1991–92 S.L. Benfica season

In his fifth year at Benfica, Swedish manager Sven-Göran Eriksson had to rebuild a new eleven, following the departures of Ricardo Gomes and Valdo to Paris Saint-Germain.[2] After two seasons as back-up, Paulo Madeira had its breakthrough season alongside William, amassing 47 appearances, second-best in the squad.[3] To replace Valdo, Eriksson opted for the 19 year-old, Rui Costa, which had just returned from a successful loan spell at AD Fafe.[4] Benfica also made a few signings, notably Vasili Kulkov and Sergei Yuran, both internationals for the Soviet Union.

Benfica entered their league campaign with a home loss to Boavista. In the following weeks, they recovered the lost ground, and finished September in fourth place, only a point from first.[5] In the same month, the team started their European Cup run with a 10–0 win on aggregate over Hamrun Spartans.[6] On 3 November, Benfica draws the first Clássico of the year, at Estádio das Antas, as the two teams were now matched in second. Three days later, in the second round of the European Cup, Benfica visited Highbury and knocked Arsenal out of the competition, with a 3–1 win, in part due to the individual efforts from Isaías, who bagged a double.[7] It was the first time since 1961–62 that the club defeated a team from England, and granted a spot on the newly created group stages of the tournament.[7] November ended with mixed results, they were joint-first on the league, but lost their European Cup opening game against Dynamo Kyiv.[6]

In December, the team collected two wins and two draws in the domestic league, making them trail Porto by a point at the New Year.[8] Similar situation happened in Europe, after a home draw to Barcelona, they were last at their group after the second match-day.[6] However, in the other competitions, they opened the Portuguese Cup with a win and beat Porto on the first leg of the Supercup.[9] In January, three win less match-days that spread from 29 December to 19 January, which included a second loss to Boavista, increased Porto's gap to three points on the title race, while on the second league of the Supercup, a one-nil loss, postponed the trophy decision until September.[8]

After a fruitful February, in which the team bagged 9 points out of 10 possible, they entered March still chasing Porto who retained the same lead.[10] After a second home draw in the European Cup, on 4 March against Sparta Prague, Benfica postponed the league match of 15th, to better focus in the return leg to Czechoslovakia. However the contend ended in another draw, and the three points in four match-days, Barcelona qualified for the final, as they had seven points.[9] On the following Sunday in a decisive game for the title race, an 89th-minute goal from Ion Timofte gave Porto a 3–2 win at Estádio da Luz and increased their lead to five points.[10] As consolation, the team beat Sporting de Espinho by 6–0 win in the quarter-finals of the Portuguese Cup, thus ensuring a third game against Boavista, on the semi-finals.[6]

April ended any hopes of a silverware, as competitions dropped in succession. Despite recording a first win in the European Cup on 1 April, the closing match of the competition, at the Camp Nou, began a dark spell. With a 2–1 loss to Barcelona on the 15th, Benfica started a win less spree that cost them the two remaining competitions.[9] On Saturday the 18th, the team draws to Farense at home.[11] Four days later, Boavista knocks Benfica out of the Portuguese Cup final, beating them for a third time in the season.[6] Next in consecutive away games, Benfica loses to Beira-Mar on the 26th and then awards the title to Porto on the 30th, after losing to Desportivo de Chaves, the delayed game from March.[11] Benfica ended in second, 10 points away from Porto, with nine points dropped at home, from two losses to Boavista and Porto, and draws to Estori-Praia, Penafiel, Torreense, Salgueiros and Farense. Eriksson departed to Sampdoria at the end of season.[7]

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira

Main article: 1991 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira

Benfica v Porto

18 December 1991 First leg	Benfica	2–1	Porto	Luz, Lisbon
	Yuran 16' William 76'	Report	Magalhães 61'	Attendance: 70,000 Referee: José Pratas (Évora)

Porto v Benfica

29 January 1992 Second leg	Porto	1–0	Benfica	Antas, Porto
	Timofte 67'	Report	Paneira  0'  26'	Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Bento Marques (Évora)

