1971–72 S.L. Benfica season

The 1971–72 season was Sport Lisboa e Benfica's 68th season in existence and the club's 38th consecutive season in the top flight of Portuguese football, covering the period from 1 July 1971 to 30 June 1972. Benfica competed domestically in the Primeira Divisão and the Taça de Portugal, and participated in the European Cup after winning the previous league.

Benfica

1971–72 season
President	Borges Coutinho
Head coach	Jimmy Hagan
Stadium	Estádio da Luz
Primeira Divisão	1st
Taça de Portugal	Winners
European Cup	Semi-finals
Top goalscorer	League: Artur Jorge (27) All: Artur Jorge (32)
Home colours

After recovering the title in the past season, Hagan remained for second season. He strengthened his team by adding Vítor Baptista, Artur Correia and Rui Rodrigues. To off-set, José Torres departed the club, alongside others, such as Jorge Calado and Jacinto Santos. Benfica began their league campaign by beating Porto in Estádio das Antas, only to be stopped a week later by CUF. They responded with an string of consecutive wins that propelled them into first place on 31 October. They drew again in the following week, now with Boavista and were caught at the top. In the European Cup, Benfica eliminated Wacker in the first round and CSKA Sofia in the second. Domestically, in November, Benfica began a nine-match winning run that allowed them to open a comfortable lead at the top. They drew again in February but that did not stop their momentum, and their continued collecting consecutive wins, five more, until their experienced their first league defeat on 26 March, at the hands of Barreirense. In the European Cup, Benfica faced Feyenoord in the quarter-finals, beating them 5–2 on aggregate but were stopped in the semi-finals by Ajax. Afterwards, Benfica sealed their 19th league title and won their sixth double after beating Sporting in the Taça de Portugal Final

Season summary

Benfica won another Taça de Honra (bottom) in this season.

Benfica started the new season as reigning Primeira Divisão holders after they recovered that honour in 1970–71.[1] English manager Jimmy Hagan began his second season in charge, still with José Augusto as his assistant.[2][3] In the transfer window, Benfica's major signings were Vítor Baptista for the offence and Artur Correia and Rui Rodrigues for the defence.[4][5] Historic player José Torres departed the club for Vitória de Setúbal in the deal involving Vítor Baptista.[4] Other departures included Jorge Calado and Jacinto Santos.[6][7] The pre-season began on 20 July with medical tests,[8] and the first preparation game was on 31 July with Arsenal.[9] Afterwards, Benfica went on a tour for England, where they played Arsenal again, among other teams.[10][11] In late August, Benfica had a second tour, now in Italy and competed in the Ramón de Carranza Trophy in Spain.[12][13] They concluded the preparations by winning the Taça de Honra against Belenenses on 8 September.[14]

The season began on 12 September with visit to Estádio das Antas to play Porto.[15] Benfica won 3–1 with goals from Eusébio and Artur Jorge.[15] Three days later, Benfica started their European Cup campaign with a 4–0 win against Wacker.[16] On the 19, Benfica dropped their first points in the league after a surprising 1–1 draw with CUF.[17][16] That left them in fourth place, one-point behind leaders Vitória de Setúbal and Sporting.[18] On 26 September, Benfica defeated Vitória de Setúbal away and pass them on the league table, placing them in third, one-less than leader Sporting.[19] The month closed with another victory in the European Cup, for a 7–1 aggregate win against Wacker.[16] In October, Benfica won all of his league matches but only reached first place on the 31 after a home win against União de Tomar.[17][16] In Europe, Benfica faced CSKA Sofia for the second round, beating them 2–1 on aggregate and qualifying for the quarter-finals.[16] On 7 November, Benfica played Boavista on the road and drew 2–2 and were therefore caught in first place by Sporting.[20] That situation was short lived as Benfica began a winning streak that lasted until February.[17] Nine consecutive wins, including a 3–0 win in Estádio de Alvalade against Sporting, allowed Benfica to quickly build a comfortable lead.[17] On match-day 12, the lead already stood at three-points, and Benfica lapped the first half of the Primeira Divisão with a five more points than second-place, Vitória de Setúbal. [21][17] They began the second part of the season by beating Porto in the Clássico,[22] but two-weeks later, they were finally stopped in the home draw to Vitória de Setúbal.[17]

Vítor Baptista scored 15 goals in his debut season.

