Formed: 1906
Nickname: Leões (Lions)

UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)
• UEFA Cup: (2005)
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1964

Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
• League title: 18 (2002)
• Portuguese Cup: 15 (2008)

History
• Inspired by members of Lisbon's aristocracy, such as José Holtreman Roquette (known as José Alvalade because he was the Viscount of Alvalade's grandson), the club were founded with the stated ambition: "We want this to be a great club, as great as the greatest in Europe". Provisionally named Campo Grande Sporting Club, the Lisbon team adopted their current title on 1 July 1906.

• Sporting won the first Portuguese title in 1922/23 and their pedigree was established in the 1940s and 1950s when they won ten league titles and 13 Portuguese Cups. The forward line of Fernando Peyroteo, José Travassos, Jesus Correia, Manuel Vasques and Albano Pereira were collective known as the 'The Five Violins', and in later years Sporting have specialised in producing wingers like Paulo Futre, Luís Figo, Ricardo Quaresma, Simão, Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo.

• With such an impressive domestic record against rivals SL Benfica and FC Porto, Sporting were among the 16 clubs invited to participate in the inaugural edition of the European Champion Clubs' Cup. The first fixture of the new competition was actually played at Estádio Nacional, in the Lisbon suburbs, João Martins scoring the historic opening goal in a 3-3 draw with FK Partizan.

• The first European trophy arrived in the 1964 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup with a 1-0 defeat of MTK Budapest in the replay, João Morais scoring direct from a corner. Earlier in the competition they had beaten Cyprus' APOEL FC 16-1, still the record winning margin in a UEFA club fixture.

• A run of 18 years without a league title ended in 1999/00, repeated in the double-winning season of 2001/02. On 6 August 2003 the rebuilt Estádio José Alvalade was opened – Sporting having moved from the Estádio do Lumiar into the original in 1957 – and two years later Sporting reached the UEFA Cup final at the stadium. They lost 3-1 to PFC CSKA Moskva.

Club records
Most appearances: Vítor Damas (743)
Most goals: Fernando Peyroteo (694)
Record victory: Sporting 21-0 SC Mindelense (Portuguese Cup, 23 May 1971)
Record defeat: FC Bayern München 7-1 Sporting (UEFA Champions League, 10 March 2009)

* Last updated on 6 July 2010