Porto - Estadio do Dragao - Capacity: 52,000 All Seater
PortoThe Estadio do Dragao – “The Stadium of the Dragons” officially opened its gates on the 16th November 2003 when the home team beat FC Barcelona 2-0 in a friendly. Like the stadiums in Lisbon, the €100million construction of the ground was undertaken next door to their previous stadium, known as the Antas. The new stadium is a magnificent structure. Designed along the same lines as the Sydney Olympic stadium, and since copied by the Zentral Stadium in Leipzig, with two huge double tiered side stands and a sweeping curved roof. The stands behind the two goals have been designed so that another tier could be easily added, increasing the capacity to over 65,000 should it ever be required. From the outside you get a real feel for the sheer size of the stadium, The previous stadium, the Estadio das Antas Was opened in 1952 and held over 50,000 spectators in a huge bowl-like seating plan, with two small roofs offering limited protection from the frequent inclement northern Portuguese weather. The stadium was oval shaped, meaning that fans behind the goals were often along way from the action. When Portugal were awarded the 2004 European Championships in 1999, plans were immediately put in place for a new stadium for the team, capable of challenging the stadiums in Lisbon to hold the big international matches.
One of the key design features was to be able to quickly move people to and from the stadium – an issue that blighted the Antas stadium. This was achieved by the building of a number of road tunnels under the stadium which link directly onto the main northern ring road (the VCI), as well as giving the stadium its own metro stop – named Estadio do Dragao. In fact today the transport system has been developed within the city with the Estadio do Dragao stop as a major hub, with Lines running from the airport and to Campanhã railway station. The fans soon took to the comforts of their new stadium, and its opening co-incided with Porto’s amazing run in the Champions League that saw them eventually lift the trophy in Gelsenkirchen. On the way to the final, the new stadium saw sell out games against Manchester United, Lyon and Deportivo La Coruna. The stadium hosted a number of key matches during Euro 2004, including the shock opening match defeat of the home nation by Greece, the Netherlands draw with Germany, Italy versus Sweden as well as Greece’s semi-final victory over the Czech Republic.
Consequently, UEFA have awarded the stadium 5-star status allowing it to host major European finals.One of the most innovative features of the stadium is the massive rotating screens that sit at each end of the stadium. Whilst their use during matches is quite obvious, on non-match days, the screens can be used as massive interactive advertising boards, overlooking the ring road. FC Porto have averaged over 35,000 since moving into the new stadium. For more details of the stadium go to .
Who Plays There? - FC Porto - http://www.pcporto.pt FC Porto have always been considered one of the big three of Portuguese football. After living in the shadows of the teams from Lisbon for over forty years, Porto rose during the late 1990’s to become one of the most successful teams in Europe. Under the guidance of the now Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho, Porto league titles in 2003 and 2004, as well as the UEFA Cup in 2003 and the ultimate prize the Champions League in 2004 before departing for London. The club’s origins can be traced back to 1893 when one of Porto’s biggest wine traders, Antonio D’Almeida formed a team to play against a rival wine lodge. The team played in the first amateur leagues of Portugal in the early part of the century and won their first honour with a Cup win in 1922, the first tournament to take place in the country. They followed this up with another win in 1925 and then again in 1932 before the first national league was launched in 1935. Much to the chagrin of the teams from the capital, FC Porto won the title in the first season. They followed this up with back-to-back championships in 1939 and 1940 before a lull in their success took hold of the city.
As the team entered the 1980’s they lagged behind Sporting and Benfica both on and off the pitch. In the mid 1980’s Josie Maria Pedroto took over the reigns and revolutionised the club on and off the pitch. A strict new training regime, along with a cull of some deadwood brought almost immediate results as the team took the title the Portuguese Cup in 1984, and a season later captured the Championship again. This allowed them to enter the European Cup, in one of its last season before it became the Champions League, for the first time in 8 years.
The European Cup run proved to be the turning point for the club. Blessed with an easy draw up to the Semi-Finals, the team avoided Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, and a 4-2 win over Dinamo Kiev sent them to their first major European final. In a close game, the Portuguese won 2-1 and lifted the trophy for the 1st time. The following seasons were a dream for Porto fans. After the European Cup success came the UEFA Super Cup (victory over Ajax in two legs), the World Club Championships (beating Penarol of Uruguay), 3 more League Championships and 2 more National Cups. The stars of the team at the time were Fernando Gomes and Paulo Futre, later to make a brief appearance in the Premiership with West Ham.
In the 1990’s under Tomislav Ivic and then Bobby Robson, the team became unbeatable at home, winning the championship in every single year apart from 1991 and 1994, as well as adding Cup success on four occasions. European success was a bridge too far during this period, although a Semi-Final defeat to Barcelona in the 1994 Champions League was the closest they came to success.