Benfica responded well and kept on winning, increasing their lead to eight-points by match-day 23 after five consecutive wins.[23][17] In the European Cup, on 8 March, the team was defeated in first leg of the quarter-finals by Feyenoord.[23] Benfica complained of referee Kunze as António Simões described: "I never thought I would find a referee like this. Dishonest is all I can say about him.".[23] On 22 March, Benfica received Feyenoord and won 5–1.[24] With the game in 2–1 on the 80th minute, which qualified Feyenoord; Benfica scored three goals in the last ten minutes to progress to the semi-finals.[24] The win was seen as a revenge because Ernst Happel had repeatedly labelled Benfica as an inferior team.[24] Four days later, Benfica lost for the first time in the Primeira Divisão.[25] On match-day 24, Barreirense beat Benfica by 1–0 and prevented their goal of finishing the league undefeated.[23][17] Afterwards, Eusébio said that the game against Feyenoord could not serve as an excuse.[23] Benfica entered in April still in all competitions and their first match was the semi-finals of the European Cup.[25] Facing another Dutch team, Ajax from Johan Cruyff, Benfica was defeated in Amsterdam by 1–0.[25] In the home reception to Ajax, Benfica attempted to qualify for their sixth final, but drew 0–0 and were eliminated.[26][25] Hagan's tactics were blamed by the press for the elimination, while Jaime Graça targeted the referee for annulling a clean goal for Benfica.[27][25] The team finished the month by playing two matches for the Taça de Portugal.[28] On 23 April, they defeated Cova da Piedade by 6–3 for the quarter-finals and on 30, they thrashed Porto by 6–0 in the semi-finals.[28] They ensured their fourth consecutive final and were meeting Sporting in the Taça de Portugal Final, repeating the same teams of the last three finals.[29][28] The Primeira Divisão resumed on 7 May, with Benfica beating Académica de Coimbra by 3–1, thus confirming their 19th league title.[24][17] With three matches still to go, Benfica tied the season 1960–61 for the club record of earliest match-day to win the league.[17] They finished the campaign with 55 points in 60 possible and Artur Jorge was Bola de Prata for league top-scorer with 27 goals.[25][17] The season ended on 4 June with the Taça de Portugal Final where Benfica narrowly beat Sporting by 3–2.[30] Benfica scored first by Eusébio on the 20th minute, but Sporting responded with two goals in the second half.[30] Eusébio scored again to level the game on 2 goals on the 69th minute, requiring the need of extra-time, where on the 117th minute, he scored another to seal the win.[30] It was Eusébio's first hat-trick in a Taça de Portugal Final.[30] Benfica had won another league and cup double, their six double.[28]

Competitions

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Overall record

Competition	First match	Last match	Record
			G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %	Source
Primeira Divisão	9 September 1972	28 May 1972	30	26	3	1	81	16	+65	086.67	[31]
Taça de Portugal	5 March 1972	4 June 1972	5	5	0	0	21	6	+15	100.00	[31]
European Cup	15 September 1971	19 April 1972	8	4	2	2	14	5	+9	050.00	[31]
Total			43	35	5	3	116	27	+89	081.40

Primeira Divisão

Main article: 1971–72 Primeira Divisão

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Benfica (C)	30	26	3	1	81	16	+65	55	Qualification to European Cup first round
2	Vitória de Setúbal	30	17	11	2	62	16	+46	45	Qualification to UEFA Cup first round
3	Sporting CP	30	17	9	4	51	26	+25	43	Qualification to Cup Winners' Cup first round[lower-alpha 1]
4	CUF Barreiro	30	12	13	5	43	28	+15	37	Qualification to UEFA Cup first round
5	Porto	30	13	7	10	51	32	+19	33

Source: RSSSF[32] and footballzz.co.uk[33]
(C) Champion.
Notes:

1. Sporting qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as runners-up of the 1972 Taça de Portugal Final, because Taça de Portugal winners, Benfica qualified for the European Cup.

