touted as the greatest thing since Pelé and there are big hopes for Atlético Madrid’s João Félix, but are these players […]
WE’VE ALL seen the footage of George Best rounding the keeper, of Bobby Charlton weeping, of Matt Busby embracing the players, remembering the fallen of Munich, and of Eusebio congratulating Alex Stepney on a superb save. It’s an episode in the history of the game that is as vivid as the unfamiliar blue shirts that […]
ON SATURDAY May 18, hundreds of Portuguese expatriates gathered in south London to celebrate Benfica’s 37thPrimeira Liga title. The Wandsworth area has a large Portuguese community and there’s even a restaurant, Casa Benfica, that draws in the fans. Benfica clinched the title with a 4-1 victory against Santa Clara, meaning they finished two points ahead […]
FOOTBALL’s principal emerging nations, the US and China, have almost arrived, with the top divisions of their leagues in the top 10 in terms of spectator interest. According to CIES Football Observatory’s latest report, China and the US are sixth and eighth respectively over the past five years by average crowds. The German Bundesliga has […]
THESE are troubled and uncertain times for Britain’s Jewish population. With accusations of anti-semitism aimed at the country’s biggest political party, the mere mention of which sends a shiver down the spine of anyone with knowledge of the Holocaust, there is an underlying fear that history could be repeating itself. From that dreadful period, the […]
IF YOU asked 10 people in a room to name a German club, they would undoubtedly come up with “Bayern Munich”. Ask them the same question about Portugal, and they’d probably reply, “Benfica”. Have you noticed that wherever you are in Europe, if you bump into a Portuguese, ask them who they support and it […]
