Big Three (Portugal)

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The big three (Portuguese: os três grandes) is the nickname of the three most powerful sports clubs in Portugal. The football (soccer) teams of F.C. Porto, Sporting Clube de Portugal and S.L. Benfica have a great rivalry, and are usually the natural contenders for the title. Between them they share all but two of the Portuguese Football Championships ever played and generally end up sharing the top three positions. The two champion outsiders are C.F. Os Belenenses (1945-46 season) and Boavista F.C. (2000-01 season). In other sports, the rivalry between the "big three" is also considerable (although currently football and handball are the only team sports where all three clubs field professional teams) and it usually leads to arguments between the fans and players.

The expression "the fourth big one" (Portuguese: o quarto grande) is often applied to whatever club appears to challange that domination. Lately it has been mostly applied to Boavista, but during the 1980s and 1990s it was often applied to Vitória S.C. (de Guimarães) or S.C. Braga. Other criteria used is the number of associates with many clubs like Belenenses and A. Académica de Coimbra following the "big three".

[edit] Number of Portuguese championships by club

Benfica is the team with most titles won but FC Porto has been the dominating force in the last two decades with 12 championships. During that period, Benfica has won five, Sporting two, and Boavista one championship.