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
Ground	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A
Result	W	D	W	W	W	W	W	D	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	D	W	W	W	W	W	L	W	W	W	W	W	W
Position	4	5	3	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Source: ForaDeJogo
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Porto v Benfica

12 September 1971 1	Porto	1–3	Benfica	Porto
18:00	Abel  24'	Report	Eusébio  49', 52' Artur Jorge  86'	Stadium: Estádio das Antas Referee: Francisco Lobo

Benfica v CUF

19 September 1971 2	Benfica	1–1	CUF	Lisbon
18:00	Artur Jorge  62'	Report	Eduardo  34'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Porfírio Silva

Vitória de Setúbal v Benfica

26 September 1971 3	Vitória de Setúbal	1–3	Benfica	Setúbal
18:00	José Maria  67'	Report	Vítor Baptista  29' Adolfo  33' Carlos Cardoso  41' (o.g.)	Stadium: Estádio do Bonfim Referee: Mário Alves

Benfica v Beira-Mar

3 October 1971 4	Benfica	2–1	Beira-Mar	Lisbon
18:00	Artur Jorge  16', 67'	Report	Alemão  30'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Manuel Fortunato

Tirsense v Benfica

17 October 1971 5	Tirsense	0–3	Benfica	Santo Tirso
18:00		Report	Artur Jorge  65' (pen.), 79', 84'	Stadium: Estádio Abel Alves de Figueiredo Referee: Ismael Baltasar

Benfica v Belenenses

24 October 1971 6	Benfica	1–0	Belenenses	Lisbon
18:00	Simões  5'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Fernando Leite

Benfica v União de Tomar

31 October 1971 7	Benfica	3–0	União de Tomar	Lisbon
16:00	Malta da Silva  12' Simões  46', 72'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Carlos Monteiro

Boavista v Benfica

7 November 1971 8	Boavista	2–2	Benfica	Porto
18:00	Fraguito  35' Celso  53'	Report	Eusébio  20', 42'	Stadium: Estádio do Lima Referee: Joaquim Freire

Benfica v Barreirense

28 November 1971 9	Benfica	5–1	Barreirense	Lisbon
16:00	Vítor Baptista  8', 18', 32', 46' Jaime Graça  82'	Report	José João  50'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Fernando Leite

Atlético v Benfica

5 December 1971 10	Atlético	1–5	Benfica	Lisbon
16:00	João Leitão  26'	Report	Artur Jorge  24', 83', 86' Nené  10', 48'	Stadium: Estádio da Tapadinha Referee: João Calado

Benfica v Leixões

12 December 1971 11	Benfica	6–0	Leixões	Lisbon
16:00	Artur Jorge  2', 5' Eusébio  4' Vítor Baptista  22', 37' Nené  29'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Mário Alves

Académica de Coimbra v Benfica

19 December 1971 12	Académica de Coimbra	0–3	Benfica	Coimbra
17:00		Report	Artur Jorge  62', 70' Eusébio  77'	Stadium: Estádio Municipal de Coimbra Referee: Ismael Baltasar

Benfica v Vitória de Guimarães

23 December 1971 13	Benfica	3–0	Vitória de Guimarães	Lisbon
18:00	Eusébio  2', 51' Jordão  65'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Sebastião Pássaro

Sporting v Benfica

2 January 1972 14	Sporting	0–3	Benfica	Lisbon
18:00		Report	Eusébio  51' Rui Rodrigues  57' Nené  84'	Stadium: Estádio de Alvalade Referee: Francisco Lobo

Benfica v Farense

5 January 1972 15	Benfica	2–0	Farense	Lisbon
16:00	Artur Jorge  1' Vítor Baptista  3'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: António Garrido

Benfica v Porto

23 January 1972 16	Benfica	1–0	Porto	Lisbon
19:00	Simões  60'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Porfírio Silva

