Estádio da Luz

Estádio da Luz
Catedral
Inferno da Luz

Full name Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica
Location Lisbon, Portugal
Coordinates Coordinates: 38°45′10″N 9°11′05″W / 38.752678°N 9.184681°W / 38.752678; -9.184681
Public transit Colégio Militar / Luz
Lisbon Metro Blue Line
Owner S.L. Benfica S.A.D.
Operator S.L. Benfica
Executive suites 156
Capacity 64,642 (originally 65,647)
Record attendance 65,400 (opening match)
64,591 (official match)[1]
Field size 105 x 68 m
Surface Grass
Scoreboard Yes
Construction
Broke ground 2003
Opened 25 October 2003[2]
Construction cost €118.7 million[3]
Architect HOK Sport (now Populous)
Tenants
S.L. Benfica (2003–present)
S.L. Benfica B (2003–2006, 2012–2013)
Portugal national football team
Website
slbenfica.pt

The Estádio da Luz (Portuguese pronunciation: [(ɨ)ˈʃtaðju ðɐ ˈluʃ]), officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club (and owner) S.L. Benfica.

Opened on 25 October 2003 with an exhibition match between Benfica and Uruguayan club Nacional, it replaced the original Estádio da Luz which had 120,000 seats. The seating capacity was decreased to 65,647,[4][5] and is currently set at 64,642.[6] It was designed by HOK Sport Venue Event and had a construction cost of €118.7 million.[3]

A UEFA category four stadium and one of the biggest stadiums by capacity in Europe, it hosted several matches of UEFA Euro 2004, including the final, and hosted the 2014 UEFA Champions League Final. In October 2014, it was elected as the most beautiful stadium of Europe in an online poll by French newspaper L'Équipe.[7][8][9]

Naming

The previous stadium, which was also officially named "Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica", was named in honour of the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Luz (Church of Our Lady of the Light), and the people of Lisbon used to call it a Luz ("the Light"), so the common name for the stadium became "Estádio da Luz", which is commonly translated to English as "Stadium of Light", although inaccurately, as Luz refers not to "light" but to the original address of the stadium: Estrada da Luz.[10] The stadium is also referred to as a Catedral (the Cathedral) or o Inferno da Luz.

Characteristics

Architect Damon Lavelle from HOK Sport Venue Event (now Populous) designed the stadium to focus on light and transparency. Its polycarbonate roof allows the rays of sunlight to penetrate the stadium, thus illuminating it. The roof, which is supported by tie-beams of four steel arches, seems to float on the underlying tribunes. The arches measure 43 metres in height and help to define the look of the stadium after having been shaped to be similar to the wavy profile of the three tiers of the stadium.

A panorama of the Estádio da Luz on 30 July 2009

Benfica's return to titles

In the 2004–05 season, the Estádio da Luz saw Benfica's 1–0 victory over city rivals Sporting CP, before an 1–1 draw at Boavista which sealed the title for Benfica, 11 years later. Following the final whistle, thousands of fans joined the stadium to celebrate the club's 31st league title. In 2009–10, Benfica defeated Porto 1–0, an important victory to win their 32nd championship. On 20 April 2014, Benfica conquered their 33rd league title after defeating Olhanense 2–0 at home. In the following three seasons, Benfica went on winning the league title for a fourth straight season – the club's first tetra. Benfica has been crowned Portuguese champions for a record 36th time. Internationally, Benfica has qualified for two UEFA Europa League finals while playing at the new stadium.[11][12]

The stadium reached up to 11 million spectators on its tenth birthday.[13] It reached the 12 million spectators mark on 17 August 2014.[14]

Notable matches

Opening game

25 October 2003
21:05 WEST
Benfica Portugal 2–1 Uruguay Nacional
Nuno Gomes  7', 47' Report Mello  11'

Attendance: 65,400
Referee: Pedro Proença (Portugal)

In the opening match Benfica beat Club Nacional de Football by 2–1. Benfica player Nuno Gomes scored both goals, becoming the first scorer in the history of Estádio da Luz.

UEFA Euro 2004

UEFA Euro 2004 - Quarter-finals

In the first quarter-final between England and Portugal, the English opened the scoring after only two minutes through Michael Owen. Portugal's constant attacking pressure from then on resulted in Hélder Postiga's 83rd-minute equaliser. A controversial incident came in the dying minutes when Michael Owen hit the Portuguese crossbar, resulting in a Sol Campbell header, which appeared to have given England the lead again, but his header was ruled out for what the referee Urs Meier deemed a foul on the Portuguese goalkeeper Ricardo. The sides exchanged goals in extra-time, sending the match to penalty kicks and Portugal won 6–5; Ricardo saved a penalty from Darius Vassell and then scored the winning goal.

