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Estádio da Luz

Coordinates: 38°45′10″N 9°11′05″W / 38.752678°N 9.184681°W / 38.752678; -9.184681
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This article is about the current home ground of S.L. Benfica. For the previous one, see Estádio da Luz (1954). For the home ground of Sunderland A.F.C., see Stadium of Light.

Estádio da Luz
A Catedral
O Inferno da Luz
UEFA
Map
Full nameEstádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica
AddressAv. Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, 1500-313
LocationLisbon, Portugal
Coordinates38°45′10″N 9°11′05″W / 38.752678°N 9.184681°W / 38.752678; -9.184681
Public transitLisbon Metro  Azul  at Alto dos Moinhos
Lisbon Metro  Azul  at Colégio Militar/Luz
OwnerS.L. Benfica
OperatorS.L. Benfica
Executive suites156
Capacity64,642
Record attendanceOfficial match: 64,591[2]
(13 May 2017)
All-time: 65,400
(25 October 2003)
Field size105 x 68 m
SurfaceGrass
ScoreboardYes
Construction
Broke ground2003
Opened25 October 2003
Construction cost€162 million[1]
ArchitectHOK Sport (now Populous)
Tenants
S.L. Benfica (2003–present)
S.L. Benfica B (2003–2006, 2012–2013)
Portugal national football team (selected matches)
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 S.L. Benfica, its owner.

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[3][4] and is currently set at 64,642.[5] The stadium was designed by HOK Sport Venue Event and had a construction cost of €162 million.[1]

A UEFA category four stadium and one of the biggest stadiums by capacity in Europe (the biggest in Portugal), Estádio da Luz hosted several matches of the UEFA Euro 2004, including its final, as well as the 2014 and 2020 finals of the UEFA Champions League. Moreover, it was the venue for the New7Wonders of the World announcement ceremony in 2007.[6] It was elected the most beautiful stadium of Europe in a 2014 online poll by L'Équipe.[7][8][9]

By its fifteenth birthday, Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica Luz had welcomed more than 17 million spectators.[10]

Naming

While the previous Benfica stadium was also officially named "Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica", both the old and the new stadia are invariably referred to by their unofficial name, Estádio da Luz. Luz is the name of the neighborhood the stadium was built on, on the border between the parishes of Benfica and Carnide, which itself derives its name from the nearby Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Luz (Church of Our Lady of Light). This unofficial name caught on soon after the original stadium's construction;[11] the people of Lisbon used to simply call it a Luz ("the Light"). Therefore, the stadium's common name became "Estádio da Luz", which is usually anglicised to "Stadium of Light".[12] This translation, however, could be argued to be inaccurate, since Luz refers not to "light" but to the original address of the stadium: Estrada da Luz ("Road of Light").[13][14] Like its predecessor, the current stadium is also referred to as a Catedral (the Cathedral) or as o Inferno da Luz.[15]

Characteristics

Architect Damon Lavelle,[16] from HOK Sport Venue Event (now Populous), designed the stadium to focus on light and transparency. Its polycarbonate roof allows the sunlight to penetrate the stadium in order to illuminate it. The roof, which is supported by tie-beams of four steel arches, seems to float on the underlying tribunes. The arches are 43 metres high and help define the look of the stadium, after having been shaped to be similar to the wavy profile of its three tiers.

A panorama of the Estádio da Luz on 30 July 2009

Notable matches

Opening game

Benfica Portugal2–1Uruguay Nacional
Nuno Gomes 7', 47' Report Mello 11'
Attendance: 65,400

In the opening match, Benfica beat Uruguayan side Nacional 2–1 with goals from Nuno Gomes, who became the first ever scorer at the Estádio da Luz.

UEFA Euro 2004

Quarter-finals

Portugal 2–2 (a.e.t.) England
Postiga 83'
Rui Costa 110'		 Report Owen 3'
Lampard 115'
Penalties
Deco soccer ball with check mark
Simão soccer ball with check mark
Rui Costa soccer ball with red X
Ronaldo soccer ball with check mark
Maniche soccer ball with check mark
Postiga soccer ball with check mark
Ricardo soccer ball with check mark		 6–5 soccer ball with red X Beckham
soccer ball with check mark Owen
soccer ball with check mark Lampard
soccer ball with check mark Terry
soccer ball with check mark Hargreaves
soccer ball with check mark A. Cole
soccer ball with red X Vassell
Attendance: 62,564

In the first quarter-final ever between England and Portugal, the English side 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 the header was ruled out for what referee Urs Meier deemed a foul on the Portuguese goalkeeper Ricardo. The sides exchanged goals in extra-time, sending the match to a penalty shoot-out, which Portugal won 6–5. Ricardo saved the penalty from Darius Vassell and then scored the winning goal.

