FUTEBOL

Soccer, futebol in Portuguese, is a true religion. It has a long history and soccer has become the most popular sport in the country. Soccer is watched, lived and shouted all year long. Some of  the best players in the world and the most famous clubs, follow the heart of the culture and history of Portuguese soccer.

Whether you are in a bar or restaurant in Braga, Porto, Lisbon or Faro, you will always find a TV on with a soccer match on.

If you are lucky enough to be in Portugal during the World Cup, the European Championship, the UEFA Nations League or the Portuguese Cup, then you will see the country in a different light. Lisbon below following the latest celebration.

Portuguese fans are always there to support their team. During an important match, the bars are transformed into real party places: beer flows freely, boards of cold cuts and croquetas abound on the tables and televisions are even installed on the terrace.

If the local or national team is the winner, the celebration will be joyfully noisy! Indeed, the Portuguese have a penchant for honking horns, setting off fireworks and shouting when it comes to soccer. The passion for soccer is passed on from generation to generation. Each family supports its local team (Porto, Benfica and Sporting are the most supported), but all Portuguese revere the national team.

From afar, Lisbon is the capital of Portuguese soccer and is a source of excitement for all fans. The magic of soccer operates in the city thanks to the two mythical clubs, main actors of the national soccer: "Sporting Clube de Portugal" (in green) and "Sport Lisboa e Benfica" (in red), both located in Lisbon. 

Sporting Clube de Portugal

The Derby Eterno or Lisbon Derby is the biggest soccer match in the country and divides the Portuguese viscerally. So, before talking to the Portuguese about soccer, make sure you know which team they support!

Sport Lisboa e Benfica

The birth of soccer in Portugal

The history of soccer in Portugal begins in the 19th century. The wealthy Portuguese sent their children to study in England. They came back with local habits including soccer.

The very first game in Portugal took place in 1875, in Madeira. It was organized by Harry Hinton, a student in England who had brought a football back from his studies, to his native country.

The Portuguese Football Federation was founded in 1914 (União Portuguesa de Futebol). Its purpose was to organize national competitions and to set up a national team.

It was not until the 1960s that Portugal was discovered on the international soccer scene and a real national fervor was established.

The 60's, the 3F time...

In 1961, Benfica Lisbon, composed only of national players from all over the Portuguese empire, won the Champion Clubs Cup by beating the international stars of Barcelona.

In 1962, it was Real Madrid's turn to fail (3-5) and to see the Benfica club crowned, which then became mythical, winning 2 successive Champion Clubs Cups.                                         Below, The Benfica team, European champion in 1961

 In 1963-64, the "other club" of Lisbon, Sporting, took over and won the Cup against Budapest.

The team of Sporting Lisbon, winner of the Cup of Cups in 1964

In 1966, the Portuguese national team had its first success at the World Cup, where it eliminated Brazil, the two-time defending champion, and was only eliminated in the semi-finals by the host country and future winner, England. The team's players included Eusébio, winner of the 1965 Golden Ball and top scorer of the tournament, considered one of the best footballers in history. 

The Portuguese national team at the 1966 World Cup: Eusebio centre front

The Estado Novo regime decided to use soccer as a means of establishing its popularity. The Salazarist government launched a propaganda campaign and placed soccer within the trinity of the three Fs: Fátima (a Catholic Pilgrim), Fado (a music genre from the 1820s) and Futebol (football!!), symbols of Portuguese values.

In the 21st century, Portuguese culture is still very much marked by these three Fs: Portugal is one of the most Catholic countries in Europe, soccer is by far the most popular sport and traditional Portuguese music remains very much part of the culture. 

 

FC PORTO AND ANTONIO

Futebol Clube do Porto, commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, plays in the "top flight" Primeira Liga. Founded on 28 September 1893, Porto is one of the "Big Three" teams in Portugal – together with Lisbon-based Benfica FC and Sporting FC, that have appeared in every season of the Primeira Liga since its establishment in 1934. They are nicknamed dragões (Dragons), for the mythical creature atop the club's crest, and Azuis e brancos (Blue-and-whites), for the shirt colours. Those colours are in stripes with blue shorts. The club supporters are called portistas. Since 2003, Porto have played their home matches at the Estadio do Dragao, which replaced the previous 51-year-old ground, the Estadio das Antas.

Porto is the second most decorated team in Portuguese football, with 84 major trophies. Domestically, these comprise 30 top League titles (five of which won consecutively between 1994–95 and 1998–99, a Portuguese football record) and various national cup. Porto is one of two teams to have won the league title without defeats, in the 2010-11 and 2012-13 seasons. In the former, Porto achieved the largest-ever difference of points between champion and runner-up in a three-points-per-win system (21 points), on their way to a second quadruple.