CUF v Benfica

30 January 1972 17	CUF	0–2	Benfica	Barreiro
18:00		Report	Jordão  36', 52'	Stadium: Complexo Desportivo Alfredo da Silva Referee: César Correia

Benfica v Vitória de Setúbal

6 February 1972 18	Benfica	0–0	Vitória de Setúbal	Lisbon
16:00		Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Fernando Leite

Beira-Mar v Benfica

13 February 1972 19	Beira-Mar	1–3	Benfica	Aveiro
16:00	Eduardo  53'	Report	Artur Jorge  38' Nené  39' Jordão  48'	Stadium: Estádio Mário Duarte Referee: Ernesto Borrego

Benfica v Tirsense

20 February 1972 20	Benfica	7–0	Tirsense	Lisbon
18:00	Eusébio  9', 69' Artur Jorge  31', 50', 59', 78', 88'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: António Espanhol

Belenenses v Benfica

27 February 1972 21	Belenenses	0–1	Benfica	Lisbon
18:00		Report	Artur Jorge  11'	Stadium: Estádio do Restelo Referee: António Garrido

União de Tomar v Benfica

12 March 1972 22	União de Tomar	0–1	Benfica	Tomar
16:00		Report	Simões  1'	Stadium: Estádio Municipal de Tomar Referee: Ismael Baltasar

Benfica v Boavista

18 March 1972 23	Benfica	2–0	Boavista	Lisbon
18:00	Artur Jorge  28', 83'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Manuel Fortunato

Barreirense v Benfica

26 March 1972 24	Barreirense	1–0	Benfica	Barreiro
18:00	Serafim de Oliveira  37'	Report		Stadium: Campo D. Manuel de Melo Referee: Mário Alves

Benfica v Atlético

9 April 1972 25	Benfica	5–1	Atlético	Lisbon
18:00	Vítor Baptista  1' Nené  3' Artur Jorge  11', 25' Eusébio  87'	Report	Pedras  48'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Joaquim Campos

Leixões v Benfica

16 April 1972 26	Leixões	0–1	Benfica	Matosinhos
16:00		Report	Jordão  71'	Stadium: Estádio do Mar Referee: Ismael Baltasar

Benfica v Académica de Coimbra

7 May 1972 27	Benfica	3–1	Académica de Coimbra	Lisbon
16:00	Vítor Baptista  23' Artur Jorge  41', 44'	Report	Vasco Gervásio  76' (pen.)	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Manuel Fortunato

Vitória de Guimarães v Benfica

14 May 1972 28	Vitória de Guimarães	1–3	Benfica	Guimarães
18:00	Vítor Martins  67' (o.g.)	Report	Eusébio  1' Jordão  31', 85'	Stadium: Estádio D. Afonso Henriques Referee: Armando Paraty

Benfica v Sporting

21 May 1972 29	Benfica	2–1	Sporting	Lisbon
18:00	Eusébio  1', 29'	Report	Yazalde  56'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Maximiano Afonso

Farense v Benfica

28 May 1972 30	Farense	2–5	Benfica	Faro
16:00	Sério  48' Farias  52'	Report	Diamantino Costa  5' Artur Correia  13' Eusébio  17', 19', 60'	Stadium: Estádio de São Luís Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Ismael Baltasar

Taça de Portugal

Benfica v União de Coimbra

5 March 1972 Round of 32	Benfica	1–0	União de Coimbra	Lisbon
	Jordão  20'			Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Carlos Monteiro

Benfica v Marinhense

12 April 1972 Round of 16	Benfica	5–1	Marinhense	Lisbon
	Vítor Baptista  55', 83' Eusébio  58', 62', 89'		Naftal  59'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Carlos Monteiro

Cova da Piedade v Benfica

23 April 1972 Quarter-final	Cova da Piedade	3–6	Benfica	Cova da Piedade
	Arlindo  1' Vítor Móia  9', 71'		Nené  2' Vítor Baptista  29' Jordão  60', 65' Eusébio  68', 90'	Stadium: Campo Silva Nunes Referee: António Espanhol

