Benfica Fans Lose Their Way ...

Whatever happened to the great navigational traits of the exploring Portuguese?

A couple of Benfica fans faced a rude awakening when they reached what they thought to be their destination for their team’s Europa League Quarter-Final, second-leg on Thursday.
The pair had documented their 26 hour drive from Amadora, Portugal, to Germany, which included a stop-off in Paris, on Instagram, and were delighted to post, “We have arrived in Frankfurt!” - only to discover it was the wrong Frankfurt.

One of the duo, Alvaro Oliveira, posted a picture of himself in front of a signpost for Frankfurt (O) - Frankfurt on the Oder, near the east German border with Poland.

As Instagram users quickly pointed out, the Portuguese pair were 610 kilometres (379 miles), roughly a six-hour drive, away from Frankfurt, Main - where the match was taking place at the Commerzbank Arena. They would have passed close to Frankfurt, Main, the larger of the two Frankfurts, on their way to their erroneous destination.

They had a further six hour drive to get back in the vain hope they would see at least part of the game.

The great Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama must have spun in his grave!

It’s not known if they actually made it on time, but the ultimately sad news is that their side, Benfica went out on away goals after losing 0-2 to Eintracht.