Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP,From Sporting Lisbon to Athletic Bilbao — why do we get foreign clubs' names wrong? , Michael Cox, The Athletic, 16 March 2023 is a Portuguese sports club based in Lisbon. Having various sports departments and sporting disciplines, it is best known for its men's professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football.
Founded on 1 July 1906, Sporting is one of the "Big Three" clubs in Portugal that have never been relegated from Primeira Liga, along with rivals Benfica and Porto. Sporting are nicknamed Leões (Lions), for the symbol used in the middle of the club's crest, and Verde e Brancos (Green and Whites), for the shirt colour that are in (horizontal) stripes. The club's anthem is called "A Marcha do Sporting" ("Sporting's March"), its motto is Esforço, Dedicação, Devoção e Glória (Effort, Dedication, Devotion and Glory), its supporters are called sportinguistas and the club's mascot is called Jubas. Sporting is the third largest sports club by membership in Portugal, with 179,208 members, just behind FC Porto with 185,767 members, which makes it one of the world's largest. It is also among the top three Portuguese sports clubs in number of non-affiliated fans. Their home ground has been the Estádio José Alvalade, built in 2003, which replaced the previous one, built in 1956. The club's indoor arena is the Pavilhão João Rocha multi-sports pavilion. Its youth academy has helped produce footballers such as Luís Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Sporting is the third most decorated Portuguese football team, with 58 major trophies, trailing significantly behind its two biggest rivals, FC Porto (88) and SL Benfica (86). Domestically, they have won 21 League titles, 18 Taças de Portugal, a joint-record of 4 Campeonato de Portugal, 4 Taças da Liga and 9 Supertaças Cândido de Oliveira. In Europe, they won the 1963–64 European Cup Winners' Cup and were runners-up at the UEFA Cup in 2005 and at the Latin Cup in 1949. Sporting played in the first European Champions Cup match on 4 September 1955, by invitation, and has participated in the most editions of UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League (36), a tournament in which they have the most matches played and the second most matches won, and where they are ranked first in the all-time club ranking.
History
Foundation (1902–1906)
Sporting Clube de Portugal has its origins in June 1902, when a group of young men including Francisco da Ponte e Horta Gavazzo and his brother José Maria decided to create Sport Club de Belas. This club, the first ancestor of Sporting, played just one match and at the end of the year's summer, disbanded. Two years later, the idea of creating a football club was revived, and this time, with the Gavazzo brothers joined by José Alvalade (José Holtreman Roquette) and José Stromp; a new club, the Campo Grande Football Club, was founded. They played their matches on the estate of the Viscount of Alvalade (Alfredo Holtreman), José Alvalade's grandfather, with the club's headquarters located in Francisco Gavazzo's home. For two years, the club developed an intense activity on several sports, namely football, tennis and fencing.
The club also organized parties and picnics. Eventually, during one picnic, on 12 April 1906, discussions erupted, as some members argued that the club should only be focused on organizing picnics, balls and other social events, with another group contended that the club should be focused on sports instead. Some time later, José Gavazzo, José Alvalade and 17 other members left the club, with José Alvalade saying: "I'll go to my grandad and he'll give me money to create another club." As such, a new club, without a name, was founded on 8 May 1906, and on 26 May, it was named "Campo Grande Sporting Clube". The Viscount of Alvalade, whose money and land helped found the club, was the first president of Sporting. José Alvalade, as one of the main founders and first club member (sócio), uttered on behalf of himself and his fellow co-founders: "We want this club to be a great club, as great as the greatest in Europe." Beyond José Holtreman Roquette (José Alvalade) and his grandfather Alfredo das Neves Holtreman (Viscount of Alvalade), among the founders were also the brothers António, José and Francisco Stromp, the Gavazzo brothers, José Maria do Couto Valente da Ponte and José Ferreira Roquette. Two months later, on 1 July 1906, António Félix da Costa Júnior suggested the name Sporting Clube de Portugal, and since 1920 that is the club's foundation date.
Early years (1907–1946) The year 1907 marked some "firsts" for the club, as Sporting played the first football match of their history on 3 February, ending in a 5–1 defeat against third division club Cruz Negra; inaugurated their first ground, known as "Sítio das Mouras" (the most advanced in Portugal at the time, equipped with showers, two tennis courts, an athletics track and a football field) on 4 July; and played the first derby of all time against local rivals S.L. Benfica (then known as Grupo Sport Lisboa) on 1 December. As early as 1909, the following sports were practised at the sports club: football, running and jumping (athletics), physical exercise (gymnastics), rope-wrestling, tennis, cricket and field hockey.
The club also released their first report card on 31 March 1922, titled "Boletim do Sporting" (Sporting's Report), lending the foundation for the later called "Jornal do Sporting", the official newspaper of the club, that still exists today.
Sporting played their first Primeira Liga game (the 1st Division of Portuguese football) ever on 20 January 1935, winning 0–6 against Académica de Coimbra. A year later, in 1936, the club had their heaviest ever defeat against Porto, losing 10–1. Sporting, however, got their revenge a year later, when they humbled the same team with a 9–1 result. In 1941, under the guidance of Hungarian manager József Szabó, the club celebrated the first league title of their history.