Benfica v Porto

30 April 1972 Semi-final	Benfica	6–0	Porto	Lisbon
	Vítor Baptista  23', 72' Artur Jorge  46' Nené  49', 57' Valdemar Barros  70' (o.g.)			Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: António Garrido

Benfica v Sporting

4 June 1972 Final	Benfica	3–2 (a.e.t.)	Sporting	Oeiras
	Eusébio  19', 70', 118'		Peres  51' (pen.) Dinis  61'	Stadium: Estádio Nacional Referee: Francisco Lobo

European Cup

Main article: 1971–72 European Cup

First round

Wacker v Benfica

15 September 1971 First leg	Wacker	0–4	Benfica	Innsbruck
19:30		Report	Jaime Graça  19' Artur Jorge  24', 83' Eusébio  82'	Stadium: Tivoli Referee: Liuben Radunchev

Benfica v Wacker

29 September 1971 Second leg	Benfica	3–1 (7–1 agg.)	Wacker	Lisbon
21:45	Calisto  35' Artur Jorge  73' Simões  89'	Report	Jara  48'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Malcolm Wright

Second round

Benfica v CSKA Sofia

20 October 1971 First leg	Benfica	2–1	CSKA Sofia	Lisbon
21:45	Rui Rodrigues  50' Artur Jorge  62'	Report	Zhekov  85'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Aurelio Angonese

CSKA Sofia v Benfica

3 November 1971 Second leg	CSKA Sofia	0–0 (1–2 agg.)	Benfica	Sofia
18:30		Report		Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium Referee: Leonidas Vamvakopoulos

Quarter-finals

Feyenoord v Benfica

8 March 1972 First leg	Feyenoord	1–0	Benfica	Rotterdam
20:30	Laseroms  50'	Report		Stadium: De Kuip Referee: Gerhard Kunze

Benfica v Feyenoord

22 March 1972 Second leg	Benfica	5–1 (5–2 agg.)	Feyenoord	Lisbon
21:45	Nené  6', 81', 92' Rui Jordão  30', 90'	Report	Van Hanegem  75'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Clive Thomas

Semi-finals

Ajax v Benfica

5 April 1972 First leg	Ajax	1–0	Benfica	Amsterdam
20:15	Swart  64'	Report		Stadium: Olympic Stadium Referee: Karlo Kruashvili

Benfica v Ajax

19 April 1972 Second leg	Benfica	0–0 (0–1 agg.)	Ajax	Lisbon
21:45		Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Norman Burtenshaw

Friendlies

Benfica v Arsenal

31 July 1971[9]	Benfica	2–0	Arsenal	Lisbon
21:45	Vítor Baptista  34' Eusébio			Stadium: Estádio da Luz

Arsenal v Benfica

4 August 1971[10]	Arsenal	6–2	Benfica	London
19:30	Roberts  15' Radford  32' Armstrong  44' Graham  77', 90' Peter Storey  80' (pen.)		Artur Jorge  48' Diamantino Costa  70'	Stadium: Arsenal Stadium Attendance: 44,244 Referee: Norman Burtenshaw

Newcastle United v Benfica

7 August 1971[34]	Newcastle United	1–0	Benfica	Newcastle upon Tyne
	Tommy Gibb  17'			Stadium: St James' Park Referee: Charles Howell

Middlesbrough v Benfica

10 August 1971[11]	Middlesbrough	1–1	Benfica	Middlesbrough
	John Hickton  5'		Eusébio  28'	Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 20,000

Cagliari v Benfica

21 August 1971[35]	Cagliari	1–4	Benfica	Cagliari
	Sergio Gori  6'		Vítor Baptista  33' Eusébio  35', 70' Artur Jorge  66'	Stadium: Stadio Sant'Elia Attendance: 55,000 Referee: Gianfranco Menegali

Genoa v Benfica

23 August 1971[36]	Genoa	1–2	Benfica	Genoa
	Sidio Corradi  63'		Artur Jorge  50' Eusébio  83'	Stadium: Stadio Luigi Ferraris Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Giovanni Picasso

