1991–92 S.L. Benfica season

The 1991–92 season was Sport Lisboa e Benfica's 88th season in existence and the club's 58th consecutive season in the top flight of Portuguese football, covering the period from 1 July 1991 to 30 June 1992. Benfica competed domestically in the Primeira Divisão and the Taça de Portugal, and participated in the European Cup by winning the previous league.[1]

Benfica
1991–92 season
PresidentJoão Santos
(until 24 April 1992)
Jorge de Brito
Head coachSven-Göran Eriksson
StadiumEstádio da Luz
Primeira Divisão2nd
Taça de PortugalSemi-finals
European CupGroup stage
Supertaça Cândido de OliveiraDrawn
Top goalscorerLeague: Isaías (12)
All: Isaías (17)
Highest home attendance90,000 vs Porto
(22 March 1992)
Lowest home attendance15,000 vs União da Madeira
(3 May 1992)

Entering the season as defending champions, the third year of Sven-Göran Eriksson was less successful than before. During the transfer season, Benfica lost two important players – Ricardo Gomes and Valdo to Paris Saint-Germain. As new signings, the club brought in Russians Vasili Kulkov and Sergei Yuran, and promoted youth graduates Paulo Madeira and Rui Costa to regular starters. In the league race, Benfica competed with Porto until January, when a three-point gap opened, and a subsequent home loss against them two months later, ended hopes of retaining the title. Still, the team made history when it defeated Arsenal in Highbury to qualify for the new format of the European Cup, now with a group stage.

Season summary

edit

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]

Competitions

edit

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Overall record

edit
Competition First match Last match Record
G W D L GF GA GD Win % Source
Primeira Divisão 17 August 1991 17 May 1992 34 17 12 5 62 23 +39 050.00 [3]
Taça de Portugal 15 December 1991 22 April 1992 6 4 1 1 14 3 +11 066.67 [3]
European Cup 18 September 1991 15 April 1992 10 4 4 2 22 7 +15 040.00 [3]
Supertaça 18 December 1991 29 January 1992 2 1 0 1 2 2 +0 050.00 [3]
Total 52 26 17 9 100 35 +65 050.00

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira

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

Primeira Divisão

edit

League table

edit
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Porto (C) 34 24 8 2 58 11 +47 56 Qualification to Champions League first round
2 Benfica 34 17 12 5 62 23 +39 46 Qualification to UEFA Cup first round
3 Boavista 34 16 12 6 45 27 +18 44 Qualification to Cup Winners' Cup first round[a]
4 Sporting CP 34 18 8 8 56 26 +30 44 Qualification to UEFA Cup first round
5 Vitória de Guimarães 34 14 13 7 46 35 +11 41
Source: Primeira Divisão
Rules for classification: 1st points, 2nd head-to-head, 3rd goals average
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. ^ Boavista qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as Portuguese Cup winners

Results by round

edit
Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334
GroundHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH
ResultLWWDDWWDWDWWDWWDDLWWWWDWWLLDWDLWDD
Position15966543433322222222222222222222222
Source: ForaDeJogo
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

edit
17 August 1991 1 Benfica 0–1 Boavista Lisbon
19:45 Report Casaca   13' Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 35,000
Referee: José Pratas
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
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
14 September 1991 4 Sporting 0–0 Benfica Lisbon
21:00 Report Stadium: Estádio de Alvalade
Attendance: 60,000
Referee: Vítor Correia
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
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
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
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
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
3 November 1991 10 Porto 0–0 Benfica Porto
20:30 Report Stadium: Estádio das Antas
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Fortunato Azevedo
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
19 January 1992 18 Boavista 1–0 Benfica Porto
20:00 Ricky   21' Report Stadium: Estádio do Bessa
Attendance: 17,000
Referee: Carlos Valente
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
5 April 1992 28 Famalicão 0–0 Benfica Famalicão
20:00 Report Stadium: Estádio Municipal 22 de Junho
Attendance: 7,500
Referee: José Pratas
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
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
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
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
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
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
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

edit
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
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
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
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
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
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

European Cup

edit

First round

edit
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)
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

edit
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)
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

edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification BAR SPP BEN DKV
1   Barcelona 6 4 1 1 10 4 +6 9 Advance to final 3–2 2–1 3–0
2   Sparta Prague 6 2 2 2 7 7 0 6 1–0 1–1 2–1
3   Benfica 6 1 3 2 8 5 +3 5 0–0 1–1 5–0
4   Dynamo Kyiv 6 2 0 4 3 12 −9 4 0–2 1–0 1–0
Source: UEFA
27 November 1991 1 Dynamo Kyiv   1–0   Benfica Kyiv
19:45 Salenko   29' Report Stadium: Olimpiyskiy
Attendance: 80,000
Referee: Keith Hackett (England)
11 December 1991 2 Benfica   0–0   Barcelona Lisbon
19:45 Report Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 70,000
Referee: Bruno Galler (Switzerland)
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)
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)
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)
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

edit

[12]

25 July 1991 Alnö 1–6 Benfica Alnön
Roger Wermer   4' Stadium: Släda IP
29 July 1991 Värnamo 1–5 Benfica Värnamo
Stadium: Finnvedsvallen
6 August 1991 Iberian Cup Benfica 1–1 Atlético Madrid Lisbon
Stadium: Estádio da Luz
20 August 1991 Roma 2–0 Benfica Rome
Stadium: Stadio Olimpico

Player statistics

edit

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

Transfers

edit

[1]

Entry date Position Player From club
July 1991 FW Sergei Yuran Dynamo Kyiv
July 1991 MF Vasili Kulkov Spartak Moscow
July 1991 FW João Pires Estoril-Praia
July 1991 DF Pedro Valido Gil Vicente
July 1991 AM Rui Costa AD Fafe
Exit date Position Player To club
July 1991 CB Samuel Quina Boavista
July 1991 LB Fernando Mendes
July 1991 CB Ricardo Gomes Paris Saint-Germain
July 1991 AM Valdo Filho
July 1991 FW Vata Estrela da Amadora
July 1991 FW Adesvaldo Lima Internacional

Out by loan

edit
Exit date Position Player To club Return date
July 1991 AM Erwin Sánchez Estoril-Praia 30 June 1992

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "Squad 1991/92". ForaDeJogo.
  2. ^ "Ricardo Gomes e Valdo novamente lado a lado" [Ricardo Gomes and Valdo side-by-side again]. Record (in Portuguese). 4 September 2002. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Tovar 2012, p. 515.
  4. ^ Malheiro, João (July 2006). Memorial Benfica 100 Glórias [Benfica Memorial, 100 glories] (in Portuguese) (Third ed.). QuidNovi. pp. 124–125. ISBN 978-972-8998-26-4.
  5. ^ Tovar 2012, p. 509.
  6. ^ a b c d e Tovar 2012, p. 513.
  7. ^ a b c Tovar 2012, p. 508.
  8. ^ a b Tovar 2012, p. 510.
  9. ^ a b c Tovar 2012, p. 514.
  10. ^ a b Tovar 2012, p. 511.
  11. ^ a b Tovar 2012, p. 512.
  12. ^ António Manuel Morais; Carlos Perdigão; João Loureiro; José de Oliveira Santos (1994). Benfica: 90 Anos de História (in Portuguese). SOGAPAL. p. 260.

Bibliography