Sporting Clube de Portugal

Foundation

Sporting Clube de Portugal has its origins in June 1902, when young men Francisco da Ponte, 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 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 , 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 defended that the club should only be focused on organizing picnics and social events, with another group defending that the club should be focused on the practising of sports instead. Some time later, José Gavazzo, José Alvalade and 17 other members left the club, with the latter saying, "I am going to have with me my grandfather and he will give me the money to make another club." As such, a new club, Sporting Clube de Portugal, was founded. The Viscount of Alvalade, whose money helped found the club, was the first president of Sporting. José Alvalade, as one of the main founders, 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." Three months later, on 1 July 1906, António Félix da Costa Júnior suggested the name Sporting Clube de Portugal, and this date is considered the official day Sporting was founded.

Early years

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" on 4 July; and played the first derby of all time against local rivals S.L. Benfica on 1 December.The club also released their first report card on 31 March 1922, titled "Boletim do Sporting" , 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 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

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. 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

English manager Malcolm Allison arrived at Sporting in 1981, and under his guidance the club won the domestic double , 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 Club Sport 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 José Alvalade Stadium and securing a 2–2 draw at 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 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.

The turn of the millennium

In 2000, Sporting, led by manager Augusto Inácio , 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.

Second league title drought

2002–2009

Sporting have failed to win Primeira Liga again since 2002. In the 2004–05 season, José Peseiro-led Sporting was leading the Primeira Liga and was trailing a remarkable journey in UEFA Cup. However, at the end of the season, the team eventually lost all the chances of winning any trophy that season: the first set-back had already happened on 26 January 2005 when Sporting was eliminated from Taça de Portugal after losing 7–6 on penalties against Benfica. Nevertheless, Sporting was able to reach the leadership of Primeira Liga, and on 5 May the team booked their second European final, after defeating Dutch team AZ Alkmaar in UEFA Cup. While awaiting the Final, on 14 May, Sporting lost its penultimate match in Primeira Liga against S.L. Benfica and dropped to third place. By the end of the season, the team eventually finished 2004–05 Primeira Liga in that place. Lastly, playing the 2005 UEFA Cup Final at their home ground, on 18 May, Sporting lost 1–3 against Russian side CSKA Moscow, after being 1–0 up at halftime.

Domestically, Sporting had back-to-back wins in the Portuguese Cup in 2007 and 2008 . The club almost reached another European final in 2012, but were dropped out of the competition by Athletic Bilbao, in the semi-finals of the 2011–12 Europa League. Sporting also reached, for the first time, the knockout phase of UEFA Champions League, in the 2008–09 season, but were roundly defeated by FC Bayern Munich, with an aggregate loss of 12–1. This is widely regarded as one of the lowest points in the history of the club.

Finances and 2013 election

After years of financial mismanagement, Sporting had amassed debts exceeding €276 million by 2011. The results on the pitch were also negative, with Sporting finishing seventh in the 2012–13 Primeira Liga, their lowest ever finish. Managerial changes occurred within months or weeks apart: from November 2009 to May 2013, nine managers were contracted, with none of them lasting an entire season. In 2013, after pressure from club members, president Godinho Lopes resigned, and shortly afterwards, Bruno de Carvalho was elected president in a snap election. Carvalho's intentions were to renegotiate the club's debt payment schedule with the banks involved – who by now have pardoned Sporting in millions of euros – and to return success to the football team, while threatening to take Godinho Lopes to court. Carvalho's election brought Angolan investors to the club, most notably Álvaro Sobrinho, through Holdimo, which holds 20 million shares of Sporting's SAD.On 5 June 2015, it was released an audit that analyzed the management of Sporting in the past 20 years: it concluded that in 1994 the club had €55 million worth of real estate assets and an almost nonexistent debt; by 2013, real estate assets were almost nonexistent, and the club had amassed a €331 million debt. Their new stadium cost 74% more than what was expected when its construction started , while their training facility cost 24% more, and the costs of Alvalade XXI neighbourhood, a real estate complex located around the stadium, overshooted in 60%; such complex was almost entirely sold in the following years, many estates of which were sold below market prices.From 1995 to 2013, the club invested €261 million in the football team, however, with few sports and financial results. The audit criticized many football transfers in the 2000s, in which the club paid commissions well above market prices to player agents, and discovered that Sporting even had paid commissions without evidence of written contracts. The audit also concluded that the administrations from 1995 to 2013 intended to convert Sporting, a multi-sports club, exclusively into a football club – although they did not openly admitted so – which was being done gradually through the closure of other sport modalities. Moreover, the audit also pointed out evidence of mismanagement and conflicts of interest by several administrators. Considering the audit's results, club members approved the expulsion of Godinho Lopes as an associate of the club in June 2015.