Atalanta v Benfica

25 August 1971[12]	Atalanta	2–4	Benfica	Bergamo
21:45	Pinolla  4' Sergio Magistrelli  30'		Vítor Baptista  1', 31' Eusébio  32' Artur Jorge  43'	Stadium: Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Cesari Gussoni

Benfica v Atlético Madrid

28 August 1971[37] Trofeo Ramón de Carranza	Benfica	1–1 (4–2 p)	Atlético Madrid	Cádiz
	Eusébio  46'		Gárate  49' (pen.)	Stadium: Estadio Ramón de Carranza Referee: Carmanatti
	Penalties
	Humberto Coelho Artur Jorge Jaime Graça Eusébio		José Ufarte Adelardo

Benfica v Peñarol

29 August 1971[13] Trofeo Ramón de Carranza	Benfica	3–0	Peñarol	Cádiz
	Eusébio  29', 47', 77'			Stadium: Estadio Ramón de Carranza Referee: Gaspar Pintado

Benfica v Sporting

5 September 1971[38] Taça de Honra	Benfica	2–1	Sporting	Lisbon
22:15	Rui Jordão  22' Humberto Coelho  73'		João Lourenço  33'	Stadium: Estádio do Restelo

Belenenses v Benfica

8 September 1971[14] Taça de Honra	Belenenses	1–4	Benfica	Lisbon
22:15	Laurindo  70'		Nené  18' Rui Rodrigues  30' Carlos Pereira  53' Rui Jordão  60'	Stadium: Estádio do Restelo

Red Star Belgrade v Benfica

23 September 1971[7]	Red Star Belgrade	2–3	Benfica	Belgrade
21:45	Šekularac  20' Filipovic  43'		Eusébio  51', 60' Nené  54'	Stadium: Red Star Stadium Attendance: 85,000

Portuguesa de Desportos v Benfica

9 January 1972[39]	Portuguesa de Desportos	1–3	Benfica	São Paulo
	Marinho  (pen.)		Vítor Baptista Rui Jordão Simões  (pen.)	Stadium: Estádio do Canindé

Coritiba v Benfica

13 January 1972[39]	Coritiba	2–0	Benfica	Curitiba
	Paquito Cláudio			Stadium: Estádio Couto Pereira

Flamengo v Benfica

15 January 1972[39] Rio de Janeiro TM	Flamengo	1–0	Benfica	Rio de Janeiro
	Fio Maravilha  78'			Stadium: Maracanã Stadium Attendance: 44,280

Vasco da Gama v Benfica

18 January 1972[39] Rio de Janeiro TM	Vasco da Gama	0–2	Benfica	Rio de Janeiro
			Rui Jordão  25' Simões  70'	Stadium: Maracanã Stadium Attendance: 22,097

Fulham v Benfica

29 February 1972[40]	Fulham	3–2	Benfica	London
	Steve Earle Roger Cross  20' Humberto Coelho  (o.g.)		Diamantino  45' Eusébio	Stadium: Craven Cottage Attendance: 15,646

Benfica v Bayern Munich

2 April 1972[41] Taça M. Caetano	Benfica	2–1	Bayern Munich	Paris
	Adolfo  2' Vítor Baptista  14'		Roth  40'	Stadium: Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir

Player statistics

The squad for the season consisted of the players listed in the tables below, as well as staff member Jimmy Hagan (manager), José Augusto (assistant manager), Fernando Neves (Director of Football).[3][2]

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 1971-72 season via transfer, with more details in the following section.