In international competitions, Porto is the most decorated Portuguese team, with 7 trophies; the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, and the Inter-Continental Cup twice In addition, they were runners-up in the 1983-4 European Cup Winners Cup, plus the 2003. 2004 and 2011 editions of the UEFA Super Cup. Porto is the only Portuguese club to have won the UEFA Cup/Europa League, the UEFA Super Cup, the Intercontinental Cup, and to have achieved a continental TREBLE of domestic league, domestic cup and European titles (2002–03 and 2010–11). Porto have the third-most appearances in the UEFA Champions League group stage (23), behind Barcelona and Real Madrid (24). In UEFA, Porto ranks 9th in the all time club rankings and also ranked 20th in the club coefficient rankings at the end of the 2022-3 season.

The club was founded on 28 September 1893 as Foot-Ball Club do Porto by António Nicolau de Almeida, a local PORT WINE merchant and avid sportsman, who became fascinated with the game during his trips to England.  

Porto played its first matches with other Portuguese clubs, including one against Lisbon's Foot-Ball Club Lisbonense on 2 March 1894. This match had the patronage of King Carlos 1 and Queen Amelie of Orleans, who travelled to Porto to witness the event and present a trophy to the winners. Almeida's enthusiasm and involvement with the club waned due to family pressure, and by the turn of the century, Porto had entered a period of inactivity. In 1906, José Monteiro da Costa returned to Porto after finishing his studies in England. Like Almeida, thirteen years before, he was also captivated by the English game, and together with some associates, decided to reintroduce the practice of football in the city, outside of the British circles. 

On 2 August 1906, Porto was revived and Monteiro da Costa appointed its president. Although football was the driving force, the club also promoted other sports, including gymnastics, weightlifting and wrestling, athletics and swimming. Shortly after, Porto rented its first ground and recruited a French coach named Adolphe Cassaigne, who would stay in the club until 1925.

On 15 December 1907, Porto played its first match against a foreign team, hosting Spain's Real Fortuna. In the following month, Porto returned the visit and played its first match abroad.

TRYING TO KEEP UP TO DATE

A couple of days out, sorry, but I am trying hard to keep the flow going! Had a few diversions to deal with! 

On April 11th 2015 at Cambridge United, Chairman, Dave Doggett, had to appeal to his supporters during a League 2 match against Accrington Stanley. There was senior citizen violence in their stadium, with local fans in their 50s and 60s reliving the 1980s bad behaviour, where he said, "grandparents were encouraging the next generation to join gangs goading the opposition!"

On this day in 1959, England and Wolves captain Billy Wright won his 100th cap, playing Scotland at Wembley. He went on to win 105 caps overall, finishing his record beating role (at the time) on tour against the USA in May.

Ronnie Clayton of Blackburn Rovers took over as captain and then "golden boy", Johnny Haynes of Fulham, was given the arm band. Johnny Haynes (below) saw England through to the 1962 World Cup Quarter-finals v Brazil where England lost 1-3.

Haynes, was a canny inside forward, who might be best known for his model role in the Brylcreem Advert!  A little dab will do you! He retired from international football after 56 caps and handed over to Jimmy Armfield (below) of Blackpool in October 1962 when England played France in a European Nations Cup qualifier. It was Armfield's 30th cap.
 

On 11th April 1937 Charlton Athletic, who finished runners up in the First Division that season and were a form team during this period, played France in Paris in a "friendly" match after Italy had pulled out of the international fixture at short notice. Strange choice of opposition but one that was available apparently, so remarkably Charlton beat France 5-2 with goals from Don Welsh 2 (below), George Tadman 2 and Harold Hobbis 1.

Welsh played 199 times for The Addicks and earned 3 full England caps in 1938-9. He went on to manage Liverpool in 1951-6 and Brighton before, then Bournemouth and Wycombe W. up to 1964.

The curiosity was that Charlton had played a First Division league fixture against Huddersfield Town at the Valley the day before and won that 1-0. How they got to Paris to play the next game, heaven knows! The sgtory seems unusual...any further news/corrections gratefully received.

