1993–94 S.L. Benfica season

The 1993–94 season was Sport Lisboa e Benfica's 90th season in existence and the club's 60th consecutive season in the top flight of Portuguese football. It involved Benfica competing in the Primeira Divisão and the Taça de Portugal. Benfica qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup by winning previous Portuguese Cup.[1] It covers the period between 1 July 1993 to 30 June 1994.

Benfica
1993–94 season
PresidentJorge de Brito
(until 7 January 1994)
Manuel Damásio
Head coachToni
StadiumEstádio da Luz
Primeira Divisão1st
Taça de PortugalQuarter-finals
Supertaça Cândido de OliveiraRunners-up
European Cup Winners' CupSemi-finals
Top goalscorerLeague: João Pinto (15)
All: João Pinto (18)
Highest home attendance80,000 vs Parma
(29 March 1994)
Lowest home attendance15,000 vs Braga
(17 October 1993)

The season was marked by the events in his pre-season, as the club only made three signings. More importantly, however, the club lost regular starter Paulo Sousa and common substitute António Pacheco to Sporting CP due to unpaid salaries. Expectations around Benfica were not high, as Sporting and Porto were deemed the main contenders. After a poor start, however, a six-game winning streak granted them the top position in the league table. After going 15 league games unbeaten, a loss in April at Salgueiros and a draw at home against Estrela da Amadora made it necessary to win at the Estádio José Alvalade to retain their first-place position; a hat-trick from João Pinto in a 6–3 win put the title only six points away. On 25 May, a win over Gil Vicente ended the title race, with the club winning a record 30th league title.

Season summary

The season that celebrated its 90th anniversary was also one of the club most tumultuous periods in recent history. In the summer, Paulo Sousa, João Pinto and António Pacheco unilaterally terminated their contracts, claiming unpaid salaries. While Pinto was successfully resigned with a pay increase, both Sousa and Pacheco never went back on their decision, subsequently moving to Lisbon rivals Sporting CP.

Sousa had been a frequent starter for Benfica, playing 35 games in the previous season and having joined the club as a 16-year-old.[2] Pacheco was utilized more as a substitute, but had still amassed over 160 league games for Benfica.[3] The players' "betrayal" and the increase in tension between the old rivals was labelled "Hot Summer of 1993", a clever throwback to the troubled times of the PREC, the post revolution in 1975.[4][5]

With almost no new signings, and having lost Sousa, Pacheco and Paulo Futre, the team led by Toni was not seen as favourite in the title race.[6] The season opened with the 1993 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, and with a win for both sides, a third match would be necessary.[7] In the league, Benfica started by sharing points with Porto in O Clássico, but then tied again against much easier opponents, like Estoril and Beira-Mar; both clubs that played a crucial role in the previous season's title race.[8] On the late part of September, the first win in the Primeira Liga kick-started a series of consecutive wins that helped the club climb from eighth in the league to first.[9] A big loss in Setúbal served as warning, with the Lisbon-side then adding more consecutive wins, opening a three-point gap by the New Year.[10]

In the first month of 1994, the club lost points against Gil Vicente and was eliminated from the Taça de Portugal by Belenenses,[11] though this was not enough to stop their momentum, continuing to defend their first place with consecutive wins.[12] In early March, with successive draws in the league and a hard-fought 4–4 draw in the quarter-finals of the Cup Winners' Cup,[13] the club look like would be surpass by Sporting on the title race, with the distance now reduced to just one point.[12] A loss against Salgueiros in April put both clubs equal on points, while in the European stage, the club was defeated by Parma in the semi-finals.[11][14]

Benfica entered the Derby de Lisboa on 14 May with just a one-point advantage in the league table, knowing that a loss would cost them first place. João Pinto had one of his best performances with Benfica, scoring a hat-trick that effectively ended the title race in his club's favour.[6] Only a few days later, away against Braga, the club secured its 30th league title, celebrating with the fans at the sold out Estádio Primeiro de Maio.[15][16]

