Celtic, playing at Fenway Park for the first time since 1931, has a 1W-3L-2D record in New England since 1930. [Read more…] about July 21, 2010 – Celtic FC 1:1 Sporting CP, Fenway Park (Att.: 32,161)
Sporting CP
July 16, 1972 – SL Benfica 2:2 Sporting CP. First soccer game at Schaefer (Foxboro) Stadium (Att.: 24,396*)
Eusebio scored twice for Benfica against Sporting in a rematch of the Taça de Portugal in a Sunday afternoon exhibition. Marinho’s penalty kick opened the scoring (6’). Eusebio equalized (43’) and broke the deadlock (80’), then Fernando Peres converted (84’). [Read more…] about July 16, 1972 – SL Benfica 2:2 Sporting CP. First soccer game at Schaefer (Foxboro) Stadium (Att.: 24,396*)
July 21, 2010 – Celtic FC 1:1 Sporting CP at Fenway Park (Att.: 32,161)
Celtic’s Georgios Samaras opened the scoring with a 72nd-minute penalty kick and Helder Postiga’s 81st-minute header equalized. Paul McGowan scored the deciding shootout goal for Celtic, which was playing at Fenway Park for the first time since 1931. Celtic has a 1W-3L-2D record in New England since 1930.
This was the first Fenway soccer match since 1968, when Santos FC defeated the Boston Beacons, 7-1, before an 18,431 crowd. Chris Aduama photo
TODAY IN NEW ENGLAND SOCCER HISTORY
July 16, 1972 – SL Benfica 2:2 Sporting CP. First soccer game at Schaefer (Foxboro) Stadium
Eusebio scored twice for Benfica in a Sunday afternoon exhibition involving Lisbon’s rival clubs. Marinho opened the scoring in the sixth minute for Sporting. Eusebio equalized (43rd minute) and broke the deadlock (80th), then Fernando Peres converted an 84th-minute penalty kick for Sporting. [Read more…] about July 16, 1972 – SL Benfica 2:2 Sporting CP. First soccer game at Schaefer (Foxboro) Stadium
June 16, 1980 – New England Tea Men 2:1 New York Cosmos at Schaefer Stadium (Att.: 28,356)
Salif Keita’s 35-yard free kick past Hubert Birkenmeier made the difference with 1:04 left in OT (104th minute) as the Tea Men snapped a five-game losing streak. The Cosmos opened the scoring, Johan Neeskens heading in a 22nd-minute Franz Beckenbauer free kick. Kevin Keelan saved a Neeskens header off a Vladislav Bogicevic cross and a late first-half Beckenbauer shot. Chris Turner equalized off an Artur cross in the 47th minute. Giorgio Chinaglia was red-carded in 71st minute.
Jan. 25, 1942 – Eusebio da Silva Ferreira born in Lourenço Marques, Mozambique
Eusebio had a strong New England connection, partly because of the region’s Portuguese population. Eusebio probably could have had success in the Boston area similar to Pelé’s in New York, but circumstances worked against him.
The first soccer game at Foxboro Stadium matched Eusebio’s SL Benfica against Sporting CP on June 16, 1972. Eusebio did not score the first goal at the stadium – Sporting’s Mario Mateus Marinho converted in the sixth minute – but he equalized in the 43rd minute and broke the deadlock in the 80th minute of a 2-2 draw. The match drew a 24,396 crowd and organizers were encouraged enough to schedule a rematch a week later, this time attracting more than 25,000. For perspective, the Boston Red Sox were playing a 12-game homestand from June 9-21, crowds ranging from 8,860 to 21,682.
I never quite understood why a promoter did not follow up with another Benfica-Sporting match in the area. I talked about it with former Patriots’ announcer Gil Santos, who did the PA duties for the Benfica-Sporting games in ’72, but he did not have an answer, either. [Read more…] about Jan. 25, 1942 – Eusebio da Silva Ferreira born in Lourenço Marques, Mozambique
Jan. 5, 2014 – Benfica great Eusebio dies in Lisbon
This Week in NE Soccer History
Jan. 5, 2014 – Eusebio da Silva Ferreira dies in Lisbon
Eusebio da Silva Ferreira concluded his Benfica career and moved to the NASL to play for the Boston Minutemen in 1975, the year Pelé joined the New York Cosmos. The Eusebio-Pelé rivalry played out early in the season when the teams met at Nickerson Field June 20, 1975, the Minutemen winning, 2-1. Pelé left the game after his goal was ruled offside, the oversold crowd (estimated at 20,000-plus) storming the field, the result later annulled by NASL commissioner Phil Woosnam. Minutemen owner John Sterge was experiencing financial difficulties and facing Securities and Exchange Commission charges, so he sent Eusebio and Wolfgang Suhnholz to Toronto, where they won the 1976 Soccer Bowl title. [Read more…] about Jan. 5, 2014 – Benfica great Eusebio dies in Lisbon