Madeira and Azores Rivalry
Due to the geographic area of the Azores, Santa Clara's main rivals are Club Sport Marítimo and Clube Desportivo Nacional, both from the Madeira islands, though currently they play in different tiers (Marítimo and Nacional play in the Portuguese Liga while Santa Clara plays in the Liga de Honra). Matches against teams from Madeira prove to be very heated affairs, with both sets of fans segregated and heightened security required. The fans are also known as the "Sefarditas", or in English the Sephardic Jews, due to the fact that the Azores had a large number of Jews that immigrated to the island, they were known as the Marranos, Jews that were forced to convert to Christianity. Fans of rivals are known to call the Santa Clara fans anti-Semitic slurs. Evidence of Ponta Delgada's Jewish past is even vibrant in the city's landscape at one time five synagogues were in the city alone. Politics also take a part in the Madeira and Azores derby due to the heated relationship with the two regional governors. Madeira's controversial regional governor, Alberto João Jardim, is a self-confessed Marítimo supporter, while on the opposite end, Azores regional governor, Carlos César, is a Santa Clara fan.
During the 2000s, the lack of funds going into Santa Clara were noticeable as the club fell from the First Division and sank deeply into the Second. It was this period that also saw the Azores and Madeira derby grow even stronger as Nacional and Marítimo fans would sing "O Barco Açoriano Está no Fundo" (translated as: "the Azorean boat has just sunk to the bottom"), but in recent times, there has been more investment in the club in hopes of returning to the top division.
The derby even competes with each other using players as Madeira's most famous footballer, being Cristiano Ronaldo, who played for Madeira club Nacional and currently plays for Real Madrid, and the Azores had prolific striker and all-time leading scorer for Portugal, Pauleta, who played for Santa Clara. This only exacerbates the ill-feeling between the clubs and the two islands.
Prior to Marítimo's October 2006 domestic league clash against Associação Naval 1º de Maio, Marítimo and fellow Madeira rivals Nacional announced that construction would begin on the brand-new, 10,000-capacity Estádio do Madeira in the nearby Praia Formosa area of Funchal. After Portuguese press released this statement, officials in the Azores also prompted for a brand new stadium in the Azores for Santa Clara, where Santa Clara and the Portuguese national team would play in. So far, Madeira's new stadium is in the works, and Santa Clara's new stadium is under consideration, pending a return of Santa Clara to the first division.
Read more about this topic: C.D. Santa Clara
Famous quotes containing the words madeira and/or rivalry:
“In this world of overrated pleasures,
Of underrated treasures.”
—Paul Madeira (b. 1904)
“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)