In 1999, Fernando Santos took over the team and through the goals of Mario Jardel Porto won their 5th consecutive title – a record for Portuguese football. It was to be their last major honour for a couple of years until Mourinho took over in 2002. Under the talismatic young coach, Porto set a new level for Portuguese football both at a domestic level as well as in Europe. Players such as Paulo Ferrarra, Bennie McCarthy, assimilated Portuguese player Deco and Costinha. In 2002 the team started making a mark in Europe with a great run in the UEFA Cup. After a win over Lens in the third round and Denizlispor of Turkey in round four, they drew Panathinaikos in the Quarter Finals. After a tense ninety minutes in the second leg in Athens, where Porto overturned a 1-0 deficit, Brazilian striker Derlei hit the winner in the 103rd minute. In the Semi-finals, a 4-1 home victory of Lazio set them up for an epic final with Celtic in Seville. There, despite the inspirational Henrik Larsson, Porto won the game on the Silver goal 3-2 in a classic encounter that included two sendings off.
The following season they raised the bar with another championship plus a run to the final of the Champions League after victories over Manchester United, Lyon and Deportivo La Coruna. In Gelsenkirchen the team easily overcame Monaco 3-0 with goals from Carlos Alberto, Deco and Alenichev proving a fitting departure for the Chelsea bound coach.
The following season proved to be barred in terms of trophies for the club, although they did win the World Cup Championship in Tokyo. Last season the team were back to their best with a League and Cup double although a very disappointing Champions League campaign saw them finish bottom of a weak group. This season, under coach Jesualdo Ferreira the club have started as expected – leading the way from Sporting as of the end of November and they completed a fourth consecutive title in early May, and the double with a cup final win over Paco Ferreria a few weeks later.
How to get to the Estadio do Dragao The new stadium has a transport infrastructure to match its impressive stands. When the stadium was built, the pitch point was always going to be how to get the huge crowds in and out of the area quickly and safely. The first consideration was to ensure that traffic exiting and entering the Ring Road did not impede the normal flow of traffic. This was achieved by a series of exits for each stand, and a number of tunnels under the stadium that filter cars directly into the car parks.
The stadium also had its own metro stop built which ferries fans direct from the Campanhã train station in just 5 minutes. The airport is also linked direct to the stadium by metro – line E (Dark Blue) makes the 15km journey. The stadium can also be reach by buses 21 and 78 from the city centre.
For an overview of who plays where in the city go to Footiemap.com for a graphical view.
How to get a ticket for the Estadio do Dragao The stadium was always built with more supply than demand meaning it is not difficult to get tickets for any game at the Dragao, including the derby games versus Boavista and the visits of the teams from Lisbon. In fact, the highest ever league attendance at the new stadium was just over 50,000 for the visit of Benfica in 2005.
Tickets range in price from €15 for a seat in the Bancada Norte (the Coca-Cola stand) or the Bancada Sul (the EDP stand) amongst the hardcore Porto fans to the €40 seats in the TMN or PT stands. A good bet for the neutrals is the seats in the SapaAdsl stand, which is the upper tier of the east stand (Bancada Nascente) that costs €25.
On match days, tickets can be bought from the ticket offices in the North, East and South stands. To book your seat in advance, the Portuguese section of the website allows you to chose your seat before you buy at http://www.fcporto.pt/servicos/bilheteira.
FC Boavista - Estadio do Bessa XXI - Capacity: 28,263 All Seater
The Stadium – Estadio do Bessa XXI Rua o Primeiro de Janeiro, 4100 Porto Whilst Boavista have always played second fiddle to their cross-city neighbours FC Porto in terms of history, players and honours, they can be equally proud of their redeveloped stadium that was re-opened in 2004 in time for the European Championships. The stadium is very much English in design, with four separate, but identical stands hugging the pitch, supplying an electric atmosphere. Each stand is two tiered, with all seats offering unobstructed views. In honour of Boavista’s colours, the stands seating is designed in a way to produce a black and white checkerboard effect.
The previous stands were completely different, with only three sides of the ground open, and the fourth acting as a huge advertising screen. Work on the new stadium started in June 1998, with each stand being demolished and rebuilt in turn over a period of five years.
Unfortunately, the stadium is a bit wasted on the home fans, with average attendances failing to reach over 10,000. In fact last season the highest attendance was only 9,500 for the derby with FC Porto. During Euro 2004 the ground hosted sell out games between Greece and Spain, Denmark and Sweden and Latvia versus Germany. The stadium also hosted a sell out in 2003 with the UEFA Cup semi-final between Boavista and Celtic, which the Scots won 1-0 to ruin the city’s hopes of a magical final versus FC Porto.