Matches

Benfica v Boavista

17 August 1991 1	Benfica	0–1	Boavista	Lisbon
19:45		Report	Casaca 13'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 35,000 Referee: José Pratas

Gil Vicente v Benfica

24 August 1991 2	Gil Vicente	0–1	Benfica	Barcelos
20:15		Report	Pacheco 41' (pen.)	Stadium: Estádio Adelino Ribeiro Novo Attendance: 18,000 Referee: Miranda de Sousa

Benfica v Vitória Guimarães

1 September 1991 3	Benfica	2–0	Vitória Guimarães	Lisbon
20:30	Pacheco 43' Rui Águas 64'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Carlos Valente

Sporting v Benfica

14 September 1991 4	Sporting	0–0	Benfica	Lisbon
21:00		Report		Stadium: Estádio de Alvalade Attendance: 60,000 Referee: Vítor Correia

Benfica v Estoril-Praia

22 September 1991 5	Benfica	2–2	Estoril-Praia	Lisbon
20:00	Pacheco 51' Rui Águas 78'	Report	Voynov 55' Passos 89'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Fernando Correia

Torreense v Benfica

29 September 1991 6	Torreense	1–3	Benfica	Torres Vedras
20:30	Bigu 87'	Report	Magnusson 33', 40' Isaías 81'	Stadium: Campo Manuel Marques Attendance: 3,000 Referee: António Marçal

Benfica v Marítimo

5 October 1991 7	Benfica	2–0	Marítimo	Lisbon
19:00	Yuran 6', 37'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 25,000 Referee: João Simãozinho

Paços de Ferreira v Benfica

19 October 1991 8	Paços de Ferreira	1–1	Benfica	Paços de Ferreira
20:00	Adalberto 61'	Report	César Brito 79'	Stadium: Estádio da Mata Real Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Donato Ramos

Benfica v Desportivo de Chaves

27 October 1991 9	Benfica	4–1	Desportivo de Chaves	Lisbon
20:00	José Carlos 11' Yuran 29' Isaías 64' Magnusson 75'	Report	Marito 89'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Carlos Carvalho

Porto v Benfica

3 November 1991 10	Porto	0–0	Benfica	Porto
20:30		Report		Stadium: Estádio das Antas Attendance: 45,000 Referee: Fortunato Azevedo

Benfica v Famalicão

10 November 1991 11	Benfica	2–1	Famalicão	Lisbon
19:30	Rui Costa 6' Rui Águas 72'	Report	Dane 53'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Bento Marques

Braga v Benfica

23 November 1991 12	Braga	0–2	Benfica	Braga
19:45		Report	Thern 6' Rui Águas 61'	Stadium: Estádio 1º de Maio Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Carlos Valente

Farense v Benfica

1 December 1991 13	Farense	2–2	Benfica	Faro
19:45	Ricardo 60' Teffo 79'	Report	Lemajic 35' (o.g.) Kulkov 83'	Stadium: Estádio de São Luís Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Veiga Trigo

Benfica v Beira Mar

7 December 1991 14	Benfica	3–0	Beira Mar	Lisbon
19:45	Yuran 38' Kulkov 57' Isaías 72'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Mário Leal

União da Madeira v Benfica

21 December 1991 15	União da Madeira	0–1	Benfica	Funchal
19:00		Report	Pacheco 75'	Stadium: Estádio dos Barreiros Attendance: 4,000 Referee: José Silvano

Benfica v Penafiel

29 December 1991 16	Benfica	1–1	Penafiel	Lisbon
19:45	Magnusson 42'	Report	Rebelo 43'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 35,000 Referee: Serafim Alvito

Salgueiros v Benfica

4 January 1992 17	Salgueiros	1–1	Benfica	Porto
19:45	Joaquim Soares 9'	Report	Isaías 6'	Stadium: Estádio do Bessa Attendance: 5,000 Referee: José Pratas

Boavista v Benfica

19 January 1992 18	Boavista	1–0	Benfica	Porto
20:00	Ricky 21'	Report		Stadium: Estádio do Bessa Attendance: 17,000 Referee: Carlos Valente

