Rivalry
Nacional has a big rivalry with Madeira-neighbours Club Sport Marítimo. Historically, Marítimo dominated Nacional in the early years, being the first to reach European competition. Nacional, however, have crept up in the UEFA standings, finishing fourth twice and fifth in the 2000s.
The Madeira Derby is often associated with the clubs' followers differing culture and way of life. The fans of Nacional, being of a higher socio-economic status than those of Marítimo, were mainly lobbyists for the commercial expansion of Madeira, but the working class Marítimo followers were keen to preserve Madeira. This only exacerbated the ill-feeling between the clubs.
The rivalry heightened when youngster Cristiano Ronaldo declined an offer from Marítimo in favour of Nacional, where his godfather was a member of the board. Politics plays a part in both the Madeira and the Azores derbies, because of Madeira's controversial regional governor, Alberto João Jardim, being a self-confessed Marítimo supporter. Jardim does not have a good relationship with Carlos César, the regional governor of the Azores, and an avid Clube Desportivo Santa Clara fan.
Read more about this topic: C.D. Nacional
Famous quotes containing the word rivalry:
“Sisters define their rivalry in terms of competition for the gold cup of parental love. It is never perceived as a cup which runneth over, rather a finite vessel from which the more one sister drinks, the less is left for the others.”
—Elizabeth Fishel (20th century)
“It seems to me that we have to draw the line in sibling rivalry whenever rivalry goes out of bounds into destructive behavior of a physical or verbal kind. The principle needs to be this: Whatever the reasons for your feelings you will have to find civilized solutions.”
—Selma H. Fraiberg (20th century)