2023-08-03 19:00:43
Portugal has just over 10 million inhabitants and three daily sports newspapers! This information alone already gives an idea of the place of football in the lives of the Portuguese. This enthusiasm does not date from the entry into play of Ronaldo. “This sport was already very popular in the 1960srecalls the historian Victor Pereira, researcher at the New University of Lisbon. At that time, Portugal had one of the best teams in Europe, including players who came from the colonies, like Eusebio. » And this is not chauvinism! In 1961 and 1962, Benfica, a Lisbon club, won twice the equivalent of the Champions League era.
These successes helped to popularize football in a country suffocated by the dictatorship where it was one of the few hobbies along with folk dances. Although Salazar did not appreciate it personally, the historian points out, this sport was one of the values promoted by the regime along with music and religion, known as the “3 Fs” for fado, Fatima and football. .
“Football is transclass”
Portuguese players are the pride of the country. And of all those who emigrate. “When the Portuguese arrived in France in the 1960s and 1970s, they came from a poor country, held low-skilled jobs and many lived in shanty towns, so football is the only area in which they feel a little superior to the French”observe Victor Pereira.
When the Portuguese teams come to play in France, the Portuguese fill the stadiums, but they also play a lot among themselves. From the first years, they created small amateur clubs, one of the best known of which was that of the Lusitanos of Saint-Maur, in the Val-de-Marne. According to Victor Pereira, it is even the Portuguese, among immigrants, who create the most clubs in France.
To speak of fervor is not excessive to describe the passion of the Portuguese for the round ball. Football has so permeated Portuguese society and the diaspora that it affects all walks of life… like religion. “In Portugal, unlike France, football is transclass and fluidifies social relations, analyse Victor Pereira. Instead of talking about rain or shine, two people who don’t know each other can very easily talk about football. »
Benfica, Sporting or Porto
It must be said that most Portuguese have a heart club… from an early age. It is quite common and commonplace to ask a child: “Which club are you from? » If they can support small teams, most supporters are divided between the three big clubs in the country, Benfica, Sporting or Porto.
In France, most Portuguese support Les Bleus… except when they play against Seleçao! “I’m not very into football, says the Franco-Portuguese journalist-comedian, David Castello-Lopes, but I always watch the semi-finals and finals of major competitions. Andwhen it’s France-Portugal, I’m for Portugal! Because it’s a small country against a big one. »
He is not the only one. “Many Portuguese or descendants of Portuguese support the Portuguese team out of loyalty to their village of origin, their parents or their grandparents who have immigrated, explains Victor Pereira again. But since the victory at the Euro in 2016, they also do it out of pride. » Football, testifies Hermano Sanches Ruivo, adviser to Paris, « is one of the times when the Portuguese in Franceassert their identity.
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