Final

Main article: UEFA Euro 2004 Final
Portugal 0–1 Greece
Report Charisteas 57'
Attendance: 62,865
Referee: Markus Merk (Germany)

2014 UEFA Champions League Final

Main article: 2014 UEFA Champions League Final
Real Madrid Spain4–1 (a.e.t.)Spain Atlético Madrid
Ramos 90+3'
Bale 110'
Marcelo 118'
Ronaldo 120' (pen.)		 Report Godín 36'
Attendance: 60,976[17]

2019–20 UEFA Champions League

Quarter-finals

Atalanta Italy1–2France Paris Saint-Germain
 Report
Attendance: 0[18][note 1]
Barcelona Spain2–8Germany Bayern Munich
 Report
Attendance: 0[19][note 1]

Semi-finals

RB Leipzig Germany0–3France Paris Saint-Germain
Report
Attendance: 0[20][note 1]

Final

Main article: 2020 UEFA Champions League Final
Paris Saint-Germain France0–1Germany Bayern Munich
Report Coman 59'
Attendance: 0[note 1]

Portugal national football team matches

Entrance of the stadium during 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[21]  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
17. 10 October 2017 2–0   Switzerland 2018 World Cup qualification
18. 7 June 2018 3–0  Algeria Friendly
19. 10 September 2018 1–0  Italy 2018–19 UEFA Nations League
20. 22 March 2019 0–0  Ukraine Euro 2020 qualifying
21. 25 March 2019 1–1  Serbia Euro 2020 qualifying
22. 11 November 2020 7–0  Andorra Friendly
23. 14 November 2020 0–1  France 2020–21 UEFA Nations League

Euro 2004 matches

Date Result Round
13 June 2004  France 2–1  England Group B
16 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 UEFA competitions

Further information: S.L. Benfica in international football
As of match played 3 December 2020
94 matches: 59 wins, 18 draws, 17 losses
157 goals scored, 74 goals conceded

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d The match was played behind closed doors to comply with restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

  1. ^ a b "Vender jogadores para gerar receitas" [Selling players to generate revenue]. Record (in Portuguese). 29 April 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  2. ^ "History has been made". S.L. Benfica. 13 May 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  3. ^ "Stadiums in Portugal". World Stadiums. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Estadio da Luz". World Stadium Database. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  5. ^ "fsd150611.pdf" (PDF). CMVM (in Portuguese). S.L. Benfica. 14 April 2016. pp. 81–82. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  6. ^ "Das Sete Novas Maravilhas do Mundo, o Cristo Redentor" [From the New Seven Wonders of the World, Christ the Redeemer]. Expedia.com.br (in Portuguese). 19 November 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  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. ^ "Luz recebeu mais de 17 milhões de espectadores em 15 anos" [Da Luz welcomed more than 17 million spectators in 15 years]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 25 October 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  11. ^ Silveira, João Pedro. "Luz: a Catedral" [Luz: the Cathedral]. zerozero (in Portuguese). Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  12. ^ Lutz, Tom (20 March 2012). "Benfica's Stadium of Light to host 2014 Champions League final". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  13. ^ "Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica (Luz)". Sport Lisboa e Benfica - Site Oficial. Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  14. ^ Hunter, James (20 April 2017). "The Princess Diana Stadium? Sir Bob Murray reveals request to rename the Stadium of Light". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  15. ^ "Benfica junta a festa de Carnaval ao inferno da Luz" [Benfica join Carnival celebrations to the inferno da Luz]. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  16. ^ "15 Best Football Stadiums in the World". twelfthman blog. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  17. ^ "Full-time report" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  18. ^ "Full Time Summary Quarter-finals – Atalanta v Paris Saint-Germain" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  19. ^ "Full Time Summary Quarter-finals – Barcelona v Bayern Munich" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  20. ^ "Full Time Summary Semi-finals – RB Leipzig v Paris Saint-Germain" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 18 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  21. ^ 6–5 after penalty shoot-out.
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Preceded by UEFA European Championship
Final venue
2004 		Succeeded by
Preceded by UEFA Champions League
Final venue
2014 		Succeeded by
Preceded by UEFA Champions League
Final venue
2020 		Succeeded by
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