2013–2021

Led by coach Leonardo Jardim in the 2013–14 season, Sporting finished second in the league, thus gaining direct access to the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League, their first Champions League presence in five years.

In the 2014–15 season, Sporting won their 16th Portuguese Cup in dramatic fashion. The Lisbon side, led by Marco Silva, played the final against Braga, and after a disastrous start, found themselves losing 0–2 at half-time and playing with ten men after the sending-off of Cédric Soares. With the final seemingly lost, Islam Slimani gave some hope to the fans as he scored the 1–2 on the 83-minute. In stoppage time, Fredy Montero managed to equalize, forcing extra-time. Sporting ultimately won the match 3–1 on penalties. Celebrations ended in a pacific pitch invasion of Estádio José Alvalade by the fans, as the club touched silverware for the first time in seven years.In June 2015, Jorge Jesus joined Sporting after Benfica opted not to renew his contract as coach of the club, signing a three-year contract. Presented as the new manager of the club on 1 July, the managerial change took the rivalry of both Lisbon clubs to new heights. Under Jesus' tenure, Sporting won the Portuguese Super Cup for the eighth time, against back-to-back champions Benfica. Despite a positive start, Sporting did not win any other trophy, finishing second in the Primeira Liga with 86 points, two points behind Benfica, despite breaking their own points record in the league.

Following a trophyless season, Sporting won their first Taça da Liga on a penalty shoot-out against Vitória de Setúbal. However, on 15 May, days after finishing third in the league, several players and coaches were attacked by around 50 supporters of Sporting at the club's training ground. Five days later, Sporting lost the Portuguese Cup final to Aves. About a month later, Bruno de Carvalho was dismissed by club members after a general assembly on 23 June. This followed the rescissions of nine players: Bruno Fernandes, Daniel Podence, Rui Patricio, Rodrigo Battaglia, Rafael Leão, Rúben Ribeiro, Bas Dost, Gelson Martins and William Carvalho. In the period before scheduled elections, a management committee, headed by former President Sousa Cintra, succeeded in returning some of the players who had left the club following the incident, namely Bruno Fernandes, Bas Dost and Rodrigo Battaglia. Frederico Varandas was elected president on 8 September 2018. Having replaced Jorge Jesus at the beginning of the 2018–19 season, José Peseiro was sacked after a poor performance on the Primeira Liga.

In March 2020, Rúben Amorim was appointed manager of Sporting CP for a managerial transfer worth €10 million , becoming the third-most expensive manager ever.

2021–present

In the 2020–21 season, after being eliminated from European competition by LASK Linz, Sporting won the league cup and ended their 19-year period without winning the Portuguese league, securing their 19th Primeira Liga title after a 1–0 home win against Boavista. On 31 July, Sporting beat SC Braga 2–1 to claim their ninth Portuguese Super Cup.

At the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League group stage, Sporting made a comeback by finishing second on Group C after a 5–1 home loss to AFC Ajax and 1–0 away loss to Borussia Dortmund, thereby reaching the knockout phase for only the second time since the 2008–09 season.