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Primeira Divisão		Taça de Portugal		European Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK		José Henrique	41	0	30	0	3	0	8	0
1	GK		João Fonseca	4	0	1	0	3	0	0	0
2	DF		Adolfo Calisto	35	2	22	1	5	0	8	1
3	DF		Amândio Malta da Silva	26	1	21	1	0	0	5	0
3^‡	DF		Artur Correia	37	1	27	1	4	0	6	0
4	DF		Humberto Coelho	38	0	25	0	5	0	8	0
4^‡	DF		Rui Rodrigues	25	2	21	1	0	0	4	1
4	DF		Messias Timula	26	0	17	0	5	0	4	0
5	DF		Zeca	9	0	7	0	0	0	2	0
5	DF		Jaime Graça	38	2	26	1	4	0	8	1
6	MF		Toni	30	0	22	0	5	0	3	0
7	FW		Nené	37	13	26	7	4	3	7	3
8	MF		Eurico Caires	2	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
8	MF		Vítor Martins	12	0	8	0	4	0	0	0
9^‡	FW		Vítor Baptista	24	15	17	10	3	5	4	0
9	FW		Rui Jordão	30	12	18	7	4	3	8	2
9	FW		Artur Jorge	36	32	26	27	2	1	8	4
10	FW		Eusébio	37	27	24	18	5	8	8	1
11	MF		Diamantino Costa	11	1	7	1	2	0	2	0
11	MF		António Simões	28	6	23	5	0	0	5	1

• Source: [31][42][30]

[upper-alpha 1]

Transfers

In

Entry date	Position	Player	From club	Fee	Ref
16 July 1971	FW	Vítor Baptista	Vitória de Setúbal	Undisclosed	[4]
16 July 1971	DF	Artur Correia	Académica	Undisclosed	[4]
19 July 1971	DF	Rui Rodrigues	Académica	Undisclosed	[5]
30 July 1971	GK	José Henrique	Toronto Metros	Loan return	[43]
10 August 1971	GK	Manuel Abrantes	Académica	Undisclosed	[44]

Out

Exit date	Position	Player	To club	Fee	Ref
16 July 1971	FW	José Torres	Vitória de Setúbal	Undisclosed	[4]
16 July 1971	FW	Praia	Vitória de Setúbal	Undisclosed	[4]
24 July 1971	MF	Jorge Calado	União de Tomar	Undisclosed	[6]
21 August 1971	DF	Fernando Severino	Beira-Mar	Free	[45]
27 August 1971	FW	Raul Águas	Académica	Undisclosed	[46]
24 September 1971	DF	Jacinto Santos	Leixões	Free	[7]
6 June 1971	DF	Marques	Beira-Mar	Free

Out by loan

Exit date	Position	Player	To club	Return date	Ref
1 September 1971	MF	Augusto Matine	Vitória de Setúbal	30 June 1972	[47]

Notes

1. Almanaque do Benfica credits three goals to Artur Jorge in the 6–0 win against Leixões, while 100 anos 100 troféus and História de 50 anos do Desporto Português credits two to Vítor Baptista. Since most sources give 27 goals to Artur Jorge at the end the league, Artur Jorge is listed with 27 goals, instead of 28.

