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30/09/03
Nacional of Montevideo (Uruguay) will be Benfica's opponents for the inauguration of the new Estádio da Luz
on October 25th. Nacional were the club chosen to present the Benfica squad to the fans in 1978; the game finished twenty minutes before the end (Benfica were winning 2-0) after a punch-up on the pitch.
Former National Team Coach Humberto Coelho helped his current team South Korea to their biggest ever victory Monday, 16-0 over Nepal. Their previous record had been 11-0 ... over Nepal. It
was also Nepal's worst ever result. The match was for the Asia Cup.
27/09/03
Sporting are to go back to square one and lay a new pitch at their spanking new Alvalade XXI Stadium. Ever since the inauguration game in August against Manchester United, when the turf was
flying up as if it were a mass of bathroom mats scattered carelessly across the pitch, the club has been apologising and trying to fix the situation. After the last game against Malmö, where the pitch
actually showed some signs of improvement but was still appalling in patches, the club has decided to rip it all up and start again. They will start work on it on Tuesday following the home game against Gil Vicente
on Monday evening. They will then have almost three weeks before the next game on October 19th against Beira-Mar
to kick it into shape. The club has not yet decided if it will try to seed the turf or lay it.
25/09/03
After a mini-scandal behind the scenes at Benfica during the close season when last year's captain Simão was voted out by his peers and Hélder voted in, coach Camacho
has put his foot down and made Simão captain again following recent poor results, at least while Hélder is not getting a first team place. Simão accepted the job.
20/09/03
Luís Figo's home in Madrid was robbed Friday. The armed robbers forced their way in when the maid opened the door. Niether Figo nor his wife were at home at the time.
Former Benfica president João Vale e Azevedo, still serving a prison sentence for embezzlement from the club, heard Friday that he had lost the court action in which he was claiming that the club owed
him seven million euros.
Benfica hope to inaugurate their new Luz stadium on October 25th. Marítimo have agreed to postpone the game they were to play against Benfica in Madeira on the same weekend. The opponents for the
inauguration have yet to be announced, but the club is hoping to get either real Madrid or AC Milan.
FC Porto's Estádio do Dragão will be inaugurated with a friendly match on November 16th, "pitch permitting", according to club president Pinto da Costa.
18/09/03
Benfica are set to fine Petit and Miguel following their night out on Sunday (see below). Their fine can only be up to a third of their monthly salary. Sokota, meanwhile, denied the
accusations of tabloid 24 Horas and asked for an apolgy from the paper. Sporting, on the other hand, accused the paper of paparazzism.
16/09/03
Six players of Sporting and Benfica were on the front page of tabloid 24 Horas
Tuesday, accused of being out on the town while their teams were struggling to find convincing form. From Benfica: Petit, Sokota and Miguel; from Sporting: Ricardo, Lourenço and
Carlos Martins. All were allegedly out until 05.00, with training the next day. Sporting have already reacted to try to play down a possible scandal.
15/09/03
Vítor Damas, Sporting's and Portugal's ´keeper during the 60s and 70s, died early Sunday morning after a long illness. He was 55. He was a highly respected ´keeper, dubbed "The Eusébio of Sporting"
. The four remaining games in the SuperLiga had a minute's silence before kick-off as a mark of respect.
12/09/03
FC Porto striker Benni McCarthy has been suspended for two games by the Disciplinary Committee of the Liga for punching Sporting captain Beto
in the eye as they both went up for a ball in the recent clássico. The decision was based on video evidence. He will miss the game against Benfica
next week. Porto have called for the the whole Committee to be sacked.
Sporting's former striker Mário Jardel, now at Bolton, has been sent to Spain to get fit by Bolton's coach Sam Allardyce. Jardel arrived at the club late and missed Bolton's pre-season
preparation (see comment)
11/09/03
The pitch of Sporting's new Alvalade XXI
stadium, widely criticised for its poor playing surface after only a couple of games, should now be playable. Officials of the club have explained that the cause of the problem, a fungus called pitium, has now been dealt with. Sporting play
Nacional there Sunday in the SuperLiga.
06/09/03
The National Association of Firefighters has said that the Estádio Don Afonso Henriques, home of Vitória de Guimarães, is not yet apt for competition as there is not yet an emergency plan in
place. Portugal play Spain there Saturday evening.
05/09/03
Elections for the next president of Sport Lisboa e Benfica (Benfica) will take place on October 31st, the chairman of the club's General Assembly confirmed Thursday.
04/09/03
Sporting are considering making a formal complaint with the Liga against FC Porto's Benni McCarthy. the forward clashed with Sporting captain Beto
near the end of the clássico on Tuesday (4-1 to Porto) and Beto needed nine stitches in a cut over his eye.
Meanwhile, in the wake of the heavy defeat, Sporting's shares fell by 5% on the stock market.
Artur Jorge has left Académica de Coimbra under a cloud. He is thought to have been unhappy with the constant delays in payment of salaries to the coaching and playing staff. Vítor Oliveira
, formerly of Gil Vicente, takes over.
02/09/03
Pedras Rubras beat Lousada 3-1 in the Northern Zone of the Segunda B at the weekend. Nothing strange there ... except that two of the Pedras Rubras goals were scored in his own net by Lousada central defender
Monteiro ... and the fact that he was on as a sub.
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