The Portuguese BIG THREE
SLB-SCP-POR (Os Três Grandes)
Two clubs from the city of Lisbon and the other from Porto are running the show in Portuguese football.
Benfica, Sporting CP, and FC Porto are the most successful football clubs in Portugal and have spent their entire existence in the top division of Portuguese football
Belenenses (1946) and Boavista (2001) are the reason why the Primeira Liga has not only stayed within the ‘Big Three’. Boavista and Porto are the reason why the title has left Lisbon.
The LEAGUE TITLES:
Benfica – 37
Porto – 30
Sporting CP – 19
The UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TITLES:
Benfica – 2
Porto – 2
Sporting CP – 0
The UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE TITLES:
Porto – 2
Benfica – 0
Sporting CP – 0
If you had to be a fan of one of the three clubs, which one will you bank your happiness on for the next decade?
WHICH CLUB IS WINNING THE 2022/23 PORTUGUESE PRIMEIRA LIGA?
THE top 4 at the end of the 2021/22 Primeira Liga
1| Porto – 91 points
2| Sporting CP – 85 points
3| Benfica – 74 points
4| Braga – 65 points
Porto will enter the new season as the defending champions.
Sporting CP will look to reclaim their title.
Benfica will be looking to get back to the top of the pile.
There was a 9-point gap between the big three and the rest of the league at the end of the 2021/22 Primeira Liga season.
Braga was their closest competition to the ‘Big Three’ last season. If we are to take Braga out of the equation, the gap between the ‘Big Three’ and the rest of the league would’ve been 23 points.
16 OF THE LAST 22 SEASONS HAVE HAD A SOUTH AMERICAN PLAYER AS THE LEAGUE’S TOP SCORER.
Pedro Gonçalves (Sporting CP) has been the only Portuguese national to finish as season top scorer since 2000. He did so in the 2020/21 Primeira Liga season when Sporting CP was their first league title since 2002.
A Brazilian national has been the league’s top scorer in 9 out of the last 22 editions of the Primeira Liga seasons: Leidson (Sporting CP), Mario Jardel (Porto and Sporting CP), and Jonas (Benfica) have been the top scorer on 2 occasions. Then there is Hulk (Porto), Pena (Porto), and Nene (Nacional)
Jackson Martinez (Colombia) was the top scorer for 3 consecutive seasons. One with Benfica and the other two with Porto.
Óscar Cardozo (Paraguay) finished as the season’s top scorer with Benfica on two occasions (around Hulk).
Lisandro Lopez (Argentina) was the top scorer for Porto.
Darwin Nunez (Uruguay) is the current holder with Benfica.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that the league’s top scorer in Portugal has been coming from one of the ‘Big 3’ clubs.
There have been 4 occasions since 2000 that the league’s top goalscorer was not from one of the ‘Big Three’.
Fary Faye for Beira-Mar in 2003
Albert Meyong for Belenenses in 2006
Anderson Miguel da Silva (Nenê) for Nacional in 2009
Mehdi Taremi for Rio Ave in 2020
Haris Seferovic (Switzerland) with Benfica and Bas Dost (Netherlands) with Sporting CP have been the other Europeans on the list with Pedro Gonçalves (Portugal) with Sporting CP.
Mehdi Taremi (Iran) is the only Asian on the list.
There have been three African top scorers.
Benni McCarthy (South Africa) with Porto
Fary Faye (Senegal) with Beira-Mar
and Albert Meyong (Cameroon) with Belenenses.
