Hundreds of people gathered this Saturday in Coimbra to celebrate the conquest of Benfica’s 38th national soccer champion title, in an atmosphere of great euphoria between songs, cigars and drums.
Children and adults gathered, at the end of the afternoon, at Praça da República, the usual place for this type of celebration, to witness the 3-0 victory against Santa Clara, for the 34th and last day of the I Liga , that it was worth winning the trophy that had been elusive for three years.
Even before the final whistle, the red fans began to celebrate with songs, throwing torches and firecrackers.
The party was joined by the honking of the cars that circulated through the Praça da República, the bombs and the fire traps, under the watchful eye of the Public Security Police (PSP) present on the scene.
In the crowd, Lusa found car driver Filipe Albuquerque, who brought his daughters, ages seven and four, and nephews, ages eighteen, to the celebrations.
“I’m here for the spirit, but I’m also from Académica. Those who pushed me were my nephews who play soccer. We are in a family program”, said the pilot of the North American Endurance Championship of Coimbra, highlighting that Benfica is the club for which he is encouraged.
Accompanied by his wife and two children, Filipe Couceiro, 45, from Penacova, considered that the conquest of this title will be more celebrated after the three-year fast.
“I always believed, even in the most unstable phase,” he stressed.
Marlene Oliveira, from Mira, believed in Benfica’s victory from an early age and decided to come dressed up to celebrate with her three children, aged 17, eight and five.
Former Coimbra university student Francisco Roseiro brought two friends from Leiria to witness the victory and said he will extend the festivities to the night of the Queima das Fitas in Coimbra, at Praça da Canção.
“Let’s take advantage of the fact that Benfica is champion to celebrate today [sábado]tomorrow [domingo] and next week,” he said with a smile.
The Benfica celebration was also used by Filipa Dinis, from Coimbra, to mark her bachelorette party with the four bridesmaids who were jumping and jumping for joy.
“Joining the bachelorette party and Benfica being champion was just fantastic. Two parties together in one ”, emphasized the bride, who wanted her party to be memorable.
With a scarf around his neck and a cell phone in hand recording the moment, João Leandro, 15, arrived with his father and 10-year-old brother, at the Plaza to watch the game and experience a “very cool atmosphere.”
“Being in Lisbon is always something different, but being in Coimbra is also a very good emotion”, he underlined.
At 9:30 p.m., the party still mobilized a hundred people, with a lot of noise, flags being raised and rockets launched.
This Saturday, Benfica was crowned champion of Portuguese football for the 38th time, after beating Santa Clara, 3-0, at home, in a game of the 34th and last day of the Portuguese First League.
Needing a win to mathematically secure the title, Benfica scored through Gonçalo Ramos (7 minutes), Rafa (28) and Grimaldo (60), from the penalty spot.
After a ‘drought’ of three seasons, the ‘incarnated’ once again celebrated a national title, finishing the I Liga with 87 points, two more than FC Porto.
Source: TSF