Benfica v Gil Vicente

25 January 1992 19	Benfica	5–0	Gil Vicente	Lisbon
19:00	Pacheco 29' Paulo Madeira 60' César Brito 64' Rui Costa 74' Magnusson 88'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Donato Ramos

Vitória Guimarães v Benfica

2 February 1992 20	Vitória Guimarães	1–3	Benfica	Guimarães
19:00	Ziad 82'	Report	César Brito 35' Kulkov 67' Isaías 69'	Stadium: Estádio D. Afonso Henriques Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Veiga Trigo

Benfica v Sporting

9 February 1992 21	Benfica	2–0	Sporting	Lisbon
20:00	William 57' (pen.) Pacheco 83'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 80,000 Referee: Fortunato Azevedo

Estoril Praia v Benfica

16 February 1992 22	Estoril Praia	0–2	Benfica	Estoril
20:00		Report	Isaías 3' César Brito 64'	Stadium: Estádio António Coimbra da Mota Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Fernando Correia

Benfica v Torreense

23 February 1992 23	Benfica	0–0	Torreense	Lisbon
19:45	Paulo Sousa  37' César Brito  90' Pacheco  90'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Jorge Coroado

Marítimo v Benfica

29 February 1992 24	Marítimo	0–4	Benfica	Funchal
19:00		Report	Rui Costa 29', 59' Magnusson 56', 72'	Stadium: Estádio dos Barreiros Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Veiga Trigo

Benfica v Paços de Ferreira

8 March 1992 25	Benfica	4–0	Paços de Ferreira	Lisbon
20:00	Pacheco 29' César Brito 42', 83' Thern 75'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Adão Mendes

Desportivo de Chaves v Benfica

15 March 1992 26	Desportivo de Chaves	Postponed	Benfica	Chaves
		Report		Stadium: Estádio Municipal de Chaves

Benfica v Porto

22 March 1992 27	Benfica	2–3	Porto	Lisbon
20:00	Rui Bento  0'  64' William 74' Yuran 85'	Report	João Pinto 64' (pen.) Kostadinov 84' Jaime Magalhães  0'  87' Timofte 89'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 90,000 Referee: Fortunato Azevedo

Famalicão v Benfica

5 April 1992 28	Famalicão	0–0	Benfica	Famalicão
20:00		Report		Stadium: Estádio Municipal 22 de Junho Attendance: 7,500 Referee: José Pratas

Benfica v Braga

11 April 1992 29	Benfica	2–0	Braga	Lisbon
19:00	César Brito 3' Isaías 16'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 25,000 Referee: José Silvano

Benfica v Farense

18 April 1992 30	Benfica	1–1	Farense	Lisbon
20:00	Yuran 89'	Report	Luizão 76'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Lourenço Ferreira

Beira-Mar v Benfica

26 April 1992 31	Beira-Mar	2–1	Benfica	Aveiro
19:00	Miranda 44', 62'	Report	Isaías 28' César Brito  83'	Stadium: Estádio Mário Duarte Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Carlos Carvalho

Desportivo de Chaves v Benfica

30 April 1992 26	Desportivo de Chaves	1–0	Benfica	Chaves
19:00	Rudež 74'	Report	José Carlos  0'  38'	Stadium: Estádio Municipal de Chaves Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Neves Fernandes

Benfica v União da Madeira

3 May 1992 32	Benfica	6–0	União da Madeira	Lisbon
20:00	Rui Águas 14' Paulo Sousa 16' Isaías 27', 81' Magnusson 51', 63'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 15,000 Referee: João Mesquita

Penafiel v Benfica

10 May 1992 33	Penafiel	2–2	Benfica	Penafiel
19:00	Szuster 38' Vasco 86'	Report	William 68' Isaías 70' Neno  0'  85'	Stadium: Estádio Municipal 25 de Abril Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Mário Leal

Benfica v Salgueiros

17 May 1992 34	Benfica	1–1	Salgueiros	Lisbon
19:45	Isaías 80'	Report	Abílio Novais 65'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 25,000 Referee: José Filipe

