|
27/10/03
Benfica inaugurated their magnificent new stadium Saturday. The new Luz will be the venue for the final of the Euro 2004 championship. All of its 65,000
seats were filled for the first game, preceded by various 'entertainments' of varying quality, plus speeches from the President of the Republic, Jorge Sampaio, the Prime Minister Durão Barroso
and various other dignitaries. Eusébio kicked off. The game, aganst Nacional of Montevideo, was, thankfully, won, with two goals by Nuno Gomes
(he was the first to score in the new stadium), spearated by a single goal for Nacional from Mello.
The stadium itself is very beautiful, but the only half-finished access to it is appalling, many of the spectators having to trudge through mud
to get in. Work on access will now be a priority for the club.
24/10/03
The President of the Republic, Jorge Sampaio, will be one of those packing Benfica's new Luz Stadium at its inauguration Saturday. Benfica will play Nacional
of Montevideo, Uruguay. The club will hope to re-kindle enthusiasm for watching the team with the move back to their own stadium - during the time at the borrowed National Stadium, on the outskirts of Lisbon, crowds fell to around 5,000.
The stadium has yet to have 100% approval from the authorities in terms of security - the central Fire-fighters
Association has Ok'd the venue, but the local fire-fighters, who would have to deal with any problems arising, were apparently not consulted.
23/10/03
Coach José Mota has returned to Paços de Ferreira to replace José Gomes, sacked this week. Mota leaves Azores side Santa Clara, of the Liga de Honra, after just five months in charge.
22/10/03
Paços de Ferreira, bottom of the SuperLiga, have sacked their coach José Gomes
and his assistants, including former Benfica legend Chalana. Saturday's 0-3 home defeat at the hands of Boavista was the last straw. Previous boss José Mota, now of Azores side Santa Clara, of the Liga de Honra, has beeen mooted as a replacement, but the smart money is on former Boavista coach
Jaime Pacheco, out of work after being sacked recently by Spanish club Majorca. Gomes' dismissal was the first psychological whipping of the season.
Benfica took their first training session on the pitch of the new Luz
Tuesday, in front of 4 to 5,000 fans. The stadium, according to most who have visited it, is magnificanet; it will be inaugurated Saturday against Nacional of Montevideo, Uruguay.
12/10/03
Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United's young star winger, is to be sponsored by Portuguese bank BES to the tune of 250,000 euros over a two-year period (1 + 1 optional).
The new pitch has been laid at Sporting's Alvalade XXI stadium. It should be ready for the SuperLiga match against Beira-Mar
on October 20th. It was a drastic solution to lay a new pitch after the first one in the new stadium proved unplayable.
A multiplex with 16 screens was inaugurated Friday at the Alvalade stadium. It's the first phase of a leisure complex called Alvaláxia
which will have 15,000 square metres and include a megastore for Sporting merchandise, a bingo hall, a bowling alley and a shopping centre.
Tickets went on sale Friday for the inauguration of the new Luz stadium on October 25th, marked by a friendly against Nacional of Uruguay. One fan waited seven hours in the queue, only to find
when he got to the window that as a lifelong member of the club, his tickets would be sent to his home ...
Down the
Pedro de Felipe, António Camacho's agent, has denied rumours coming from Spain that the Benfica coach has been sounded out for the job at Atlético Madrid.
Mário Jardel is back in Portugal to visit friends and family. Asked how things are going with his new club Bolton
of the Premiership, he beamed: "Everything's excellent - couldn't be better!" His first weeks at the English club were difficult until he began to regain his fitness, and now it seems that his career is back on course. He inimated, however, that a return to play in Portugal one day was not out of the question.
08/10/03
Pedro de Felipe, the agent of Spanish coach José Camacho, currently at misfiring Benfica, has denied reports in the Spanish press that have him returning to Spain to coach Atlético Madrid.
Benfica have unveiled the logo that will accompany the club's 100th birthday this year:
The club will inaugurate their new stadium on October 25th against Nacional of Uruguay.
03/10/03
João Bartolomeu, president of União de Leiria, said Thursday that the club will be using the Municipal Stadium of that town once it has been completed for use
at Euro 2004. There was previously a suggestion that the club would not be using it because of the high charges to be paid to the lcoal council.
|