BOBBY MOORE OBE

Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore OBE (12 April 1941 – 24 February 1993) was an English professional footballer. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmu61ZgAblw

He most notably played for West Ham United, captaining the club for more than ten years, and was the captain of the England team that won the 1966 FIFA World Cup. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders in the history of football, and was cited by Pele as the greatest defender that he had ever played against. Furthermore, Moore is sometimes considered to be one of the greatest players of all time. https://www.bobbymoore.co.uk/fact-file  and

https://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2019/april/12-april/bobby-moore-gone-never-forgotten

Personal information
Full name	Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore
Date of birth	12 April 1941
Place of birth	Barking, Essex, England
Date of death	24 February 1993 (aged 51)
Place of death	Putney, London, England
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
	Barking
1956–1958	West Ham United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1958–1974	West Ham United	544	(24)
1974–1977	Fulham	124	(1)
1976	→ San Antonio Thunder (loan)	24	(1)
1978	Seattle Sounders	7	(0)
1978	Herning Fremad	9	(0)
1983	Carolina Lightnin'	8	(0)
Total		716	(26)
International career
1960–1962	England U23	9	(2)
1962–1973	England	108	(2)
Managerial career
1980	Oxford City
1981–1982	Eastern AA
1984–1986	Southend United
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

DEEDS RATHER THAN WORDS

 On the 10th April 1880, Clapham Rovers beat Oxford University in the first FA Cup Final to be played in April in front of 6,000. It was played at The Oval. Clopton Lloyd-Jones scored the winner with just 6 minutes left in the match. There was "vociferous cheering and throwing up of hands and other demonstrations of delight" when the goal went in.Reginald Halsey Birkett, Rovers' goalkeeper was the first man to represent England at both soccer and rugby.

At 21 years and 150 days old, Clopton became the youngest goalscorer in an FA Cup final until EG (Teddy) Wynyard scored for the Old Carthusians in 1881; he was 20 years and 8 days old. "Prinsep threw the ball well in and Wynyard kicked it between the posts".

In previous years (back to 1872) matches were played in March, the earliest being on the 11th March 1876, when the Wanderers drew 1-1 with the Old Etonians. The OEs won the replay 3-0 a week later.

To get to the 1880 final Clapham Rovers (who had lost the 1879 Final to the OEs) had to play 5 rounds unbeaten, of course, and then having a BYE in the semi-final! Oxford University beat Nottingam Forest 1-0 in their semi. Clapham beat Romford, South Norwood, Pilgrims, Hendon and the Old Etonians en route.

To date Tottenham Hotspur are on a 9 game unbeaten streak, last losing on February 16th. The run includes a 5th Round win over Fulham, a Q-F drubbing of Millwall and a win over KAA Gent in the Europa Cup.
Sunderland have gone 675 minutes without a goal and Fabian Delph scored his first Premier League goal for City since 448 days ago.
Middlesbrough are the only English League team to go without a win in 2017.

Continuing the consecutive win theme, The "Pointless" jackpot winning streak of 7 wins in a row came to an end this evening. Alexander and Richard were disappointless!

Deeds rather than words.

Yes this is a repeat from a previous date but Im just a bit short of time to prepare. Hope this entertains you.

NUDGER

 Ernest Needham (21 January 1873 – 8 March 1936) was an English footballer and cricketer, appearing in sixteen international football matches for his country, captaining the side in 1901.

He was an outstanding left half who played for Sheffield United from 1891 until 1910,  totalling 554 matches and 65 goals. He captained their team from 1895 to 1905 and was instrumental in their promotion campaign of 1892–93. Under his leadership, he helped the Blades achieve promotion to Division One in 1893 and then helped them to the Division One title in the 1897-98 season and the FA Cup in 1899 and 1902.

He played first-class cricket for Derbyshire from 1901 to 1912.

Needham was born at Newbould Moor, Chesterfield. Having previously played as a forward for Waverley F.C. and Staveley Wanderers, Needham agreed to sign for United when they met his club, Staveley, on 10 February 1891, in a fixture. Needham made his debut for The Blades on 5 September 1891, in a pre-season game against Woolwich Arsenal. Originally a right winger, injuries during his first season saw him move to left half.

Short yet solidly built and blessed with immense stamina, he was fast, resolute and brave. His consistently accomplished and energetic displays made him the star of the side and won him the title, 'the prince of half backs'. Writer Alfred Gibson made the following comments about Needham in 1906: "There is one thing which has made Earnest Needham stand out of the common run of halves; he is neither a constructive nor a destructive half-back alone; he is both at once. One moment you will see him falling back to the defence of his own goal, or checking the speedy rush of his wing; the next, he is up with his forwards, feeding them to a nicety, and always making the best of every opening. Where he gets his pace from is a mystery. He never seems to be racing, yet he must be moving at racing pace; he never seems to be exhausted, yet in a big game he is practically doing three men's work."