Carlos Mozer, an undisputed starter during the season, narrated the events in the club almanac: "We won the title with great difficulty, because Sporting had a young but good team, while Porto had the experience. At Benfica, our squad was strong. There were veterans like William, Veloso and Isaías, that taught the younger ones, like Rui Costa or João Pinto; who still had the will and pace to run all game. The coach was Toni, who I knew back from 1989. Benfica did not start well, and amassed three straight draws. Then he started winning in a awful manner. We did not play well, but we were winning games, until the notorious game in Alvalade, the 6–3. Everybody said that Sporting was going to win, because they had a younger team, and we were older; so we would not endure the difficult terrain. When everything looked like to be on their favour; we, with great calm and experience, reversed the game with a great performance from João Pinto. In that season, I also remember the campaign in the Cup Winners' Cup. We reach the semi-finals, after that crazy 4–4 in Leverkusen. We were drawn against Parma, and the Italians were always difficult. We won in the Estádio da Luz, but there, in Italy; I was sent-off early, on the 20th minute, with a double yellow. The first was fair, the second was not. If with eleven players was already hard, with one less, it was even harder."[6]

Competitions

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Overall record

Competition First match Last match Record
G W D L GF GA GD Win % Source
Primeira Divisão 22 August 1993 2 June 1994 34 23 8 3 73 25 +48 067.65 [17]
Taça de Portugal 5 December 1993 30 January 1994 3 2 0 1 10 3 +7 066.67 [17]
Cup Winners' Cup 15 September 1993 13 April 1994 8 4 3 1 15 10 +5 050.00 [17]
Supertaça 11 August 1993 15 August 1993 2 1 0 1 1 1 +0 050.00 [17]
Total 47 30 11 6 99 39 +60 063.83

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira

11 August 1993 First legBenfica1–0PortoEstádio da Luz, Lisbon
Águas  84' Report Referee: Carlos Valente (Setúbal)
15 August 1993 Second legPorto1–0BenficaEstádio das Antas, Porto
Vinha  84' Report Mozer  42'  50' Referee: Fortunato Azevedo (Braga)

Primeira Divisão

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Benfica (C) 34 23 8 3 73 25 +48 54 Qualification to Champions League group stage
2 Porto 34 21 10 3 56 15 +41 52 Qualification to Cup Winners' Cup first round[lower-alpha 1]
3 Sporting CP 34 23 5 6 71 29 +42 51 Qualification to UEFA Cup first round
4 Boavista 34 16 6 12 46 31 +15 38
5 Marítimo 34 13 12 9 45 40 +5 38
Source: Primeira Divisão
Rules for classification: 1st points, 2nd head-to-head, 3rd goals average
(C) Champion.
Notes:
  1. Porto qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as Portuguese Cup winners

Results by round

Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334
GroundAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA
ResultDDDWWWWWWLWWWWDWWWWWDDWWWLWWDWWWDL
Position7784333211111111111111111111111111
Source: ForaDeJogo
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

