As Benfica prepare to face Farense later today, Portuguese football historian Miguel Lourenço Pereria takes us on another trip down memory lane to recall one of the most memorable matches the Algarve club ever played.

It was 1995, Farense was having a great season, Benfica was having a nightmare season, but no one could have predicted what would be played at the Estádio São Luís on April Fool’s Day that year.

There was a time when traveling to the Algarve was like visiting the dentist for any Portuguese title hopeful. It was a time when Sporting Clube Farense was proud of the intense atmosphere created in São Luis; it was a cauldron of emotions that made it difficult for any away team to deal with. Under the guidance of cool-headed Catalan coach Paco Fortes, the Farense team in 1995 achieved its best result in Portuguese league history and qualified for European competitions the following season. One of the defining moments of the season was when champions Benfica came to town and were overshadowed by the home team.

Benfica fans will tremble when talking about the 1994/95 season. The famous ‘Vietnam years’, a tumultuous period that lasted more than a decade and shattered the most-titled Portuguese club, began the very year following one of the most celebrated and remembered title wins in memory. However, winning the league and making it to the last eight of the Cup Winners’ Cup was not enough for the board.

The much-loved Toni was sacked, replaced by his former best friend Artur Jorge, who was one of the club’s greatest strikers but whose time as FC Porto manager had tarnished his perception of Águias fans. Jorge not only brought to the club a different tactical approach to Toni’s, but also made many changes to the squad that won the league title. A return to the Champions League has brought signings such as Argentinian international Claudio Cannigia, as well as Brazil’s promised Edílson. The club also recently added Michel Preud’homme, who was named the best goalkeeper of the 1994 World Cup.

As expected, Benfica started the season looking to win back-to-back titles, but they soon became a huge disappointment. The Lisbon team, which lost to AC Milan in the last eight of the Champions League, could never keep up with the home competition of the renewed FC Porto and the Sporting team, which was still recovering from the terrible end of the season in 1994. Robson and Carlos Queiroz were neck and neck for the title until Dragões visited Alvalade, Benfica soon fell behind and they had to worry about losing third place to a successful Vitória SC team. The Guimaraes team was one of the surprises of the season and right behind them in the league table we see Farense, who became one of the most popular teams in the country throughout the season. A rare achievement for any club south of Setúbal.

Football in the Algarve has always existed in a world of its own. For decades, a lack of infrastructure meant that Faro seemed as close to Seville as Lisbon. Local rivalries between Farense, Portimonense, Louletano and Olhanense developed, but these too rarely maintained a regular presence among the country’s elite. Olhanense won the Portuguese Camp at the dawn of football in Portugal – equivalent to becoming national champions according to some – but were vetoed from entering the newly formed league championship until 1941.

For clubs in the Algarve, this distance has also meant that it has become harder to sign players who resent the idea of ​​being isolated from their families. Away fans were also a rare sight, as traveling across the country on the old national roads meant long hours in and out of the south. When the highway connecting the capital to the Algarve was finally completed, things began to change rapidly. Tourism began to develop, following Spain’s Mediterranean trend. The Algarve became a destination for Lisbon’s upper and middle classes, followed closely by citizens from the uprising economic centers in the north. It has also become a paradise for foreign tourists, especially the British, Germans and Dutch, who value the tranquility of the region as well as its mild weather and superior gastronomy.

The excitement around the Algarve soon spilled over into the football world, with Portimonense experiencing a brief golden age in the early 1980s. By the end of the decade, the side on the rise was Sporting Farense. The club was founded by Sporting fans in the 1920s, who chose a version of the Stromp jersey used by the Lisbon team as their main kit. But since they only had the opportunity to take pictures through newspapers, they mixed the green and white shirt with black and white, and thus Farense adopted only these two colors for their main jersey; This was a trend that stood the test of time. . Farense were promoted to the first division for only the fifth time in their history, following a brief period in the late 1980s, at the beginning of the previous decade, and several up-and-down seasons in the early eighties.

In 1990 they not only celebrated their return to the first division, but also their only presence in the Portuguese Cup Final, which they lost again against Estrela da Amadora (see. The day Estrela da Amadora knocked out Vitória SC en route to Portuguese Cup glory article).

Match report published in A Bola on 2 April 1995, the day after Farense defeated Benfica

This was the beginning of a golden era in the club’s history under the guidance of the ebullient Paco Fortes, a former Barcelona player who finished his career in the Algarve, and he remained there, coaching the team superbly for over a decade. Fortes had a talent for scouting but was at his best at elevating relatively unknown players into top performers. During the first half of the 1990s, Faro became one of the most difficult away grounds for any team to visit. They finished seventh in the elite league in their first season and sixth in the next two seasons, always on the verge of qualifying for Europe. A low end in 1993/94 led many to believe the good times were over, but Fortes was just hammering out the final details of what would become his best team.

When Benfica came to town, there were eight games to be played until the end of the season and they were neck and neck with Farense, União de Leiria, Marítimo, Tirsense, Sporting Braga and Boavista to make it into the top five. They had to thank the goals of Moroccan international Hassan Nader and the excellent defensive qualities of Nigerian prince Peter Rufai. Africa had become a favored location for scouting the Algarve side. Moroccan Hajry, Senegalese Moussa and Angolan defender Rául were key players in the team, which also included Brazilian King, Sérgio Duarte and Helcinho, as well as many Portuguese players who are relatively unknown today but were household names in the 1990s, such as Hugo and Paixão. Miguel Serôdio, Tozé and Jorge Soares.

Indeed, the centre-back, who opened the scoring in the 25th minute, would later sign for Benfica. Played on a sunny Saturday afternoon, April 1, São Luis saw Soares head in a perfectly executed free kick from Hajry and draw first blood in a match already dominated by the home side. Benfica were everywhere from kick-off but surprisingly they equalized just three minutes later thanks to Edílson. The draw in the first half flattered the away team as Fortes edged past European Cup winner Artur Jorge.

This dominance finally translated into goals in a spirited second half that showed the best that Farense had to offer and the worst of an already lowly Benfica side. Moussa scored twice and Hassan scored a header in the 80th minute; it was another goal in a thunderous goalscoring campaign that culminated in the Bola de Prata award for the league’s top scorer. Benfica were beaten fairly and the home side went on to win five more from the next seven matches to move up to a landmark fifth place in the Portuguese league.

Unfortunately the club was already struggling financially due to the lack of investment and support from local businessmen. Half the squad were sold or left the club the following summer, with King and Hassan signing for Benfica after impressing Artur Jorge during the São Luis duel. Farense failed to beat Olympique Lyon in the UEFA Cup qualifying round and squad changes did not meet expectations; The team finished the league in a disappointing 10th place. Fortes remained as manager until 1999, and two seasons after his departure the club was finally relegated and entered a dark period that almost shortened their existence.

Still, the 1990s were a golden period for a side that was establishing itself as the Algarve’s main powerhouse. Some matches perfectly exemplify those golden years, but none more so than when Benfica were ruthlessly trashed on that sunny April afternoon. It is a day that Farense fans know will be difficult to repeat, especially with the club abandoning its São Luis ground to play against the Big Three in a more modern Faro-Loulé stadium, preferring a bigger gate receipt to the chance to revive memories of the golden hours. It is still in the heart and soul of every club supporter. A brief look back at when the Algarve team took down Goliath.