Taça de Portugal

Main article: 1991–92 Taça de Portugal

Alverca v Benfica

15 December 1991 Fourth Rd	Alverca	0–2	Benfica	Lisbon
19:45		Report	Magnusson 15', 87'	Stadium: Desportivo de Alverca Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Vítor Correia

Vitória de Setúbal v Benfica

12 January 1992 Fifth Rd	Vitória de Setúbal	0–0 (a.e.t.)	Benfica	Setúbal
20:15		Report		Stadium: Estádio do Bonfim Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Bento Marques

Benfica v Vitória de Setúbal

22 January 1992 5R Replay	Benfica	4–1	Vitória de Setúbal	Lisbon
20:30	Paulo Madeira 14' César Brito 15' Kulkov 67' Vítor Paneira 81'	Report	9' Sobrinho	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 20,000 Referee: José Filipe

Famalicão v Benfica

19 February 1992 Sixth Rd	Famalicão	0–1 (a.e.t.)	Benfica	Famalicão
21:00		Report	Thern 119'	Stadium: Estádio Municipal 22 de Junho Attendance: 2,000 Referee: João Simãozinho

Benfica v Espinho

29 March 1992 Quarter-final	Benfica	6–0	Espinho	Lisbon
20:00	Pacheco 16' Vítor Paneira 18' Eliseu 25' (o.g.) Yuran 44' César Brito 61' Paulo Madeira 88'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Bento Marques

Benfica v Boavista

22 April 1992 Semi-final	Benfica	1–2	Boavista	Lisbon
20:00	Pacheco 78' (pen.)	Report	Ricky 73', 90'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Mário Leal

First round

Hamrun Spartans v Benfica

18 September 1991 First leg	Hamrun Spartans	0–6	Benfica	Malta
19:45		Report	Pacheco 30' Yuran 32', 35', 50', 83' Rui Águas 75'	Stadium: Ta' Qali National Stadium Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Alfred Wieser (Austria)

Benfica v Hamrun Spartans

2 October 1991 Second Leg	Benfica	4–0 (10–0 agg.)	Hamrun Spartans	Lisbon
19:45	Isaías 52' César Brito 70' Yuran 73' Paulo Madeira 75'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Erny Kesseler (Luxembourg)

Second round

Benfica v Arsenal

23 October 1991 First leg	Benfica	1–1	Arsenal	Lisbon
20:00	Isaías 15'	Report	Campbell 18'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 80,000 Referee: Tullio Lanese (Italy)

Arsenal v Benfica

6 November 1991 Second leg	Arsenal	1–3 (a.e.t.) (2–4 agg.)	Benfica	London
20:00	Pates 20'	Report	Isaías 36', 109' Kulkov 100'	Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 38,000 Referee: Aron Schmidhuber (Germany)

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Barcelona	6	4	1	1	10	4	+6	9	Advance to final
2	Sparta Prague	6	2	2	2	7	7	0	6
3	Benfica	6	1	3	2	8	5	+3	5
4	Dynamo Kyiv	6	2	0	4	3	12	−9	4

Source: UEFA

Dynamo Kyiv v Benfica

27 November 1991 1	Dynamo Kyiv	1–0	Benfica	Kyiv
19:45	Salenko 29'	Report		Stadium: Olimpiyskiy Attendance: 80,000 Referee: Keith Hackett (England)

Benfica v Barcelona

11 December 1991 2	Benfica	0–0	Barcelona	Lisbon
19:45		Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 70,000 Referee: Bruno Galler (Switzerland)

Benfica v Sparta Prague

4 March 1992 3	Benfica	1–1	Sparta Prague	Lisbon
19:45	Pacheco 53' (pen.)	Report	Novotný 31'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 75,000 Referee: Howard King (Wales)

Sparta Prague v Benfica

18 March 1992 4	Sparta Prague	1–1	Benfica	Prague
19:45	Chovanec 45'	Report	César Brito 29'	Stadium: Letná Stadium Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Gérard Biguet (France)