22 August 1993 1Porto3–3BenficaPorto
20:30 Vinha  8'
Pereira  62', 70' (pen.)
Report Isaías  25', 63'
Águas  27'
Stadium: Estádio das Antas
Attendance: 50,000
Referee: Carlos Calheiros
29 August 1993 2Benfica1–1EstorilLisbon
20:00 Águas  58' Report Ernie Tapai  87'
Carlos Manuel  58'
Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Vítor Reis
11 September 1993 3Beira-Mar1–1BenficaAveiro
19:00 Dino  68' Report Isaías  78' Stadium: Estádio Mário Duarte
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Veiga Trigo
19 September 1993 4Benfica4–1FarenseLisbon
20:00 Brito  30'
Paneira  54' (pen.)
Pinto  71'
Águas  89'
Report Hassan  59' Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Marques da Silva
25 September 1993 5Benfica2–0MarítimoLisbon
17:00 Pinto  32'
Isaías  90'
Report Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: António Rola
4 October 1993 6Famalicão1–5BenficaVila Nova de Famalicão
20:00 Amarildo  62' Report Xavier  25'
Pinto  28'
Isaías  66'
Paneira  70'
Águas  87'
Stadium: Estádio Municipal 22 de Junho
Attendance: 9,000
Referee: José Pratas
17 October 1993 7Benfica2–0BragaLisbon
19:00 William  2'
Isaías  62'
Report Barroso  0'  50' Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: José Rufino
25 October 1993 8Paços de Ferreira1–2BenficaPaços de Ferreira
20:00 Rudež  61' Report Aílton  80'
Pinto  88'
Stadium: Estádio da Mata Real
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Carlos Calheiros
30 October 1993 9Benfica4–1SalgueirosLisbon
19:45 Hélder  25'
Pinto  30'
Rui Costa  47'
Águas  88'
Report Miguel Simão  34' Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: Carlos Valente
21 November 1993 10Vitória Setúbal5–2BenficaSetúbal
19:00 Yekini  29', 73'
Araújo  39'
Gomes  52'
Conde  82'
Report Paneira  55'
Aílton  66'
Stadium: Estádio do Bonfim
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: José Pratas
28 November 1993 11Benfica3–0BelenensesLisbon
20:00 Pinto  35'
Mozer  43'
Paneira  52'
Report Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Pinto Correia
10 December 1993 22Estrela da Amadora0–1BenficaLisbon
19:00 Report Rui Costa  77' Stadium: Estádio da Reboleira
Attendance: 13,000
Referee: António Marçal
18 December 1993 13Benfica2–1Sporting CPLisbon
20:00 Yuran  50'
Isaías  84'
Report Figo  29'
Capucho  0'  34'
Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 80,000
Referee: Jorge Coroado
29 December 1993 14União da Madeira0–2BenficaFunchal
19:00 Report Isaías  20'
Aílton  29'
Isaías  0'  77'
Stadium: Estádio dos Barreiros
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: Carlos Valente
9 January 1994 15Benfica0–0Gil VicenteLisbon
18:00 Report Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Soares Dias
16 January 1994 16Vitória Guimarães1–2BenficaGuimarães
19:00 Tlemçani  90' Report Paneira  35'  0'  87'
Aílton  44'
Stadium: Estádio D. Afonso Henriques
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Veiga Trigo
23 January 1994 17Benfica3–1BoavistaLisbon
20:00 Pinto  10', 76'
Aílton  29'
Report Tavares  60' Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Carlos Valente
6 February 1994 18Benfica2–0PortoLisbon
20:00 Aílton  37'
Rui Costa  55'
Report Fernando Couto  40' Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 60,000
Referee: Veiga Trigo
13 February 1994 19Estoril0–3BenficaEstoril
20:30 Andrade  0'  50' Report Aílton  74', 88'
Yuran  84'
Stadium: Estádio António Coimbra da Mota
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Pinto Correia
20 February 1994 20Benfica1–0Beira MarLisbon
19:45 Paneira  87' (pen.) Report Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 40,000
Referee: Carlos Calheiros
26 February 1994 21Farense0–0BenficaFaro
19:45 Nader  0'  53' Report Schwarz  0'  53' Stadium: Estádio de São Luís
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Bento Marques
5 March 1994 22Marítimo1–1BenficaFunchal
19:00 Hector  53' Report Pinto  70' Stadium: Estádio dos Barreiros
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Fortunado Azevedo
12 March 1994 23Benfica8–0FamalicãoLisbon
19:30 Celestino  25' (o.g.), 72' (o.g.)
Rui Costa  31'
Aílton  33'
Yuran  59', 87'
Mozer  70'
Águas  73'
Report Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: Lucílio Baptista
24 March 1994 24Braga0–2BenficaBraga
19:45 Report Isaías  44'
Aílton  77'
Stadium: Estádio 1º de Maio
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Carlos Valente
26 March 1994 25Benfica2–1Paços de FerreiraLisbon
19:45 Pinto  18'
Isaías  39'
Report Helcinho Conegudes  28'
 0'  83'
Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: Juvenal Silvestre
9 April 1994 26Salgueiros1–0BenficaPorto
20:45 Sá Pinto  85' Report Stadium: Estádio Prof. Dr. José Vieira de Carvalho
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Lourenço Ferreira
25 April 1994 27Benfica2–0Vitória SetúbalLisbon
19:45 Schwarz  11'
Kulkov  20' (pen.)
Report Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: João Mesquita
30 April 1994 28Belenenses0–2BenficaLisbon
21:00 Report Mozer  10'
Aílton  46'
Stadium: Estádio do Restelo
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Vítor Pereira
8 May 1994 29Benfica1–1Estrela da AmadoraLisbon
18:15 Isaías  12' Report Mário Jorge  64' Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 35,000
Referee: Pinto Correia
14 May 1994 30Sporting CP3–6BenficaLisbon
21:00 Cadete  8'
Figo  35'
Balakov  80' (pen.)
Report Pinto  30', 37', 44'
Isaías  48', 57'
Hélder  74'
Stadium: Estádio de Alvalade
Attendance: 60,000
Referee: António Marçal
21 May 1994 31Benfica1–0União da MadeiraLisbon
19:00 Rui Costa  68' Report Jokanović  0'  81' Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 55,000
Referee: Mário Leal
25 May 1994 32Gil Vicente0–3BenficaBraga
20:15 Report Pinto  4', 74'
Kulkov  84'
Stadium: Estádio 1º de Maio
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: José Pratas
25 May 1994 33Benfica0–0Vitória GuimarãesLisbon
20:30 Report Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 120,000
Referee: Carlos Valente
2 June 1994 34Boavista1–0BenficaPorto
20:00 Ricky  80' Report Stadium: Estádio do Bessa
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: António Rola

