Lisbon derby: Sporting and Benfica in ‘biggest derby for years’

The Lisbon derby is one of the fiercest in Europe and before the game fans of the away team will march the couple of miles through the city to the opposition ground.

It is a rivalry that dates back more than a century, with the sides who would become officially known as Sporting Clube de Portugal and Sport Lisboa e Benfica first meeting in 1907 at a time when there was a huge class divide between them.

Sporting, bankrolled by the Viscount of Alvalade, had already riled their rivals by taking eight of their players on the promise of better facilities and won 2-1.

Benfica’s image as the people’s club was, meanwhile, encapsulated in 1954 by their fans helping to build the original Estadio da Luz, a stadium that boasted its record attendance of 135,000 for a game against Porto in 1987 and was their home until the new ground was built before Euro 2004.

Then there was the legendary Eusebio, who played for Sporting’s feeder club Sporting Clube de Lourenço Marques in Mozambique but ended up signing for Benfica and helping them to 11 league titles and a European Cup in 15 seasons, while also winning the Ballon d’Or.

This will be their third meeting this season, with Benfica beating Sporting on penalties in the League Cup final in January, and they will meet again at the Jamor National Stadium in the Portuguese Cup final on 25 May.

“Of course, the entire country is very excited for this,” Ingles said.

“Around 90% of Portuguese people support Benfica, Porto or Sporting, so this is not only a Lisbon derby, but a national derby.

“Two thirds of our population support Benfica and Sporting so the country will literally stop to see this.

“Imagine Manchester and Liverpool, or Arsenal and Tottenham meeting at game 37 and whoever wins the game, wins the league,

“It’s massive and the atmosphere in the stadium and in the country will be electrifying.”