Benfica v Dynamo Kyiv

1 April 1992 5	Benfica	5–0	Dynamo Kyiv	Lisbon
19:45	César Brito 25', 62' Isaías 71' Yuran 83', 87'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 78,000 Referee: Mario van der Ende (Netherlands)

Barcelona v Benfica

15 April 1992 6	Barcelona	2–1	Benfica	Barcelona
20:00	Stoichkov 10' Bakero 25'	Report	César Brito 27'	Stadium: Camp Nou Attendance: 100,000 Referee: Hubert Forstinger (Austria)

Friendlies

[12]

Alnö v Benfica

25 July 1991	Alnö	1–6	Benfica	Alnön
	Roger Wermer 4'			Stadium: Släda IP

Värnamo v Benfica

29 July 1991	Värnamo	1–5	Benfica	Värnamo
				Stadium: Finnvedsvallen

Benfica v Atlético Madrid

6 August 1991 Iberian Cup	Benfica	1–1	Atlético Madrid	Lisbon
				Stadium: Estádio da Luz

Atlético Madrid v Benfica

13 August 1991 Iberian Cup	Atlético Madrid	3–2	Benfica	Marbella
				Stadium: Estadio Municipal de Marbella

Roma v Benfica

20 August 1991	Roma	2–0	Benfica	Rome
				Stadium: Stadio Olimpico

Toronto Blizzard v Benfica

24 May 1992

Toronto Blizzard

0–2

Benfica

Toronto

San Francisco Bay Blackhawks v Benfica

27 May 1992

San Francisco Bay Blackhawks

0–2

Benfica

San Jose

The squad for the season consisted of the players listed in the tables below, as well as staff member Sven-Goran Eriksson (manager) and Toni (assistant manager).[1][3]

Note 1: Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Note 2: Players with squad numbers marked ‡ joined the club during the 1991-92 season via transfer, with more details in the following section.

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Primeira Divisão		Taça de Portugal		European Cup		Supertaça
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	POR	Manuel Bento	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	GK	POR	Silvino	9	-5	1	-1	6	-3	1	0	1	-1
1	GK	POR	Neno	44	-30	34	-22	0	0	9	-7	1	-1
2	DF	POR	António Veloso	49	0	32	0	6	0	9	0	2	0
2	DF	POR	José Carlos	42	1	29	1	5	0	6	0	2	0
4	DF	BRA	William	28	4	18	3	4	0	4	0	2	1
4	MF	POR	Rui Bento	37	0	24	0	4	0	7	0	2	0
4‡	DF	POR	Pedro Valido	4	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	0
5	DF	POR	Paulo Madeira	47	4	32	1	4	2	9	1	2	0
5	MF	SWE	Stefan Schwarz	28	0	16	0	3	0	9	0	0	0
6	MF	POR	Paulo Sousa	32	1	23	1	5	0	3	0	1	0
6‡	MF	RUS	Vasili Kulkov	30	5	19	3	3	1	6	1	2	0
6	MF	POR	Hernâni Neves	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	MF	POR	Vítor Paneira	44	3	29	0	5	2	8	1	2	0
8	MF	SWE	Jonas Thern	42	3	27	2	5	1	8	0	2	0
8	MF	POR	António Pacheco	41	11	27	7	5	2	8	2	1	0
9	FW	POR	Rui Águas	18	6	14	5	1	0	3	1	0	0
9‡	FW	RUS	Sergei Yuran	35	15	21	6	3	1	9	7	2	1
9‡	FW	POR	João Pires	2	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
10‡	MF	POR	Rui Costa	32	4	21	4	3	0	7	0	1	0
11	FW	SWE	Mats Magnusson	30	11	22	9	4	2	3	0	1	0
11	MF	BRA	Isaías	40	17	26	12	5	0	8	5	1	0
11	FW	POR	César Brito	37	13	23	7	6	2	7	4	1	0

[1]

Bibliography

• Tovar, Rui Miguel (2012). Almanaque do Benfica. Portugal: Lua de Papel. ISBN 978-989-23-2087-8.