UEFA Euro 2004 - Final

4 July 2004
20:45 WEST
Portugal  0–1  Greece
(Report) Charisteas  57'

Attendance: 62,865
Referee: Markus Merk (Germany)

2014 UEFA Champions League Final

24 May 2014
19:45 WEST
Real Madrid Spain 4–1 (a.e.t.) Spain Atlético Madrid
Ramos  90+3'
Bale  110'
Marcelo  118'
Ronaldo  120' (pen.)		 Report Godín  36'

Attendance: 60,976[15]
Referee: Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)

Portugal national football team matches

Entrance of the stadium during the UEFA Euro 2004

The following national team matches were held in the stadium.

# Date Score Opponent Competition
1. 16 June 2004 2–0  Russia Euro 2004 Group Stage
2. 24 June 2004 2–2[16]  England Euro 2004 Quarter-Finals
3. 4 July 2004 0–1  Greece Euro 2004 Final
4. 4 June 2005 2–0  Slovakia 2006 World Cup qualification
5. 8 September 2007 2–2  Poland Euro 2008 qualifying
6. 10 October 2009 3–0  Hungary 2010 World Cup qualification
7. 14 November 2009 1–0  Bosnia and Herzegovina 2010 World Cup UEFA play-offs
8. 17 November 2010 4–0  Spain Friendly
9. 4 June 2011 1–0  Norway Euro 2012 qualifying
10. 15 November 2011 6–2  Bosnia and Herzegovina Euro 2012 qualifying play-offs
11. 2 June 2012 1–3  Turkey Friendly
12. 7 June 2013 1–0  Russia 2014 World Cup qualification
13. 15 November 2013 1–0  Sweden 2014 World Cup UEFA play-offs
14. 29 March 2015 2–1  Serbia Euro 2016 qualifying
15. 8 June 2016 7–0  Estonia Friendly
16. 25 March 2017 3–0  Hungary 2018 World Cup qualification

Euro 2004 matches

Date Result Round
13 June 2004  France 2–1  England Group B
17 June 2004  Russia 0–2  Portugal Group A
21 June 2004  Croatia 2–4  England Group B
24 June 2004  Portugal 2–2 (6–5 on pen.)  England Quarter-finals
4 July 2004  Portugal 0–1  Greece Final

Benfica matches in European competitions

As of match played 14 February 2017
76 matches: 51 wins, 13 draws, 12 losses
126 goals scored, 54 goals conceded

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Fez-se história!" [History was made!]. S.L. Benfica (in Portuguese). 13 May 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  2. ↑ World of Stadiums
  3. 1 2 "Estádio Sport Lisboa e Benfica (Estádio da Luz)". StadiumDB.com. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  4. ↑ "Stadiums in Portugal". World Stadiums. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  5. ↑ "Estadio da Luz". World Stadium Database. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  6. ↑ "fsd150611.pdf" (PDF). CMVM (in Portuguese). S.L. Benfica. 14 April 2016. pp. 81–82. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  7. ↑ "Estádio da Luz é o mais bonito da Europa" [Estádio da Luz is the most beautiful of Europe]. Record (in Portuguese). 22 October 2014. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  8. ↑ "Luz considerado o estádio mais bonito" [Luz considered the most beautiful stadium]. SAPO Desporto (in Portuguese). 22 October 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  9. ↑ Tavares da Silva, Hugo (22 October 2014). "Estádio da Luz é o mais bonito da Europa" [Estádio da Luz is the most beautiful of Europe]. Observador (in Portuguese). Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  10. ↑ "Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica (Luz)". Sport Lisboa e Benfica - Site Oficial. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  11. ↑ "Benfica novo campeão da Liga Zon Sagres" [Benfica new champion of Liga Zon Sagres] (in Portuguese). Liga Portugal. 20 April 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  12. ↑ "Benfica beat Olhanense to take title". FIFA. 20 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  13. ↑ "Mais de 11 milhões de espectadores já pisaram a Catedral" [More than 11 million spectators have already stepped the Catedral] (in Portuguese). S.L. Benfica. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  14. ↑ "Estádio do SL Benfica atinge os 12 milhões de espectadores" [SL Benfica stadium reaches 12 million spectators] (in Portuguese). S.L. Benfica. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  15. ↑ "Full-time report" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  16. ↑ 6–5 after penalty shoot-out.
Preceded by
Feijenoord Stadion
Rotterdam		 UEFA European Football Championship
Final Venue
2004 		Succeeded by
Ernst Happel Stadion
Vienna
Preceded by
Wembley Stadium
London		 UEFA Champions League
Final Venue
2014 		Succeeded by
Olympic Stadium
Berlin
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