A fine shot, Needham possessed great ball control: "This is one of the secrets of his greatness for very seldom when he has the ball is he deprived of it, whilst the accuracy of his wing passes, and the telling force of his punches straight across the field to an unprotected wing, spell danger to any kind of defence."

After 551 appearances, including 464 FL games and 49 FA Cup ties, Needham retired from football. His final game for United came on 22 January 1910 against Bolton Wanderers, and with Needham having played in every season in the Football League that United had played, it marked the end of a golden era for the Blades that they have never since matched.

Although Needham was missed by his "native" club  Derby County, his nephew George Wright Needham did play a few games for The Rams. Needham made his debut for England v Scotland in April 1894. He was an England regular for many years and the first Sheffield United player to captain England. He represented England 16 times, and the Football League ten times. 

Cricket career: Needham was a left-hand batsman who played 340 innings in 186 first-class matches. He scored 6550 runs at 20.15, including seven centuries with a top score of 159. He was an occasional wicket-keeper, and as a right-arm medium pace bowler bowled 21 overs without taking a wicket. Before playing for Derbyshire, Needham is recorded playing in a match for Liverpool and District against Cambridge University in 1898. He made his debut for Derbyshire in June 1901 against a South African team, and scored 57 in his first innings but was out for a duck in the second. He played regularly every season until 1911. In 1903 he made his first century against Hampshire. He scored 47 in his one innings in the game at Chesterfield in 1904 when visitors Essex set an unwanted record by losing despite amassing 597 in their first innings. In 1907 Needham scored 119 against Hampshire and in 1908 scored three centuries. He scored 104 against Worcestershire and in one match against Essex scored 107 and 104, although this was not enough to stave off defeat. In 1910 he made his top score of 159 against Leicestershire and in 1911 he made 103 against Notts. In 1912 he played only three games for Derbyshire.

Needham wrote a ninety-page brochure titled "Association Football" which was published in 1901. From practical experience, Needham offered his own opinions on tactics and formation. It was well received upon publication. One periodical described it as a "valuable book by a practical expert."

On 7 April 1894, 21-year old Sheffield United midfielder Ernest "Nudger" Needham made the first of his 16 appearances for the English national team - the most England caps of any Sheffield United player. His national team debut came in a 2-2 draw against Scotland at Celtic Park, Glasgow before a crowd of 45,107.

All of his 16 caps were in competitive matches in the British Home Championship. He captained the side once, in the 18 March 1901 match against Wales, which England won 6-0, including one goal from Needham - only one of the three he scored for England over the course of his national team career.

No, I Don't Know What The Nickname Means!!!

SHE BELIEVES

Originally founded in 1913 as the United States Football Association, U.S. Soccer was one of the world’s first organizations to be affiliated with FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, and has grown into one of the sport’s organizational leaders, integrating player participation and player development into arguably the world’s most successful top-to-bottom National Team program.

As part of the evidence, U.S. Soccer’s National Team programs qualified for 19 consecutive FIFA outdoor world championships before the Under-23 national team missed out on the Olympics in 2004.

Part of that “framework” was unveiled in 2003 when U.S. Soccer’s National Training Center opened at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. After 90 years of nurturing player participation and player development, U.S. Soccer’s player development initiatives finally have a home of their own in the $130 million facility, which includes a stadium for Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy and Chivas USA.

U.S. SOCCER FEDERATION – What’s in a name?

Throughout the 90-year history of U.S. Soccer, the organization has been known by three different names: U.S. Football Association - 1913-1944:  U.S. Soccer Football Association - 1945-1973 and the U.S. Soccer Federation - 1974-Current.

Organizing body	United States Soccer Federation
Founded	2016; 8 years ago
Region	United States
Number of teams	4
Current champion(s)	United States (6th title)
Most successful team(s)	United States (6 titles)

The SheBelieves Cup is an invitational women's tournament held in different cities in the USA, in late February or early March. In its first three years (2016, 2017, and 2018), it was contested by the same four teams: the USA, England, France and Germany.

Since 2019, the tournament lineup has featured different teams each year. For 2024 due to the change in FIFA competition windows and the staging of the Concacaf W Gold Cup in February and March, the format of the SheBelieves Cup will change this year. While there will still be four participants, there will be four matches instead of the usual six and the teams will play semifinals, a third-place match and the championship game

The SheBelieves movement was inspired by the US National Team in their 2015 run-up to the World Cup. The movement is meant to encourage young women to achieve their dreams, regardless of whether or not they are tied to athletics. As part of regular society, SheBelieves is dedicated to women's empowerment. This theme of empowerment has evolved into a bond between U.S. soccer and its fans, as the team has spread this message to communities across the country. United States Soccer serves as SheBelieves Ambassadors, launching a new program to unite and elevate nonprofits, women's sports organizations, and influencers with the shared goal of positively impacting girls and women.