Taça de Portugal

5 December 1993 Fourth RdBenfica4–0EstorilLisbon
18:00 Yuran  19'
Aílton  58'
Andrade  68' (o.g.)
Paneira  84'
Report Litos  44'  54' Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Vítor Pereira
23 December 1993 Fifth RdUnião da Madeira1–5 (a.e.t.)BenficaFunchal
19:45 Bosančić  65' (pen.) Report Isaías  37'
Águas  94'
Rui Costa  95'
Aílton  101', 109'
Stadium: Estádio dos Barreiros
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Veiga Trigo
30 January 1994 Sixth RdOs Belenenses2–1BenficaLisbon
20:30 Airez  11'
Luiz Gustavo  30'
Report Pinto  6' Stadium: Estádio do Restelo
Referee: Vítor Pereira

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup

First round

15 September 1993 First legBenfica 1–0 GKS KatowiceEstádio da Luz, Lisbon
19;45 Águas  88' Report Attendance: 10,000[18]
Referee: Karl Finzinger
29 September 1993 Second legGKS Katowice 1–1
(1–2 agg.)
BenficaStadion GKS Katowice, Katowice
19;45 Kucz  45' Report Paneira  70' Attendance: 7,000[19]
Referee: Aron Schmidhuber

Second round

20 October 1993 First legBenfica 3–1 CSKA SofiaEstádio da Luz, Lisbon
19;45 Rui Costa  27', 37'
Schwarz  90'
Report Andonov  60' Attendance: 40,000[20]
Referee: Patrick Kelly
3 November 1993 Second legCSKA Sofia 1–3
(6–2 agg.)
BenficaVasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia
19;45 Andonov  56' Report Rui Costa  32'
Pinto  73'
Yuran  88'
Attendance: 20,000[21]
Referee: Rune Pedersen

Quarter-finals

1 March 1994 (1994-03-01) First legBenfica 1–1 Bayer LeverkusenEstádio da Luz, Lisbon
21:15 Isaías  90' Report Happe  66' Attendance: 80,000[22]
Referee: Pierluigi Pairetto (Italy)
15 March 1994 (1994-03-15) Second legBayer Leverkusen 4–4
(5–5 agg.)
BenficaUlrich-Haberland-Stadion, Leverkusen
20:30 Kirsten  24', 80'
Schuster  57'
Hapal  82'
Report Xavier  59'
Pinto  60'
Kulkov  78', 85'
Attendance: 21,000[23]
Referee: James McCluskey (Scotland)

Semi-finals

29 March 1994 (1994-03-29) First legBenfica 2–1 ParmaEstádio da Luz, Lisbon
21:00 Isaías  11'
Rui Costa  60'
Report Zola  13' Attendance: 80,000[24]
Referee: Bernd Heynemann (Germany)
13 April 1994 (1994-04-13) Second legParma 1–0
(2–2 agg.)
BenficaStadio Ennio Tardini, Parma
17:45 Sensini  74' Report Mozer  0'  33' Attendance: 21,500[25]
Referee: Mario van der Ende (Netherlands)

Friendlies

[26]

31 July 1993 Manchester United0–1BenficaManchester
Stadium: Old Trafford
18 August 1993 Pepsi CupBenfica2–1BarcelonaLisbon
Rui Águas  49'
Aílton Delfino  72'
 55' Romário Stadium: Estádio da Luz

Player statistics

The squad for the season consisted of the players listed in the tables below, as well as staff member Toni(manager)[27][17]

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 1992-93 season via transfer, with more details in the following section.

