Sporting fans
Sporting fans prepare for the derby against Benfica at the Jose Alvalade Stadium
Date: Saturday, 23 April. Time: 12:00 BST. Channel: BBC One and Red Button

A firework came skidding across the concrete and went off with a loud bang.

It was a warning not to film the faces of the No Name Boys, the Benfica ultras who were among about 3,000 fans gathering outside the Estadio da Luz four hours before kick-off to chant, drink and meet friends before making the walk to the Jose Alvalade Stadium, home of

"You feel like an army going to enemy territory, and you give everything you have," says Filipe Ingles, who runs the podcast Benfica FM.

The Campeao Nacional 2020-21 banner hangs at the Alvalade, where supporters draped in green and white mingle.

The remains of a Benfica shirt burn beneath a stairwell of the oldest supporter club in Portugal, and they were held responsible for attacking players at the training ground.

When the wind turns you can hear the opposition fans approaching, but as more ticket holders arrive on the scene the home chants intensify and the flares become more frequent, peaking with a series of fireworks whistling and popping in the evening sky.

This is an atmosphere that blurs the senses, one you can taste as well as see, where the smell of Bifanas - pork loin steakMarinated in stock and red pepper paste, served in a crusty bread roll - is still present, but it is gone behind a hazy filter

It is a perfect location for one of the oldest and most passionate rivalries in Europe.

Sporting
The Brigada Ultras are one of a number of supporters' clubs for Sporting CP

Beatriz Marujo from CNN Portugal says that football is a religion in Portugal. Everybody has to stop and feel everything. Two clubs are separated by a single street.

The first meeting between the two sides in 1907 was at a time when there was a huge class divide between them.

Eight of their players were taken on the promise of better facilities and they won the game.

The image of the club as the people's club was encapsulated by their fans helping to build the original Estadio da Luz, a stadium that boasted a record attendance of 135,000 people for a game against Porto in 1987.

Eusebio, who was a player for the Portuguese club Sporting Clube de Louren, signed for Benfica and helped them to 11 league titles and a European Cup in 15 seasons.

Expresso journalist Diogo Pombo says that Eusebio had everything lined up.

When Eusebio arrived in Lisbon, he was snatched by people who were working for Benfica and hid in a hotel, he was the most important player in the history of the club.

Eagles fan Ingles calls it the biggest "what if?" in Portuguese football, although Eusebio said the real story was that his mother signed the contracts because he was offered a professional deal and a chance to trial with their reserves.

'A derby that moves the entire country'

As a fan, player and coach, he has lived the derby. He is the man who brought Sir Bobby Robson to the club in 1992 and is the one who claims to have been a member of the coaching team.

It is for his goal scoring exploits that he has gone down in the folklore of the Lisbon derby, as he netted four in a 7-1 win over Benfica in 1986.

The only derby in the championship that moves the entire country is this one.

In Portugal, the majority of football fans support one of the three teams - it is thought that one of them has six million followers.

The atmosphere around the derby has changed since he was a player.

He played for the national team and went to drink a glass of champagne in the changing room.

The rivalry will always exist, but today things like this are not possible because the commentators and the TV are different from the past.

Manuel Fernandes
Former Sporting captain Manuel Fernandes has been honoured with gate number seven at the Alvalade

Expresso journalist Pombo agrees and says it is definitely violent. Things got a bit fired up in the last 10 or 15 years. The fire started burning a lot more when Bruno de Carvalho was the president.

Both presidents didn't have a good relationship and gave a lot of interviews, but things are calmer now.

There have been tragedies caused by the hatred between fans. During the 1996 Portuguese Cup final, a firework thrown from the Benfica ultras killed aSporting fan, while in the same year, a Sporting fan died after being hit by a car during a night of trouble.

The majority of supporters have a passion for their club and don't see the rivalry as violence.

It is the closest thing to a religion that Ingles has. I don't know where I'll be, but I know I'll be a fan of Benfica for the rest of my life.

The passion grows with you, and you always have the honour of having been a part of the history of the club.

A gateway to Europe's biggest leagues

Darwin Nunez celebrates in front of the Benfica fans
Darwin Nunez celebrates in front of the Benfica fans after scoring his 33rd goal of the season

The fans are going through rituals before the match. They hold up placards with their badges, belt out the club anthem and then perform a stirring rendition of Frank Sinatra's "My Way" as the game starts.

The hosts dominate possession but it is Benfica who take the lead through Darwin Nunez, who is likely to follow a similar path to many talented youngsters who pass through Lisbon and use the Primeira Liga as a stepping stone to bigger things.

Portugal has become a gateway to Europe for some of South America's bright talents and 22-year-old Uruguay forward Nunez, who arrived via a season in the Spanish second tier with Almeria, is already being linked with several premier league clubs.

One of the most amazing things that Benfica has done is find players like Angel di Maria. Ingles says he could go on and on.

Unfortunately as a fan, we only get one good season out of them as they go to England or Spain and then it is wonderful to see them have great careers, but I wish they stayed at Benfica and won more titles.

The away fans in the corner of the stadium were wild as Nunez set up the second goal in the second minute of injury time to seal the victory.

The result won't matter much this season, as Porto are expected to win the title and second place will still be taken bySporting.

Belenenses, Lisbon's third team who reside in the fourth tier after the club split in two four years ago, is the only club outside of the big three to have won the league.

If Lisbon is cut in half as the dust settles on the derby, it will be a city that bleeds red and green.

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