Who Plays There? - FC Boavista - http://www.boavistafc.pt Boavista have always been considered as the poorer cousins of Porto. Formed by a group of textile workers in the west of the city in the early part of the century, the team were perennial bridesmaids at the table of the big three for years. However, in the mid 1970’s the club at last reached prominence on the domestic stage. They won the Portuguese cup in 1975, and again in 1976 (and nearly won the championship as well). Three years later they won it for the third time in 1979. Their subsequent European adventures have been disappointing – losing in the European Cup Winners Cup to Celtic in the 2nd round in 1975, Levski Sofia at the same stage a year later and finally to Dinamo Moscow again in the 2nd round in 1979.
The club then had to wait for over 10 years before they felt success again – with a 2-1 Cup final victory over Porto, inspired by João Pinto. Again the European Cup Winners Cup 2nd round was to provide the ultimate barrier with a 2-0 defeat to Parma. Five years later in 1997, one of the greatest Boavista teams, featuring Nuno Gomes and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink captured the cup again, and followed it up with a runners up spot in the league. This gave the team a shot at the Champions League, which after a qualifying round win over Brondby, saw them drawn in a group along with Dortmund, Rosenborg and Feyenoord. Unfortunately, despite a last day win over the Germans, 4th place in the group was all they could muster.
However, the club’s finest hour came just twelve months later when they pipped Porto by one point to take their first league Championship, and more importantly for Portuguese football, break a fifty six year strangle hold on the big three’s championship reign. This time, in a much harder group featuring Liverpool, Olympiakos and Dynamo Kiev, the club managed to secure runners up spot and progress to the knock out stages. There they met Manchester United, Lyon and Nantes in the bizarre 2nd Group Stage where the English and French were just too strong for them.
The following season the club had an excellent run in the UEFA Cup which saw them defeat strong teams from PSG, Hertha Berlin and Malaga before a semi-final defeat by Celtic broke the hearts of the city who had hoped to see an all Porto final in Seville.
Last season the club were relegated after the Golden Whistle bribery investigation, and then went even further down the pan in May 2009 when they were relegated down to the regional leagues, holding on by their fingernails to their very existence.
How to get to the Estadio do Bessa XXII The stadium is located close to the IC1 ring road, approximately 3 miles west of the Estadio do Dragao. The stadium is not close to the Metro network and so it is easier to use the bus network that runs down Avenida da Boavista. Bus routes 3, 19 and 24 run from Praca da Liberdade.
For an overview of who plays where in the city go to Footiemap.com for a graphical view.
How to get a ticket for the Estadio do Bessa XXII Since Euro 2004, Boavista have not sold out one single game, including the inter-city derbies with FC Porto, and so tickets are available on the day for all matches. The cheapest tickets are for the North and South ends, behind the goals that start at €15. Tickets for the middle upper tiers of the East and West stands cost €40.
Getting around Porto is not a walking friendly city – it is very hilly, and roads criss cross the main part of the old town. A new Metro network opened a few years ago and that is a good as bet as any to get around and out to the beach area. Local buses supplement the gaps.
Porto’s modest airport is located 6 miles north of the city, and is the third busiest in the country behind Lisbon and Faro. It is named after the Portuguese Prime Minister who was killed in a plane crash here in 1980. Ryanair currently serves the airportfrom Liverpool and London Stansted, as well as TAP-Portugal from London Gatwick and Heathrow. To reach the airport you can catch Line E of the metro which runs through the city centre to Estadio do Dragao. There is also a regular bus service to the city, running every 30 minutes and costing €1.50.
PortoThe Estadio do Dragao – “The Stadium of the Dragons” officially opened its gates on the 16th November 2003 when the home team beat FC Barcelona 2-0 in a friendly. Like the stadiums in Lisbon, the €100million construction of the ground was undertaken next door to their previous stadium, known as the Antas. The new stadium is a magnificent structure. Designed along the same lines as the Sydney Olympic stadium, and since copied by the Zentral Stadium in Leipzig, with two huge double tiered side stands and a sweeping curved roof. The stands behind the two goals have been designed so that another tier could be easily added, increasing the capacity to over 65,000 should it ever be required. From the outside you get a real feel for the sheer size of the stadium, The previous stadium, the Estadio das Antas Was opened in 1952 and held over 50,000 spectators in a huge bowl-like seating plan, with two small roofs offering limited protection from the frequent inclement northern Portuguese weather. The stadium was oval shaped, meaning that fans behind the goals were often along way from the action. When Portugal were awarded the 2004 European Championships in 1999, plans were immediately put in place for a new stadium for the team, capable of challenging the stadiums in Lisbon to hold the big international matches. 
Who Plays There? - FC Porto - 
Who Plays There? - FC Boavista - 