4 September 1955 - The European Cup Kicks Off

On 4 September 1955, Sporting hosted the first European Cup match, drawing 3-3 with Partizan in Lisbon.

Gabriel Hanot, editor of the French magazine L'Equipe, spurred the creation of the tournament, originally named the European Champions' Club Cup. The magazine selected sixteen initial participants--each from a different country--chosen to represent a cross-section of the best European clubs (though some of their preferred teams, such as Chelsea, declined the invitation). They were then placed them directly into a two-legged knockout round.

Sporting were chosen from Portugal despite finishing the previous season in third place. Partizan had fared even worse, finishing fifth in the Yugoslavian league.

A crowd of 33,000 watched that first match, played at Lisbon's Estádio Nacional, and were rewarded when Sporting midfielder João Martins (pictured) scored the opening goal in the 14th minute. Partizan winger Miloš Milutinović equalized in the 45th minute, then put the visitors ahead five minutes later. At the same time, the referee compounded Sporting's frustration, ejecting defender João Galaz from the match.

Despite being down to ten men, Sporting drew level with a 60th-minute goal from winger Joaquim Almeida, then fell behind again after a Partizan forward Stjepan Bobek in the 73rd before Martins salvaged a draw, scoring his second of the day in the 78th minute.

Partizan went on to win the second leg 5-2 on 12 October (with Milutinović scoring four) to advance to the quarterfinals, where they lost to eventual champions Real Madrid.

6 August 2003 - That's How You Make A First Impression

On 6 August 2003, Manchester United lost to Sporting in a friendly that introduced them to the Portuguese side's dynamic young winger, Cristiano Ronaldo.

United were in Lisbon to help Sporting inaugurate their new home, the Estádio José Alvalade. The Red Devils had just completed a four-game tour of the United States and seemed to be suffering from tired legs as the hosts romped to a 3-1 victory with goals from Luís Felipe (26') and João Pinto (62', 81'). Even United's consolation goal came courtesy of the Portuguese, as defender Hugo put the ball into his own net with two minutes remaining.

The day wasn't a total waste for United, though. Afterward, several players spoke to manager Alex Ferguson, raving about the performance of Sporting's 18-year old midfielder, Ronaldo, and urging their boss to sign him. Although Ronaldo had already attracted the interest of Arsenal and Liverpool, United swooped in and signed him that summer for a fee of £12.24M.

Ronaldo remained at Old Trafford for six seasons, making a total of 292 appearances in which he scored 118 goals. Along the way, he helped the club to three consecutive Premier League titles from 2007 to 2009 and won the Champions League in 2008.

In the summer of 2009, Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid for the world-record transfer fee of £80M, a profit of almost £68M for United.