Feb 28 the day Benfica was born 100 years ago, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BENFICA We going to have a party all year long, with top teams invited to play a the portuguese cathedral http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=afp-fbl_por_benfica&prov=afp&type=lgns
Happy Birthday Benfica Benfica to mark 100th birthday with cake and fireworks By Ian Simpson LISBON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Benfica, historically Portugal's most successful club, marks its 100th birthday this weekend with cake and fireworks amid a title drought and financial strain. The Lisbon side, home to revered former Portugal striker Eusebio and winner of the domestic league title a record 30 times, kicks off three days of festivities late on Friday with a dinner and presentation of a cake decorated with 100 candles. Former striker Guilherme Espirito Santo, who won two Portuguese league titles after joining Benfica in 1937, was chosen to be honorary chairman of the championship festivities. "I hope that the next century will be as glorious as that in which I was proud to have contributed to making our club the most glorious in Portugal," Espirito Santo, 84, told A Bola newspaper. Founded on February 28, 1904, Benfica says it has millions of fans worldwide in Portugal's emigrant communities after having long been Portugal's best-known club. With Mozambique-born Eusebio, Benfica won the European Cup twice in the 1960s to become one of the continent's top clubs and the international face of Portuguese football. The club's new 65,000-seat stadium, Benfica's fourth home pitch, will host five games during this year's European championship, including the final on July 4. The festivities include a parade of fan clubs and Benfica's associated teams, including their athletics and basketball teams, and fireworks following Benfica's home game with mid-table Moreirense on Sunday. Although Benfica have won more league titles than any Portuguese club, they are without a championship success since 1994. Benfica are currently third in the premier league, 12 points behind leaders Porto and five points adrift of Sporting. The club has also suffered financial strain with a Deloitte consultancy study last year showing Benfica lost 4.7 million euros ($5.85 million) in the 2001-2002 season. The club said on Thursday it was seeking to raise 15 million euros through a bond issue.