1984–85 S.L. Benfica season

Benfica

1984–85 season
President	Fernando Martins
Head coach	Pál Csernai
Stadium	Estádio da Luz
Primeira Divisão	3rd
Taça de Portugal	Winners
European Cup	Second round
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira	Runners-up
Top goalscorer	League: Manniche (17) All: Manniche (28)
Home colours
← 1983–84 1985–86 →

The 1984–85 season was Sport Lisboa e Benfica's 81st season in existence and the club's 51st consecutive season in the top flight of Portuguese football, covering the period from 1 July 1984 to 30 June 1985. Benfica competed domestically in the Primeira Divisão, Taça de Portugal and the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, and participated in the European Cup after winning the previous league.

In the off-season, Sven-Göran Eriksson left for Roma and Benfica hired Tomislav Ivic. Major departures included Fernando Chalana and Glenn Strömberg. To counter, the club added Jorge Silva, Wando and Adelino Nunes. Even before the end of the season, Ivic resigned and Benfica was forced to replace him in August. The selected was Pál Csernai. Benfica never performed as expected and even suffered their longest ever win-less period in the Primeira Divisão. In the end, the team ended in third place, 12 points from first place, and lost the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira. Still, it was not a trophy-less season as Benfica conquered their 19th Taça de Portugal in a 3–1 win against Porto.

Season summary

Benfica entered the new season as defending Champions, but with significant changes. After two years in Portugal, Sven-Göran Eriksson was hired by Roma.^[1][2] Same of the names speculated as replacement were Georges Heylens, John Mortimore and Gilbert Gress.^[3][4] The new manager was announced on 6 July, Croatian Tomislav Ivic.^[5] In the transfer season, Benfica lost two major players, Fernando Chalana and Glenn Strömberg.^[6] To replace him, Benfica signed domestic players like Jorge Silva, Wando and Adelino Nunes.^[7][8][9] The club also approached Torbjörn Nilsson, Washington and Walter Casagrande, but nothing came out of it.^[10][11][12] The pre-season began on 19 July, with games scheduled with Bordeaux on late July, the Lisbon International Tournament in August, and the presentation game with Vasco da Gama after that.^[13][11] After just one game in charge, on 31 July, Tomislav Ivic resigned because he wanted to get paid in dollars.^[14] The position was offered to assistant manager Toni but he declined it for unspecified reasons.^[15][16] On 9 August, Benfica selected Pál Csernai as Ivic's replacement.^[17]

The league campaign started in the best of ways, with two wins,^[18] but on match-day 3, Benfica lost in the Clássico with Porto.^[19] In October, Benfica began their European Cup campaign with Crvena Zvezda, defeating them on aggregate.^[19] In the second round, Benfica met Liverpool and were eliminated.^[20] Now fully focused on the league campaign, Benfica lost in the Derby de Lisboa in late December and got delayed in the battle to retain his league title.^[20] There were now 6 points shy of leaders Porto.^[20] On 20 January, Benfica drew with Braga on match-day 17 and started their biggest ever win-less period in the Primeira Divisão.^[21] They would spend two and half months without winning in the league, with six draws and one loss.^[21] Despite that, a Taça de Portugal campaign involving only second tier teams allowed the team to progress through the rounds with ease.^[21][22][23]

The team eventually resettled and won all league matches in April.^[24] In the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, a one-nil win for both Benfica and Porto forced a replay of the competition.^[21] In early May, John Mortimore was confirmed as new manager, with Csernai still in charge for another month.^[24] Before the end of May, Benfica lost away in the first leg of the Supertaça to Porto, but won the Derby de Lisboa with Sporting by 3–1, reducing the distance between them.^[24] In June, Benfica lost again in the Supertaça, losing the competition and finished the league in third place, 12 points behind Porto and five from Sporting.^[25][26] The season finished with the Taça de Portugal final against Porto, with Benfica winning 3–1.^[27] It was their 19th Taça de Portugal win in 25 Finals, their seventh in eight against Porto.^[27] After the win, Manuel Bento sent a jab to Csernai: "It was not Csernai who made the line up, that's why we won. It was Carlos Manuel and Minervino Pietra who opened his eyes."^[21][23]

Competitions

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Overall record

Competition	First match	Last match	Record
			G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %	Source
Primeira Divisão	26 August 1984	2 June 1985	30	18	7	5	65	28	+37	060.00	[26]
Taça de Portugal	9 December 1984	10 June 1985	7	7	0	0	28	2	+26	100.00	[26]
European Cup	19 September 1984	7 November 1984	4	2	0	2	6	6	+0	050.00	[26]
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira	27 March 1985	30 May 1985	4	1	0	3	1	5	−4	025.00	[26]
Total			45	28	7	10	100	41	+59	062.22