Golden years and fading (1946–1982)
The football team had their height during the 1940s and 1950s. It was spearheaded by Fernando Peyroteo, José Travassos, Albano Pereira, Jesus Correia and Manuel Vasques, in a quintet nicknamed "The Five Violins". With the violins' help, Sporting won seven league titles in eight seasons between 1947 and 1954, including a then unprecedented four in a row from 1950 to 1951 onwards. Fernando Peyroteo, the most known of "the violins", is considered one of the greatest Portuguese players of all time.
Sporting and the Yugoslavian team Partizan both made history on 4 September 1955, as they played the first-ever UEFA Champion Clubs' Cup match. Sporting player João Martins scored the first-ever goal of the competition, on the 14th minute. The match ended in a 3–3 draw. Sporting also inaugurated their new venue, José Alvalade Stadium, on 10 June 1956, which would be their home ground until 2003.
In the 1960s, Sporting achieved continental success, winning the 1963–64 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, defeating MTK Budapest of Hungary in the final. It was the only time a Portuguese team side won a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup title. The team entered the competition defeating Atalanta in the qualifying round, then past Cypriot club APOEL in what was the biggest win in a single UEFA competitions game to date: 16–1, a record that still stands today. On the next round, they lost 4–1 to Manchester United at Old Trafford in the first hand, but made a remarkable comeback at home, winning 5–0. In the semi-finals, Sporting eliminated Lyon, and in the end MTK Budapest, in a two-round final to win their first European title. The winning goal was scored by João Morais from a direct corner kick.
Under the leadership of president João Rocha, the first project of club-company in Portugal was approved by Sporting CP's affiliated partners (sócios) in November 1973, and denominated "Society of Constructions and Planning" (SCP, Sociedade de Construções e Planeamento). The Portuguese government authorised the establishment of the company and the issue of 2.5 million shares, with a nominal value of 100 escudos each. The club-company project with issuance of stock was hampered shortly after due to the events of the Carnation Revolution of 1974 and the subsequent Processo Revolucionário em Curso of 1975 (the creation of Sociedades Anónimas Desportivas ("Public limited sports companies") would be later available in Portugal through a new legal status only introduced in the 1990s).
The club reached the semi-finals of the Cup Winners' Cup in 1974, but lost to eventual winners 1. FC Magdeburg of East Germany.
First league title drought (1982–2000)
English manager Malcolm Allison arrived at Sporting in 1981, and under his guidance the club won the domestic double (league title and Portuguese cup), in 1982. In the years between 1982 and 2000, Sporting suffered from a drought of titles. Despite defeating rivals Benfica 4–0 on aggregate to win the Portuguese Super Cup in 1987, Sporting fans had to wait until 1995 to see their team win some silverware after beating Marítimo 2–0 in the final of the 1995 Portuguese Cup. That victory granted Sporting a place in the following season's Portuguese Super Cup. After drawing 0–0 at the José Alvalade Stadium and securing a 2–2 draw at the Estádio das Antas, a replay match was held on 30 April 1996 at the Parc de Princes in Paris. Sporting won 3–0 with Sá Pinto scoring twice and Carlos Xavier scoring a stoppage time penalty. In the same 1995–96 season, Sporting also reached the Portuguese Cup Final but lost 3–1 to Benfica.
Highlights of this period of time also include a 7–1 victory over arch-rivals Benfica at the old José Alvalade Stadium on 14 December 1986. Sporting also reached the UEFA Cup semi-final in 1991, losing against Internazionale. Also, Barcelona and Real Madrid were both tied and defeated in Lisbon when playing against Sporting in the old UEFA Cup, in the 1986–87 and 1994–95 seasons, respectively.
In 1998, Sporting had created the Sporting Clube de Portugal – Futebol, SAD, a public limited sports company for its football department, which went public on the Lisbon Stock Exchange in that year at a price of 1,000 escudos (the equivalent of about five euros at the time) per share.
The turn of the millennium (2000–2002)
In 2000, Sporting, led by manager Augusto Inácio (a former Sporting player, who replaced Giuseppe Materazzi at the beginning of the season), won the league title on the last match day, with a 4–0 victory over Salgueiros, ending an 18-year drought. In the following season, Sporting conquered the 2000 Super Cup but came third in the league. In the 2001–02 season, led by coach László Bölöni, Sporting conquered their 18th league title, the Portuguese Cup and the 2002 Portuguese Super Cup. On 21 June 2002, the club had opened its training facility, located in Alcochete, 30 km east of Lisbon.
On 14 August 2002, Cristiano Ronaldo, then 17, played his first official match for a Sporting CP's senior team, in a UEFA Champions League qualifying round at home against Inter Milan. On 1 September 2002, in the Azores, Cristiano Ronaldo debuted as a senior player in official domestic competitions playing for Sporting CP B in a 2–1 away loss against Sport Clube Lusitânia and on 29 September he made his debut in the Primeira Liga, playing for Sporting CP's main team in a way match against SC Braga.
Second league title drought (2002–2021)
2002–2009