FC Porto mark stadium anniversary: | OneFootball

On Sunday, FC Porto used its newsletter, “Dragões Diário,” to mark the 22nd anniversary of the Estádio do Dragão, whose inauguration featured Lionel Messi.

“The flame of the Dragon has been burning for 22 years: on November 16, 2003, Porto fans celebrated the first of many victories in the Stadium where they would go on to celebrate 34 national, European, and world titles. Since then, FC Porto’s new home has proven to be a worthy successor to the Antas and has been the stage for great moments, records, and generations of idols, who have already scored more than 1,000 goals in 523 official matches. These are more than two decades of memories that will remain in the heart of every fan, but there are still many chapters left to write in the history of the Dragão,” reads the “Dragões Diário,” followed by a more detailed description of the inaugural match, which marked Lionel Messi’s debut for Barcelona.

“On this day in 2003, the Estádio do Dragão hosted a gala night with Barcelona as the guest of honor. In the match that marked Lionel Messi’s debut, Derlei was the first to open the scoring, converting a penalty, and Hugo Almeida followed in his footsteps, sealing the result in the second half (2-0). The victory over the culés at the inauguration proved to be an excellent omen for what was to come: in the very first year of the Dragão, FC Porto became National, European, and World Champion—a status the club strives to honor to this day,” the dragons conclude.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.