No. Pos Nat Player TotalPrimeira DivisãoTaça de PortugalCup Winners' CupSupertaça
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
1 GK Silvino 4-3103-30000
1 GK Neno 41-3533-24008-100-1
2 DF António Veloso 300210205020
2 DF Abel Xavier 332251008100
2 DF Abel Silva 170120300020
3 DF Jovo Simanić 0000000000
4 DF Nuno Afonso 1010000000
4 DF Hélder 432322306020
4 DF William 13181005000
5 DF Carlos Mozer 413293307020
5 MF Stefan Schwarz 312231206100
6 MF Vasili Kulkov 264212203200
7 MF Vítor Paneira 458326318120
8 MF João Pinto 46183415218220
9 FW Rui Águas 349256314121
9 FW Sergei Yuran 296204215120
10 MF Rui Costa 4710345318420
11 MF Isaías 37162613118220
11 FW Aílton Delfino 33142811332000
11 FW César Brito 231151105020
12 GK Paulo Santos 1-11-1000000
16 MF Aleksandr Mostovoi 1000000010
17 DF Pedro Henriques 1010000000
18 FW Hernâni Neves 5010102010
22 DF Daniel Kenedy 180140202000

Transfers

[1]

In

Entry date Position Player From club
July 1993 GK Paulo Santos Olivais e Moscavide
July 1993 CB Jovo Simanić VfB Stuttgart
August 1993 ST Aílton Delfino Atlético Mineiro

Out

Exit date Position Player To club
July 1993 CB Samuel Quina Vitória de Guimarães
July 1993 LW Paulo Futre Marseille
July 1993 DM Paulo Sousa Sporting CP
July 1993 LW António Pacheco
July 1993 RB José Carlos Estrela da Amadora
July 1993 LB Fernando Mendes

Out by loan

Exit date Position Player To club Return date
July 1993 GK Pedro Roma Gil Vicente 30 June 1994
July 1993 CB Paulo Madeira Marítimo 30 June 1994
December 1993 AM Aleksandr Mostovoi Caen 30 June 1994
gollark: Yes, well.
gollark: Actually, OOP stands for object oriented programming.
gollark: It does have a cool code.
gollark: ... Maybe? Depends on whether I get more offers or not.
gollark: Which silver egg do you speak of?

References

  1. "Squad 1993/94". foradejogo.net.
  2. Tovar 2012, p. 523.
  3. Tovar 2012, p. 738.
  4. "Verão Quente... de 1993!" [Hot Summer...of 1993]. Se isto fosse verdade (in Portuguese). 29 February 2008. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  5. "Verão quente de 93: Raptos, esconderijos e muito suspense" [Hot Summer of 1993: Kidnappings, hideouts and a lot of suspense]. Planeta Benfica (in Portuguese). 22 June 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  6. Tovar 2012, p. 524.
  7. Tovar 2012, p. 530.
  8. Tovar 2012, p. 520.
  9. Tovar 2012, p. 525.
  10. Tovar 2012, p. 526.
  11. Tovar 2012, p. 529.
  12. Tovar 2012, p. 527.
  13. "Recorde o 4-4 entre Benfica e Bayer Leverkusen" [Remember the 4-4 between Benfica and Bayer Leverkusen]. Publico.pt (in Portuguese). 20 December 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  14. "Benfica-2 Parma-1 de 1994" [Benfica 2-1 Parma in 1994]. Memória Gloriosa (in Portuguese). 22 October 2007. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  15. Tovar 2012, p. 528.
  16. "Época 1993/94" [1993/94 Season]. Glória Vermelha (in Portuguese). Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  17. Tovar 2012, p. 531.
  18. "Benfica - GKS Katowice".
  19. "GKS Katowice - Benfica".
  20. "Benfica - CKSA Sofia".
  21. "CSKA Benfica".
  22. "SL Benfica vs Bayer Leverkusen". Worldfootball.net. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  23. "Bayer Leverkusen vs SL Benfica". Worldfootball.net. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  24. "SL Benfica vs Parma AC". Worldfootball.net. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  25. "Parma AC vs SL Benfica". Worldfootball.net. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  26. António Manuel Morais; Carlos Perdigão; João Loureiro; José de Oliveira Santos (1994). Benfica: 90 Anos de História (in Portuguese). SOGAPAL. p. 261.
  27. "Squad 1993-94". worldfootball.net.

Bibliography

  • Tovar, Rui Miguel (2012). Almanaque do Benfica. Portugal: Lua de Papel. ISBN 978-989-23-2087-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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