Today marks the 118th anniversary of Benfica’s formation.
On 28 February 1904, after a football training session that day, the Catataus Group and members of Associação do Bem met at Farmácia Franco on Rua Direita de Belém with the goal of forming a social and cultural football club called Sport Lisboa, composed of Portuguese players only. Twenty-four people attended the meeting, including Cosme Damião. In that meeting, José Rosa Rodrigues was appointed club president, along with Daniel dos Santos Brito as secretary and Manuel Gourlade as treasurer. The founders decided that the club’s colours would be red and white and that the crest would be composed of an eagle, the motto “E pluribus unum” and a football.
via Wikipedia
Since then, Benfica has gone on to become one of the greatest football clubs in European history with:
- 83 major trophies, making them the most decorated club in Portugal.
- 37 Primeira Liga titles
- Back-to-back European Cups in 1961 and 1962
- Runners-up at the Intercontinental Cup in 1961 and ’62, at the European Cup in 1963, ’65, ’68, ’88 and ’90, and at the UEFA Cup/Europa League in 1983, 2013 and ’14
- The second most participations in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League (41)
More on Benfica’s formation: O nascimento do Benfica (em português) and the official origin story from the Benfica club website