SheBelieves Summit

The SheBelieves Summit, which took place virtually in 2021, is a major component of programming around the tournament itself. Its purpose is to empower young women and girls using the three core pillars of SheBelieves: confidence, career, and community. The summit includes panels, fireside chats, and breakout sessions designed to provide event attendees with hands-on experience and tools for success. Event programming features various female speakers, from women in STEM to professional athletes.

Tournament format

The four invited teams play in a "round robin format". Points awarded in the group stage followed the formula of three points for a win, one point for a draw, and zero points for a loss. A tie in points would be decided by goal differential; other tie-breakers are used as needed in the following order: goal difference, goals scored, head-to-head result, and a fair play score based on the number of yellow and red cards.

Results

Year
	Winner	Runner-up	Third place	Fourth place
2016	United States	Germany	England	France
2017	France	Germany	England	United States
2018	United States	England	France	Germany
2019	England	United States	Japan	Brazil
2020	United States	Spain	England	Japan
2021	United States	Brazil	Canada	Argentina
2022	United States	Iceland	Czech Republic	New Zealand
2023	United States	Japan	Brazil	Canada
2024

Medals

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States (USA)	6	1	0	7
2	England (ENG)	1	1	3	5
3	France (FRA)	1	0	1	2
4	Germany (GER)	0	2	0	2
5	Brazil (BRA)	0	1	1	2
	Japan (JPN)	0	1	1	2
7	Iceland (ISL)	0	1	0	1
	Spain (ESP)	0	1	0	1
9	Canada (CAN)	0	0	1	1
	Czech Republic (CZE)	0	0	1	1
Totals (10 entries)		8	8	8	24

Participating nations

Team	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	Years
Argentina	–	–	–	–	–	4th	–	–	–	1
Brazil	–	–	–	4th	–	2nd	–	3rd	Q	4
Canada	–	–	–	–	–	3rd	–	4th	Q	3
Czech Republic	–	–	–	–	–	–	3rd	–	–	1
England	3rd	3rd	2nd	1st	3rd	–	–	–	–	5
France	4th	1st	3rd	–	–	–	–	–	–	3
Germany	2nd	2nd	4th	–	–	–	–	–	–	3
Iceland	–	–	–	–	–	–	2nd	–	-	1
Japan	–	–	–	3rd	4th	–	–	2nd	Q	4
New Zealand	–	–	–	–	–	–	4th	–	–	1
Spain	–	–	–	–	2nd	–	–	–	–	1
United States	1st	4th	1st	2nd	1st	1st	1st	1st	Q	9
Total	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4

Summary

As of February 22, 2023

Rank	Team	Part	M	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1	United States	8	24	18	4	2	43	12	+31	58
2	England	5	15	5	3	7	17	16	+1	18
3	France	3	9	3	3	3	10	8	+2	12
4	Germany	3	9	3	2	4	7	10	−3	11
5	Brazil	3	9	3	0	6	10	13	−3	9
6	Japan	3	9	2	1	6	10	15	−5	7
7	Spain	1	3	2	0	1	4	2	+2	6
8	Iceland	1	3	2	0	1	3	6	−3	6
9	Canada	2	6	2	0	4	3	8	−5	6
10	Czech Republic	1	3	0	2	1	1	2	−1	2
11	New Zealand	1	3	0	1	2	0	6	−6	1
12	Argentina	1	3	0	0	3	1	11	−10	0

Best player

Year	Player
2016	Alex Morgan
2017	Camille Abily
2020	Alexia Putellas
2021	Rose Lavelle
2022	Catarina Macario
2023	Mallory Swanson
2024

Top goalscorers

As of February 22, 2023

Rank	Name	Total
1	Mallory Swanson	8
2	Megan Rapinoe	7
3	Ellen White	5
	Alex Morgan
5	Debinha	4
	Christen Press
7	Eugénie Le Sommer	3
8	Toni Duggan	2
	Beth Mead
	Camille Abily
	Anja Mittag
	Mana Iwabuchi
	Yuka Momiki
	Lucía García
	Alexia Putellas
	Tobin Heath
	Carli Lloyd
	Catarina Macario
	Kristie Mewis