Chelsea win 3-1 on aggregate
Growing up as a Benfica fan in London, my father neither followed football nor went to live matches, but it was nonetheless thanks to him and the Portuguese community in Stockwell that I found my Benfiquismo. My father owned one of the oldest cafés in the area, called Little Portugal, and I would often watch Benfica games with the customers. Back then, Portuguese league matches weren’t as accessible, so the café was always full on matchdays. Old-timers often told me, “Your dad used to pack this place in the early ’90s with Benfica games on VHS.”
At 18, while helping at the café and serving endless espressos and pastéis de nata, I received an offer I couldn’t refuse: two tickets to Chelsea-Benfica at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League quarter-finals. It would be my first chance to watch my team live and see some of my favourite players – Pablo Aimar, Óscar Cardozo and two Chelsea players who’d just signed from Benfica in Ramires and David Luiz.
The question, though, was who to take with me. My dad? Unlikely – after all, he’d never taken me to a game. Friends? I didn’t know any London-based teenagers who didn’t support a Premier League giant. So, it was time for my girlfriend and I to watch our first Champions League game together.
That night, two of my biggest footballing foes were born. Benfica came to Stamford Bridge after a controversial 1-0 first-leg defeat and several missed chances. As the Portuguese proverb goes: he who doesn’t score concedes. At the Bridge, things did not start well, with a Maxi Pereira red card in the 40th minute sparking my enduring dislike for the man who’d eventually join rivals Porto. Then Raul Meireles’ late goal sealed our fate, and his taunting celebration towards us in the away end didn’t sit too well either. But honestly, I couldn’t complain.
While things didn’t go to plan in those 90 minutes, my girlfriend and I are still together with two beautiful children, 13 years later. On that night, I basically married two of my greatest loves.
Chelsea win 3-1 on aggregate
Growing up as a Benfica fan in London, my father neither followed football nor went to live matches, but it was nonetheless thanks to him and the Portuguese community in Stockwell that I found my Benfiquismo. My father owned one of the oldest cafés in the area, called Little Portugal, and I would often watch Benfica games with the customers. Back then, Portuguese league matches weren’t as accessible, so the café was always full on matchdays. Old-timers often told me, “Your dad used to pack this place in the early ’90s with Benfica games on VHS.”
At 18, while helping at the café and serving endless espressos and pastéis de nata, I received an offer I couldn’t refuse: two tickets to Chelsea-Benfica at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League quarter-finals. It would be my first chance to watch my team live and see some of my favourite players – Pablo Aimar, Óscar Cardozo and two Chelsea players who’d just signed from Benfica in Ramires and David Luiz.
The question, though, was who to take with me. My dad? Unlikely – after all, he’d never taken me to a game. Friends? I didn’t know any London-based teenagers who didn’t support a Premier League giant. So, it was time for my girlfriend and I to watch our first Champions League game together.
That night, two of my biggest footballing foes were born. Benfica came to Stamford Bridge after a controversial 1-0 first-leg defeat and several missed chances. As the Portuguese proverb goes: he who doesn’t score concedes. At the Bridge, things did not start well, with a Maxi Pereira red card in the 40th minute sparking my enduring dislike for the man who’d eventually join rivals Porto. Then Raul Meireles’ late goal sealed our fate, and his taunting celebration towards us in the away end didn’t sit too well either. But honestly, I couldn’t complain.
While things didn’t go to plan in those 90 minutes, my girlfriend and I are still together with two beautiful children, 13 years later. On that night, I basically married two of my greatest loves.
Chelsea win 3-1 on aggregate
Growing up as a Benfica fan in London, my father neither followed football nor went to live matches, but it was nonetheless thanks to him and the Portuguese community in Stockwell that I found my Benfiquismo. My father owned one of the oldest cafés in the area, called Little Portugal, and I would often watch Benfica games with the customers. Back then, Portuguese league matches weren’t as accessible, so the café was always full on matchdays. Old-timers often told me, “Your dad used to pack this place in the early ’90s with Benfica games on VHS.”
At 18, while helping at the café and serving endless espressos and pastéis de nata, I received an offer I couldn’t refuse: two tickets to Chelsea-Benfica at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League quarter-finals. It would be my first chance to watch my team live and see some of my favourite players – Pablo Aimar, Óscar Cardozo and two Chelsea players who’d just signed from Benfica in Ramires and David Luiz.
The question, though, was who to take with me. My dad? Unlikely – after all, he’d never taken me to a game. Friends? I didn’t know any London-based teenagers who didn’t support a Premier League giant. So, it was time for my girlfriend and I to watch our first Champions League game together.
That night, two of my biggest footballing foes were born. Benfica came to Stamford Bridge after a controversial 1-0 first-leg defeat and several missed chances. As the Portuguese proverb goes: he who doesn’t score concedes. At the Bridge, things did not start well, with a Maxi Pereira red card in the 40th minute sparking my enduring dislike for the man who’d eventually join rivals Porto. Then Raul Meireles’ late goal sealed our fate, and his taunting celebration towards us in the away end didn’t sit too well either. But honestly, I couldn’t complain.
While things didn’t go to plan in those 90 minutes, my girlfriend and I are still together with two beautiful children, 13 years later. On that night, I basically married two of my greatest loves.
