Benfica vs Sporting CP: A Derby Divided by Class
By Lee Bushe
Just 1.7 miles separates Benfica's Estadio da Luz (not to be confused with Sunderland's Estadio da Luz) and Sporting's Estadio Jose Alvalade, yet the two clubs could not be more different. This difference is best demonstrated through their stadiums.
Benfica's original stadium (also named the Estadio da Luz), was constructed with the help of their supporters, who donated money, cement and even free labour to ensure that the club had their own stadium. This is very much linked to the humble, working-class image Benfica have and they are seen as being the 'people's club'. So it's probably no coincidence that they are the best supported club in Portugal - having millions of fans across the country.
Sporting's stadium is named after Jose Alvalade, the man who founded the club in 1906. Alvalade came from an aristocratic background, and the club was originally funded by his grandfather - the First Viscount of Alvalade - who was bestowed that title by the King. Naturally, Sporting enjoyed the support of society's elite during their early days, and the club is still associated with the upper-class.
This divide was evident even before the clubs' first meeting in 1907. At the time, Benfica had poor facilities compared to the newly-founded Sporting, who reportedly had the best facilities in Portugal. With the promise of better facilities, Sporting tempted eight of Benfica's players to make the move to the club, and expectedly, the first derby between the two resulted in a 2-1 win for Leoes.
The two clubs participated in regional divisions until the formation of a national league in 1934. There, both Sporting and Benfica found themselves in the upper echelons of Portuguese football, though the latter initially had more success, winning three titles by the end of the 40s. Sporting, by comparison, had failed to win a single title. This was somewhat reflected in the results of the derby, where Benfica won six matches compared to Sporting's four.
There was a small power shift in the 40s and 50s, however, with Sporting winning ten titles between 1940 and 1960. Benfica, by comparison, had won seven titles. The sides were on relatively equal footings in terms of the derbies throughout this period - a reflection of how similar the clubs were in terms of quality.
Then came Eusebio.
Eusebio played for a feeder club of Sporting in Mozambique, but joined Benfica in 1961 as they offered him a better deal than Leoes. The move was mired in controversy, so much so that Benfica sent him to the Algarve for his first two weeks at the club, fearing a kidnapping by their rivals.
During Eusebio's 14-year spell at the Estadio da Luz, Benfica collected 11 league titles, notably going unbeaten in the 1972-73 season. They also won club football's highest honour, the European Cup, in 1965.
Sporting, on the other hand, struggled to replicate the kind of success they had achieved in the decades prior, even finishing as low as fifth in some seasons. As a result, Benfica were often the more dominant side in the derbies, as demonstrated by the fact Sporting failed to win a single derby between 1970 and 1976.
By the time Eusebio departed in 1975, Benfica were Portugal's - and Lisbon's - premier club. They weren't as dominant domestically as before, but were still more successful than Sporting. This was evident in the derbies too, with Benfica, more often than not, coming out on top. O Glorioso encountered financial problems by the end of the century, and went ten years without a league title between 1994 and 2004.
Sporting, on the other hand, ended their nearly two-decade long league title drought in 2000, and won the league title again in 2002. For the most part though, Benfica and Sporting possessed teams of a similar quality, with the former winning seven derbies, the latter winning six and the matches ending in a draw on six occasions.
Benfica, as history shows however, have almost always been the more successful out of the two Lisbon clubs, and they soon returned to being Portugal's premier club, winning six league titles out of the last ten seasons. Sporting, on the other hand, are enduring another trophy drought and have encountered off-field problems of their own, finishing as low as seventh in 2012/13. They've also struggled in the derby as of late, winning just two matches over the last decade.
The derby can often be a hostile affair, and the hatred between these two clubs runs deep; to the extent where Sporting formed an alliance with their rivals, Porto, against Benfica. Sometimes these hostilities result in violence, with the most notable example being in 1996, when a Sporting fan was killed by a fire-cracker thrown by a Benfica fan. For the most part though, the hostilities simply make for a match with an intense atmosphere and makes the Derby de Lisboa a must-see for the neutral football fan.