References

1. Simões 1994, p. 169.
2. "Fernando Neves e o Futebol do Benfica" [Fernando Neves and Benfica's football]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17440). 12 July 1971. pp. 21/25. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
3. "José Augusto deixa o Benfica" [José Augusto leaves Benfica]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17708). 10 April 1972. p. 21. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
4. "Trutas nas redes do Benfica: Vítor Baptista" [Benfica lands Vítor Baptista]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17444). 16 July 1971. p. 17. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
5. "Arsenal: Campeão de Inglaterra, teste benfiquista para a campanha internacional" [Champions Arsenal to test Benfica for international campaign]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17447). 18 July 1971. p. 27. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
6. "Do Congresso de hoje ao amanhã de alguns" [Congress today and the future of some]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17452). 24 July 1971. p. 17. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
7. "Louros, palmas e dinheiro para o novo Benfica europeu" [Praise and money for the new Benficafic]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17514). 24 September 1971. p. 25. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
8. "O Benfica na hora de trabalho" [Benfica back to work]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17449). 21 July 1971. p. 17. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
9. "Dizer que foi óptimo ainda é pouco" [To say it was great is an understatement]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17460). 1 August 1971. p. 16. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
10. "Futebol de desforra" [Football of revenge]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17464). 5 August 1971. p. 15. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
11. "Empate a um golo com o modesto Middlesbrough" [One-all draw with modest Middlesbrough]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17470). 11 August 1971. p. 17. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
12. "Dez golos em três jogos na terra do catennacio" [10 goals in 3 matches in the land of catennacio]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17485). 26 August 1971. p. 17. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
13. "Pólvora e lume no triunfo do Benfica" [Gun powder and fire in the victory of Benfica]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17489). 30 August 1971. p. 25. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
14. Miguéns 2005, p. 183.
15. Simões 1994, p. 170.
16. Simões 1994, p. 171.
17. Miguéns 2005, p. 66.
18. "Classificação geral" [League table]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17510). 20 September 1971. p. 27. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
19. "Classificação geral" [League table]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17517). 26 September 1971. p. 26. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
20. "Lá que ele avisou, avisou" [We warned them]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17558). 8 November 1971. p. 20. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
21. Simões 1994, p. 172.
22. Simões 1994, p. 173.
23. Simões 1994, p. 174.
24. Simões 1994, p. 175.
25. Simões 1994, p. 176.
26. Sport Lisboa e Benfica: 100 Gloriosos anos;As Taças Europeias. Portugal: Quidnovi. 2004. p. 15. ISBN 989-554-101-5.
27. "Quem indemniza os jogadores do Benfica?" [Who compensates Benfica players?]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17718). 20 April 1972. p. 20. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
28. Miguéns 2005, p. 124.
29. Sport Lisboa e Benfica: 100 Gloriosos anos;Competições Nacionais 1. Portugal: Quidnovi. 2004. p. 79. ISBN 989-554-102-3.
30. Miguéns 2005, p. 125.
31. Tovar 2012, p. 371.
32. "Portugal 1971-72 - RSSSF (Jorge Miguel Teixeira)". RSSSF Archive. 2001. Retrieved 2012-04-25.
33. "Portuguese League 1971/72 - footballzz.co.uk". ZeroZero. Retrieved 2012-04-25.
34. "Derrota imerecida para o onze lisboeta" [Undeserved defeat to Benfica's eleven]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17467). 8 August 1971. p. 15. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
35. "Benfica reduziu a cisco forte equipa do Cagliari" [Benfica reduces to ashes, strong team of Cagliari]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17481). 22 August 1971. p. 14. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
36. "Segundo jogo, Segunda vitória" [Second game, second win]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17483). 24 August 1971. p. 16. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
37. "Benfica e Penãrol: dois gigantes na final de hoje" [Benfica and Peñarol: 2 giants in today's final]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17488). 29 August 1971. p. 17. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
38. Miguéns 2005, p. 182.
39. António Manuel Morais; Carlos Perdigão; João Loureiro; José de Oliveira Santos (1994). Benfica: 90 Anos de História (in Portuguese). SOGAPAL. p. 255.
40. "1972: Riverside Royalty". Fulhamfc.com. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
41. "Jordão: Um grande passo em frente na vitória categórica do Benfica" [Jordão, a big step forward in the victory of Benfica]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17701). 3 April 1972. p. 20. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
42. Miguéns 2005, p. 67.
43. "Arsenal na Luz" [Arsenal in Luz]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17458). 30 July 1971. p. 18. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
44. "Noticias de Futebol" [Football news]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17469). 10 August 1971. p. 16. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
45. "Sporting: Rui Rodrigues Processo Judicial" [Sporting: Rui Rodrigues, lawsuit]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17480). 21 August 1971. p. 17. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
46. "Águas de negro" [Ágiuas in Black]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17486). 27 August 1971. p. 16. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
47. "Matine regressa á Luz" [Matine returns to Luz]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese) (17792). 5 July 1972. p. 21. Retrieved 20 April 2017.

Bibliography

• Tovar, Rui Miguel (2012). Almanaque do Benfica. Portugal: Lua de Papel. ISBN 978-989-23-2087-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Miguéns, Alberto (2005). 100 anos 100 troféus. Portugal: Prime Books. ISBN 972-8820-34-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Simões, António (1994). História de 50 anos do Desporto Português. A Bola. Portugal.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)