Chelsea win 3-1 on aggregate
Growing up as a Benfica fan in London, my father neither followed football nor went to live matches, but it was nonetheless thanks to him and the Portuguese community in Stockwell that I found my Benfiquismo. My father owned one of the oldest cafés in the area, called Little Portugal, and I would often watch Benfica games with the customers. Back then, Portuguese league matches weren’t as accessible, so the café was always full on matchdays. Old-timers often told me, “Your dad used to pack this place in the early ’90s with Benfica games on VHS.”
At 18, while helping at the café and serving endless espressos and pastéis de nata, I received an offer I couldn’t refuse: two tickets to Chelsea-Benfica at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League quarter-finals. It would be my first chance to watch my team live and see some of my favourite players – Pablo Aimar, Óscar Cardozo and two Chelsea players who’d just signed from Benfica in Ramires and David Luiz.
The question, though, was who to take with me. My dad? Unlikely – after all, he’d never taken me to a game. Friends? I didn’t know any London-based teenagers who didn’t support a Premier League giant. So, it was time for my girlfriend and I to watch our first Champions League game together.
That night, two of my biggest footballing foes were born. Benfica came to Stamford Bridge after a controversial 1-0 first-leg defeat and several missed chances. As the Portuguese proverb goes: he who doesn’t score concedes. At the Bridge, things did not start well, with a Maxi Pereira red card in the 40th minute sparking my enduring dislike for the man who’d eventually join rivals Porto. Then Raul Meireles’ late goal sealed our fate, and his taunting celebration towards us in the away end didn’t sit too well either. But honestly, I couldn’t complain.
While things didn’t go to plan in those 90 minutes, my girlfriend and I are still together with two beautiful children, 13 years later. On that night, I basically married two of my greatest loves.
Chelsea win 3-1 on aggregate
Growing up as a Benfica fan in London, my father neither followed football nor went to live matches, but it was nonetheless thanks to him and the Portuguese community in Stockwell that I found my Benfiquismo. My father owned one of the oldest cafés in the area, called Little Portugal, and I would often watch Benfica games with the customers. Back then, Portuguese league matches weren’t as accessible, so the café was always full on matchdays. Old-timers often told me, “Your dad used to pack this place in the early ’90s with Benfica games on VHS.”
At 18, while helping at the café and serving endless espressos and pastéis de nata, I received an offer I couldn’t refuse: two tickets to Chelsea-Benfica at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League quarter-finals. It would be my first chance to watch my team live and see some of my favourite players – Pablo Aimar, Óscar Cardozo and two Chelsea players who’d just signed from Benfica in Ramires and David Luiz.
The question, though, was who to take with me. My dad? Unlikely – after all, he’d never taken me to a game. Friends? I didn’t know any London-based teenagers who didn’t support a Premier League giant. So, it was time for my girlfriend and I to watch our first Champions League game together.
That night, two of my biggest footballing foes were born. Benfica came to Stamford Bridge after a controversial 1-0 first-leg defeat and several missed chances. As the Portuguese proverb goes: he who doesn’t score concedes. At the Bridge, things did not start well, with a Maxi Pereira red card in the 40th minute sparking my enduring dislike for the man who’d eventually join rivals Porto. Then Raul Meireles’ late goal sealed our fate, and his taunting celebration towards us in the away end didn’t sit too well either. But honestly, I couldn’t complain.
While things didn’t go to plan in those 90 minutes, my girlfriend and I are still together with two beautiful children, 13 years later. On that night, I basically married two of my greatest loves.
Chelsea win 3-1 on aggregate
Growing up as a Benfica fan in London, my father neither followed football nor went to live matches, but it was nonetheless thanks to him and the Portuguese community in Stockwell that I found my Benfiquismo. My father owned one of the oldest cafés in the area, called Little Portugal, and I would often watch Benfica games with the customers. Back then, Portuguese league matches weren’t as accessible, so the café was always full on matchdays. Old-timers often told me, “Your dad used to pack this place in the early ’90s with Benfica games on VHS.”
At 18, while helping at the café and serving endless espressos and pastéis de nata, I received an offer I couldn’t refuse: two tickets to Chelsea-Benfica at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League quarter-finals. It would be my first chance to watch my team live and see some of my favourite players – Pablo Aimar, Óscar Cardozo and two Chelsea players who’d just signed from Benfica in Ramires and David Luiz.
The question, though, was who to take with me. My dad? Unlikely – after all, he’d never taken me to a game. Friends? I didn’t know any London-based teenagers who didn’t support a Premier League giant. So, it was time for my girlfriend and I to watch our first Champions League game together.
That night, two of my biggest footballing foes were born. Benfica came to Stamford Bridge after a controversial 1-0 first-leg defeat and several missed chances. As the Portuguese proverb goes: he who doesn’t score concedes. At the Bridge, things did not start well, with a Maxi Pereira red card in the 40th minute sparking my enduring dislike for the man who’d eventually join rivals Porto. Then Raul Meireles’ late goal sealed our fate, and his taunting celebration towards us in the away end didn’t sit too well either. But honestly, I couldn’t complain.
While things didn’t go to plan in those 90 minutes, my girlfriend and I are still together with two beautiful children, 13 years later. On that night, I basically married two of my greatest loves.
