Dhe borders between politics and sport are always blurred in Portugal when it comes to football. When Uefa announced its decision to host the Champions League final in Lisbon in mid-August, the Prime Minister, the President of the Parliament, the Mayor of Lisbon and the head of the Portuguese Football Association met in the President’s Garden. “This is already a win for all Portuguese. They have resisted and overcome the pandemic magnificently, ”said Socialist Prime Minister António Costa with a lot of pathos in his voice. Just in time for the start of the summer travel season, Portugal’s concentrated political elite wanted to send a signal that the country was a safe travel destination.
It actually looked like it for a long time. The corona pandemic hit Portugal comparatively late, giving the country time to prepare better than other southern European countries like Italy or Spain. The Portuguese health system withstood the pressures, death rates and infections were low. At the beginning of May, the coercive measures were gradually relaxed.
Two modern stadiums and training grounds
Lisbon also had good logistical arguments for the Champions League final, which draws attention this Friday (12 noon / Sky Sport News HD) with the draw. The quarter-finals begin on August 12th. There is only one duel at a time and not the return game as usual. The finale rises on August 23. With the stadiums of Benfica and Sporting, the city of Lisbon has two modern venues, which had already been the stage for a Champions League final and a final of the then UEFA Cup in 2014 and 2005.
Both clubs also have large training facilities just outside Lisbon. And last but not least, the Portuguese football association maintains the “Cidade de Futebol” play and training facility inaugurated in 2016 – a “football city” with further training facilities for the participating top European clubs.
This has not included Portuguese clubs for years. Benfica Lisbon failed in the current competition in the preliminary round due to RB Leipzig among others. For the first time since 1979, no team from Portugal has made it into the round of 16 of the European competitions. The three large, highly indebted clubs Porto, Benfica and Sporting have to sell talented young players earlier and earlier. And South American talents, which in the past had found their way to the top European leagues through Portugal, are now increasingly being directly hired by financially strong clubs.
Portugal has missed the connection to the five major European football leagues and even had to watch how Russia pulled away in the five-year ranking and stole the Portuguese from the Champions League. This leads to a lot of frustration among the fans. Two years ago, hooligans stormed the Sporting training ground and beat players with iron bars. And in May, the Benfica player bus was thrown at with stones – the German international Julian Weigl was also slightly injured.
The fact that the final round of the Champions League is now being held in Lisbon has also been understood as a kind of consolation for the troubled Portuguese club football. Since the successful hosting of the European Football Championship in 2004, Portugal has always dreamed of another big tournament. “This is not just a Champions League final game,” said President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. “It is a unique event. Not just because of the format, but also because we are all experiencing a pandemic for the first time. ”
However, doubts have now grown as to whether Portugal can actually sell itself as a safe holiday destination. In the greater Lisbon area in particular, health authorities are unable to significantly reduce the number of newly infected people. Since the end of May, the region has recorded 200 to 300 new Corona cases almost every day. Prime Minister Costa has long held the theory that Portugal only has so many new infections because an above-average number would be tested. But experts point out that overcrowded public transport, a lack of precautions in the low-wage sector and poor tracking of contacts by newly infected people lead to stable but consistently high growth in new corona cases.
Spectators highly unlikely
The government has therefore introduced new restrictions for 19 municipalities with around 700,000 inhabitants, who mainly live in the poorer suburbs of the greater Lisbon area to the north. In fact, the city center, where the Champions League final is to be played, is not directly affected by the above-average growth of new Corona cases and the tougher coercive measures.
Despite the latest developments, Uefa has held on to the Lisbon venue. However, the football officials have to say goodbye to a dream. The Champions League final is very likely to take place in front of empty ranks. When the Henkelpokal is raised into the night sky at the Luz Stadium in Lisbon on August 23, it is likely that only officials and journalists will be present – and of course Portuguese state and government representatives.
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