Portuguese football has never lacked stories. In the 1966 World Cup in England, under the leadership of Eusebio the Panther, Portugal won the best World Cup record - World Cup third place.
Under five-time footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal won Euro 2016 in France and the first UEFA Nations League in 2019. Now, the Portuguese team is about to launch an attack on the Qatar 2022 World Cup, inspiring great results.
The hometown of Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is not in Portugal, but in Madeira, an island more than 1,000 kilometers away from Portugal (southwest of the Iberian Peninsula). The international airport in Funchal, the capital of Madeira, is even named after Ronaldo – Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport.
In addition to Ronaldo's hometown of Madeira, Portugal also has an overseas territory - the Azores. Compared to Madeira, it is a little more low-key.
This slightly low-key place is home to Europe's westernmost top-flight team, Santa Clara Club.
Today's European Football Geography Island Football series, we walk into the Azores in Portugal to learn about the stories and customs here.
The Azores and the legend of Atlantis
The Azores are about 1,600 kilometers away from Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, 1,300 kilometers from mainland Portugal, 1,500 kilometers from the Moroccan coastline in western Africa and 1,900 kilometers from the Canadian island of Newfoundland.
The Azores, like Madeira, are also volcanic islands. The archipelago consists of 9 main islands. According to the approximate location, it is divided into the southeastern archipelago, the northwestern archipelago and the central archipelago.
The total area of the archipelago is 2,247 square kilometers, which is about the size of two Hong Kongs. It has a population of 245,700.
Historians and archaeologists have found catacombs on the islands of Corvou, Santa Maria and Terceira in the Azores, as well as earth-stone structures carved into rock, often thought to have been used as tombs, which Portuguese archaeologist Nuno Ribeiro believes are about 2,000 years old.
Some experts believe that the Azores are most likely the location of the legendary Atlantis.
The legend of Atlantis appeared in 350 BC, and Plato's Dialogues mentioned that 1000 kilometers west of the Strait of Gibraltar, there was a developed human civilization.
The civilization mysteriously disappeared 10,000 years ago. The location of this civilization has long been a mystery.
Some historians believe that according to the "Dialogue", the "Dialogue" describes the statement that it is more than 1,000 kilometers west of the Strait of Gibraltar, and believes that the Azores are the location of the legend of Atlantis. Because geologists once found the sea surface unusually flat and wide near the Azores, it is called the submarine Azores plateau.
Some scientists have studied the stones collected by divers on the Azores plateau under the sea, and believe that 10,000 years ago it was once a landmass. Therefore, the statement that the Azores are Atlantis has been recognized by many scholars.
The story of the Azores and Atlantis has long been a mystery. The island's relationship with Portugal is also a topic of discussion among historians.
According to the 14th-century Catalan logbook, the Azores have long been documented.
However, the Portuguese believed that the first time the Europeans found it was Van den Beek, a Belgian Flemish who was working for Portugal, and after Van den Beekden Island, he claimed that it was Portuguese territory.
But this claim has not been confirmed. It is also said that Portuguese navigator Calabulden established colonial rule on the island after that.
Whether it was the colonial rule established by the Flemish people or the Portuguese navigators. At least it shows that it has been part of Portugal (1580-1640, after Portugal was annexed by Spain) since the 15th century.
From 1836 to 1976, the Azores were divided into three administrative regions - Porto Heroes, Horta and Ponta Delgada. Each municipality has the same rights as the Portuguese metropolitan municipality. The Portuguese colonists did this for one reason only, to prevent the place from uniting and becoming independent, like the Brazilian colonies.
In 1976, after the democratization of Portugal, the three autonomous communities were merged into one autonomous region of the Azores, with Ponta Delgada as its capital.
The culture of the Azores was mainly influenced by Portuguese colonists. Traditions related to agriculture and whaling have also influenced the culture of the archipelago for centuries. Typical of the architecture are the use of local volcanic lava, whitewashed walls, and decorative tiles. The decorative tiles have influences from Moorish and Flemish ceramic techniques.
Azores Dumiao, Europe's westernmost top league team, Santa Clara FC
The highest level of Portuguese football is the Portuguese Premier League, or Portuguese Premier League for short.
Of the 18 teams in the Portuguese Premier League this season, 16 are from Portugal's Iberian Peninsula. Two of the teams are not on home – one is a team based in Ronaldo's hometown, Madeira Islands, Madeira Nautical Club.
Another team is Santa Clara, based in Ponta Delgada, the capital of the Azores.
Founded in 1921, Santa Clara is the most successful football club in the Azores. Attentive fans noticed that the Santa Clara club's logo was an eagle.
In this season's Champions League, the Portuguese Premier League club Benfica, who double-defeated Serie A giants Juventus, is also a hawk. The two teams appear to be "twin sisters", but in fact, Benfica's Eagles and Santa Clara Club's Eagles come from very different sources.
The eagle of the Santa Clara Club came from the island where it is located, the Azores.
Because many people believe that the word Azores in the Azores comes from the Portuguese word "goshawk" (Portuguese: Açor). This is according to the logs of numerous Portuguese navigators who once found traces of goshawk activity on the island.
Although no traces of goshawk nesting have been found on the island today, many historians believe that Portuguese navigators mistook other birds of prey for goshawks. At least, the goshawk became the identity of the island.
Santa Clara was founded in 1921, but the team is far from the center of the European scene because of its location in the Azores. In addition, the economic development of the region has long been dominated by agriculture and tourism, and the economic structure is single. The level of economic development in the region is lower than the Portuguese average.
This means that the development of the club is very limited. In the early days, the team had been hovering in Portugal's second and third divisions.
It wasn't until the 1998-99 season that they first fulfilled their dream of playing in Portugal's top flight. After one season, the team was promoted back to the Portuguese Premier League. But this time in the Portuguese Premier League was not long. Since then, the team has been wandering in the second division of Portuguese football for a long time.
Until the 2018-19 season, the team temporarily stabilized its position in the Portuguese Premier League. He has been a regular in the Portuguese Premier League for several seasons.
Because it is located in the westernmost part of Portugal, further west than Iceland. As a result, Santa Clara is also considered the westernmost club in Europe.
Europe's westernmost club was once one step away from the European Cup. In the 20-21 season, Santa Clara finished sixth in the Portuguese Premier League and qualified for the first European Cup play-off of the 2021-22 season.
In the second qualifying round of the Europa League, they first defeated North Macedonian side Skuppie 5-0 over two legs. In the third round, they killed Slovenian side Ljubljana.
In the play-offs, they drew Serbia's former Yugoslav giants Partizan Belgrade. A 2-1 victory in the first leg put the Azores team close to their first European match, but lost 2-0 in the second leg and lost 2-3 on aggregate to Partizan Belgrade.
Last season, Santa Clara finished seventh in the league and missed out on European competition.
So far this season, in the first 10 rounds, Santa Clara FC has won 2, drawn 2, lost 6 and accumulated 8 points, ranking 16th in the league. According to this ranking, Santa Clara will play the relegation play-off against the third place in the Portuguese First Division.
In the round of 11, their opponents were Portuguese Premier League giants Porto. This time, can Santa Clara beat Porto at home and finally complete the triumphant escape? Let's wait and see.