Helton is still the team’s main goalkeeper as well as team captain after a series of amazing performances over the past couple of years. His swift reaction and fantastic responsiveness make him perfect for the team for sure. Supporting the team’s captain in strengthening Porto’s defensive line, we have top defensive players including Álvaro Pereira, Maicon, Rolando, and Jorge Fucile. These four players are starters in almost every match thanks to their well-built teamwork and great defensive skills.

Fernando is the player in charge of attack building as well as strengthening the defensive line. His strategic place as midfielder, coupled with his agility and fantastic football skills, makes him key in many Porto matches. Rúben Micael and João Moutinho are positioned slightly in front of Fernando as attacking midfielders. You can expect Porto’s attacks to be sharp and fast with these two players in the midfield.

Silvestre Varela and Hulk assume the position of attacking wingers, strengthening Porto’s attack line greatly. As the tip of Porto’s arrow, Radamel Falcao is positioned as the team’s main striker. The combination can be deadly for opposing teams, especially when these three attacking players work together in constructing fast crosses and attacks.

Benfica’s golden era started in 1960, when they won the 1960 Championship or the Portuguese First Division. The next year, they won the same trophy and also won the European Champions’ Cup, breaking Barcelona’s and Real Madrid’s domination in 1961 and 1962. Since then, the team performed fantastically in both local and international competitions.

Benfica also reached three more European Champions’ Cup finals, bet they lost the match to Milan in 1963, Internazionale in 1965, and to Manchester United in 1968. Although they didn’t win the European Champions’ Cup, the team performances alone were spectacular nonetheless.

In 1968, Benfica was crowned the best European football team by a football publication France Football. The team’s success was indeed thanks to Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, a prominent striker who quickly became Benfica’s main motivator in the field.

The team continued this golden era all the way to the 1970s, although their appearances in European Champions Cup were not as brilliant. The won six more Championship trophies in 1971, ’72, ’73, ’75, ’76, and ’77. The team also reached the semi-final of European Cup of Champions against Ajax, only to be defeated by a single goal; it was a memorable match that caught European football fans’ attention.

Arsénio Duarte is in 10th place, playing for Benfica during the 1943–1959 period. Duarte was an accomplished player nonetheless, scoring 211 goals throughout his time with Benfica. In 9th place, we have the infamous Rui Jordão. The young player started playing for Benfica in 1971 before transferring to Sporting CP and Vitória de Setúbal later on in his career. He scored 215 goals over the course of 18 years till 1989.

José Augusto Torres who was also playing for Benfica scored 217 goals, placing him in 8th place. Matateu, playing for Belenenses from 1951 till 1967, scored 218 goals and secured 7th place on the list. In sixth place, we have Manuel Fernandes who scored 243 goals throughout his career.

It is interesting to see the top 5 highest goalscorers, starting with Néné in 5th place. He scored 262 goals for Benfica, but he is topped by his senior José Águas who scored 290 also for Benfica. Fernando Gomes, a legendary player nonetheless, ranked 3rd on the list after scoring 318 games in his career. Eusébio is in 2nd place with 319, while Fernando Peyroteo is topping the list with 331 goals.

F.C. Porto has an incredible record of participations in the Portuguese top-level division. The team is part of Portuguese top-level division for no less than 76 years. Port has never been relegated to second division at all throughout the team’s history, placing this team as one of the most successful teams in Portuguese football history.

Over the course of 76 years, F.C. Porto played 1988 matches and won 1287 of them. That’s over 60% of winning percentage indeed, rating the team as one of the best in Europe. Even top teams including Chelsea and Manchester United don’t have winning percentage that high. Let’s not forget that F.C. Porto also scored 369 draws, which means they only lose 332 matches or nothing more than 17% over the team’s history.

F.C. Porto won the top-division trophy 24 times and successfully finished second in another 24 seasons. The record is only beaten by Benfica’s record of 32 league victories, although both teams have the same number of runner-up finishes. It is only natural to expect F.C. Porto to win more league trophies, especially with their current squad.

The most successful team in the history of Portuguese football league would have to be Benfica. The team won no less than 32 league trophies including their series of amazing performances – victories and runner-up finished – in 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994. They also finished as league runner-up 24 times, proving their spectacular performance over the years.

Next, we have F.C. Porto. Although Porto is doing fantastically well in international competitions, the team won only 24 league trophies and finished as runner-up 24 times. They also won the last four league trophies consecutively, starting from 2006 all the way to the 2009 league. Porto is considered Benfica’s closest rival of all time.

Next, we have Sporting CP that scored 18 league victories and 19 runner-up finishes over the team’s history. It is interesting to see what Sporting CP can do this year, especially after they showed great improvements over the past four years.

Both Belenenses and Boavista recorder one league victory, in 1946 for Belenenses and in 2001 for Boavista. These two teams also finished as league runner-up three times over the league’s history, while Académica de Coimbra, Vitória de Setúbal, and Braga each finished as league runner-up once.

The fifth largest stadium that is part of the Liga ZON Sagres is the Estádio Cidade de Coimbra. The stadium is the home of Académica Coimbra, and can hosts up to 30,210 fans. However, since the team has not yet reached the level of popularity expected, the highest noted visitors were only 21,742.

Next, we have the Estádio do Restelo in fourth place. The stadium has 32,500 seating capacity and recorded a cool 17,473 highest visitor record just a while back. It is also the home of Belenenses, who is currently improving in the Liga ZON Sagres.

In third place, we have the Estádio José Alvalade – Século XXI, a stadium that is also a home for Sporting CP. It has a staggering 50,080 seating capacity and has recorded a maximum number of 45,880 visitors. It is also one of the most modern stadiums in Liga ZON Sagres.

In second place, we have Estádio do Dragão, home of the famous F.C. Porto. The stadium has a total of 50,399 seats. The largest stadium? That would be the Estádio da Luz – also known as the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica – with 65,647 seats.