Benfica is mainly known for its football team, which historically has been the most successful in Portugal and one of the "Três Grandes" or Big Three clubs in Portugal, with Porto and Sporting Lisbon being the other two clubs.
Benfica was one of the founding members of the Portuguese Liga in 1933, and, together with FC Porto and Sporting CP, they have never been relegated from the First Division
Since the 2004-05 championship, club membership figures have seen a significant increase. In April 2006, the number of club members surpassed 140,000. In July 2006, Benfica had 143,000 members, 1,000 more than Manchester United. Since 2006, Benfica has been the club with the most associates in the world, with over 175,000 members.
Benfica was the first team to break Real Madrid's dominance in the early European Champions' Cup. Having won two European Cups in a row against FC Barcelona (1961) and Real Madrid (1962). During this decade, Benfica went on to reach another three European Champions' Cup finals, but the Lisbon club never managed to win a European trophy again. Having lost against AC Milan (1963), Internazionale (1965), and Manchester United (1968).
In 1968, Benfica was considered the best European team by France Football, despite its defeat in the Champions Cup. Many of its successes in the 1960s were achieved with all-time football great Eusébio playing for the Lisbon side. In fact, the 1960s were the best period of Benfica history, in which the club won an astonishing eight Championships, three Portuguese Cups, and two European Champions Cup.
Academy:
Benfica has state-of-the-art training facilities in Seixal. The complex is called the Caixa Futebol Campus, named for sponsoring reasons after Caixa Geral de Depósitos, which is the largest banking corporation of Portugal. It is here that the professional team trains daily and also the home of all Benfica's youth academy.
Benfica SL have produced many star players through their outstanding academy, big names such as: Rui Costa, Paulo Sousa and Manuel Fernandes.
Transport Access : Lisbon Airport is only 10km (15min coach journey) from Benfica FC and the city center.
