"Ser Benfiquista" (, eng, Being a Benfiquista) is the current anthem of Portuguese sports club

S.L. Benfica Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional association football, football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football league system, Portuguese footba ...

. The song acknowledges Benfica's humble beginnings and shows that being a benfiquista (supporter of Benfica) is more than being a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

fan. It is sung before every

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

match and sometimes during the match. It was written by Manuel Paulino Gomes Júnior and first sung on 16 April 1953 by

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

Luís Piçarra in the presence of 6,000 benfiquistas at a '' sarau'' in Benfica's old

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

Pavilhão dos Desportos, with the goal of raising money to build the original

Estádio da Luz The Estádio da Luz (), officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, its ...

. The original anthem, composed by

Félix Bermudes Félix Bermudes (4 July 1874 – 5 January 1960) was a Portuguese sports shooter. He competed in the team free rifle event at the 1924 Summer Olympics. He was also a significant author and playwright. In 1916, Bermudes became the 10th pres ...

in 1929, was called "Avante Benfica" ("Onward Benfica"). However, it was censored by the Estado Novo in 1942 because of the political connotation of the word ''avante'', which was considered an affront to

the establishment ''The Establishment'' is a term used to describe a dominant social group , group or elite that controls a polity or an organization. It may comprise a closed social group that selects its own members, or entrenched elite structures in specific ...

References

External links

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Ser Benfiquista lyrics
{{S.L. Benfica Portuguese songs S.L. Benfica Football songs and chants Portuguese-language songs 1953 songs