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira

Primeira Divisão

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Porto (C)	30	26	3	1	78	13	+65	55	Qualification to European Cup first round
2	Sporting CP	30	19	9	2	72	26	+46	47	Qualification to UEFA Cup first round
3	Benfica	30	18	7	5	65	28	+37	43	Qualification to Cup Winners' Cup first round[a]
4	Boavista	30	13	11	6	37	26	+11	37	Qualification to UEFA Cup first round
5	Portimonense	30	14	8	8	51	41	+10	36

Results by round

Matches

Taça de Portugal

European Cup

First round

Second round

Friendlies

Player statistics

The squad for the season consisted of the players listed in the tables below, as well as staff member Pál Csernai (manager), Toni (assistant manager), Eusébio assistant manager), Júlio Borges (Director of Football), Amilcar Miranda (Doctor).^[39]

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 1984-85 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	44	0	30	0	6	0	4	0	4	0
2	DF	POR	Minervino Pietra	44	5	29	5	7	0	4	0	4	0
2	DF	POR	António Veloso	11	1	9	1	2	0	0	0	0	0
3	DF	POR	António Oliveira	45	1	30	0	7	1	4	0	4	0
3	DF	POR	Álvaro Magalhães	33	1	20	1	5	0	4	0	4	0
4	DF	POR	Samuel Quina	28	1	21	1	4	0	3	0	0	0
5	DF	POR	António Bastos Lopes	30	0	20	0	4	0	2	0	4	0
5	DF	POR	Carlos Pereira	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
6	MF	POR	José Luís	42	2	28	1	6	1	4	0	4	0
6	MF	POR	Carlos Manuel	43	11	28	8	7	1	4	2	4	0
7	FW	POR	Nené	24	12	16	8	6	4	1	0	1	0
7‡	MF	POR	Tozé Santos	8	0	3	0	2	0	2	0	1	0
7‡	MF	BRA	Wando	37	11	25	6	6	5	4	0	2	0
8‡	MF	POR	Adelino Nunes	24	4	14	2	4	2	3	0	3	0
8‡	MF	BRA	Nivaldo Silva	8	0	6	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
8	FW	DEN	Michael Manniche	36	28	23	17	5	9	4	1	4	1
9	FW	POR	Paulo Padinha	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11‡	FW	POR	Jorge Silva	37	11	26	8	5	3	3	0	3	0
11	MF	POR	Diamantino Miranda	42	10	28	6	6	2	4	2	4	0
11	MF	POR	Shéu	18	0	12	0	1	0	3	0	2	0
12	GK	POR	Delgado	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0

Transfers

In

Entry date	Position	Player	From club	Fee	Ref
7 April 1984	FW	Jorge Silva	Boavista	Undisclosed	[7]
26 April 1984	MF	Nivaldo Silva	Vitória de Guimarães	Undisclosed	[40]
10 May 1984	MF	Adelino Nunes	Vitória de Setúbal	Undisclosed	[8]
23 May 1984	MF	Wando	Braga	Undisclosed	[9]
19 July 1984	GK	Silvino	Vitória de Guimarães	Undisclosed	[11]
20 July 1984	MF	Tozé Santos	Torreense	Undisclosed	[41]

Out

Exit date	Position	Player	To club	Fee	Ref
11 June 1984	FW	Zoran Filipovic	Boavista	Free	[42]
7 July 1984	MF	Fernando Chalana	Bordeaux	Undisclosed	[6]
7 July 1984	MF	Glenn Strömberg	Atalanta	Undisclosed	[6]
1 August 1984	FW	Fernando Folha	Varzim	Free	[43]

Out by loan

Exit date	Position	Player	To club	Return date	Ref
31 July 1984	DF	Alberto Bastos Lopes	Belenenses	30 June 1985	[44]
3 August 1984	GK	Neno	Vitória de Guimarães	30 June 1985	[45]

Notes

References

Bibliography

• Tovar, Rui Miguel (2012). Almanaque do Benfica. Portugal: Lua de Papel. ISBN 978-989-23-2087-8.
• Miguéns, Alberto (2005). 100 anos 100 troféus. Portugal: Prime Books. ISBN 972-8820-34-8.
• Quidnovi, Redacção (2004). Sport Lisboa e Benfica: 100 Gloriosos anos; As Provas Nacionais 1. Portugal: Quidnovi. ISBN 989-554-102-3.
• Simões, António (1994). História de 50 anos do Desporto Português. Portugal. {{cite book}}: |newspaper= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)