Sporting CP U23

Foundation (1902–1906)

Sporting Clube de Portugal has its origins in June 1902, when a group of young men including Francisco da Ponte e Horta Gavazzo and his brother José Maria decided to create Sport Club de Belas. This club, the first ancestor of Sporting, played just one match and at the end of the year's summer, disbanded. Two years later, the idea of creating a football club was revived, and this time, with the Gavazzo brothers joined by José Alvalade (José Holtreman Roquette) and José Stromp; a new club, the Campo Grande Football Club, was founded. They played their matches on the estate of the Viscount of Alvalade (Alfredo Holtreman), José Alvalade's grandfather, with the club's headquarters located in Francisco Gavazzo's home. For two years, the club developed an intense activity on several sports, namely football, tennis and fencing.

The club also organized parties and picnics. Eventually, during one picnic, on 12 April 1906, discussions erupted, as some members argued that the club should only be focused on organizing picnics, balls and other social events, with another group contended that the club should be focused on sports instead. Some time later, José Gavazzo, José Alvalade and 17 other members left the club, with José Alvalade saying: "I'll go to my grandad and he'll give me money to create another club." As such, a new club, without a name, was founded on 8 May 1906, and on 26 May, it was named "Campo Grande Sporting Clube". The Viscount of Alvalade, whose money and land helped found the club, was the first president of Sporting. José Alvalade, as one of the main founders and first club member (sócio), uttered on behalf of himself and his fellow co-founders: "We want this club to be a great club, as great as the greatest in Europe." Beyond José Holtreman Roquette (José Alvalade) and his grandfather Alfredo das Neves Holtreman (Viscount of Alvalade), among the founders were also the brothers António, José and Francisco Stromp, the Gavazzo brothers, José Maria do Couto Valente da Ponte and José Ferreira Roquette. Two months later, on 1 July 1906, António Félix da Costa Júnior suggested the name Sporting Clube de Portugal, and since 1920 that is the club's foundation date.

Early years (1907–1946)

The year 1907 marked some "firsts" for the club, as Sporting played the first football match of their history on 3 February, ending in a 5–1 defeat against third division club Cruz Negra; inaugurated their first ground, known as "Sítio das Mouras" (the most advanced in Portugal at the time, equipped with showers, two tennis courts, an athletics track and a football field) on 4 July; and played the first derby of all time against local rivals S.L. Benfica (then known as Grupo Sport Lisboa) on 1 December. As early as 1909, the following sports were practised at the sports club: football, running and jumping (athletics), physical exercise (gymnastics), rope-wrestling, tennis, cricket and field hockey.

The club also released their first report card on 31 March 1922, titled "Boletim do Sporting" (Sporting's Report), lending the foundation for the later called "Jornal do Sporting", the official newspaper of the club, that still exists today.

Sporting played their first Primeira Liga game (the 1st Division of Portuguese football) ever on 20 January 1935, winning 0–6 against Académica de Coimbra. A year later, in 1936, the club had their heaviest ever defeat against Porto, losing 10–1. Sporting, however, got their revenge a year later, when they humbled the same team with a 9–1 result. In 1941, under the guidance of Hungarian manager József Szabó, the club celebrated the first league title of their history.

Golden years and fading (1946–1982)

The football team had their height during the 1940s and 1950s. It was spearheaded by Fernando Peyroteo, José Travassos, Albano Pereira, Jesus Correia and Manuel Vasques, in a quintet nicknamed "The Five Violins". With the violins' help, Sporting won seven league titles in eight seasons between 1947 and 1954, including a then unprecedented four in a row from 1950 to 1951 onwards. Fernando Peyroteo, the most known of "the violins", is considered one of the greatest Portuguese players of all time.

Sporting and the Yugoslavian team Partizan both made history on 4 September 1955, as they played the first-ever UEFA Champion Clubs' Cup match. Sporting player João Martins scored the first-ever goal of the competition, on the 14th minute. The match ended in a 3–3 draw. Sporting also inaugurated their new venue, José Alvalade Stadium, on 10 June 1956, which would be their home ground until 2003.