Who is Benfica: Profiling PAOK’s UEFA Champions League opponents
PAOK have been drawn to play against Portuguese outfit Benfica in the UEFA Champions League playoff round and AGONAsport takes a closer look at what PAOK can expect over the two-legged affair.
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BACKGROUND
SL Benfica are known as one of the “big three” clubs in Portugal along with rivals Sporting CP and FC Porto. Having won a total of 82 trophies across the club’s history, they are Portugal’s most successful and decorated football club while never having suffered relegation from the first division. Benfica are also the biggest club in the country having the most supporters within Portugal, with an estimated 14 million fans worldwide.
Their most successful time as a club came in 1961 and 1962, when they went on to win back to back European Cups. They hold the European record for the most consecutive wins in domestic league and the record for the longest unbeaten run in Primeira Liga, when they became the first undefeated champions in 1972–73. The Eagles, as they are nicknamed, were ranked twelfth in FIFA Club of the Century.
Full Name: Sport Lisboa e Benfica ComC MHIH OM
Founded: 1904
Chairman: Luís Filipe Vieira
Stadium: Estádio da Luz (Capacity 65,400)
Titles won: Primeira Liga (Domestic League Titles) 36 times, Taça de Portugal 26 times, Portuguese League Cup 7 times, European Cup 2 times
HEAD COACH
Benfica’s head coach is Portuguese 48-year-old Rui Vitória. A former football who turned manager, Vitória throughout his playing days played for five different clubs, but did not compete in a higher level than the third division. He spent the majority of his playing career playing in the fourth division before retiring as a player in 2003.
The following year after his retirement, he was appointed coach of Vilafranquense before moving on to coach Benfica’s junior sides later that season. He managed at both Paços de Ferreira as well as Vitória de Guimarães before making a move to the biggest challenge of his coaching career.
Midway through 2015, he signed a three-year contract with Portugal’s most successful club, leading them to a third consecutive Primeira Liga title and 35th overall. With that victory, Benfica established a Portuguese league record of 88 points in 34 matches. He also led the club to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League and to their seventh Taça da Liga trophy. As a result, he received the Best Coach award in Primeira Liga for the 2015–16 season.
In the 2016-17 season, Vitória miraculously won all four major titles in Portugal and in 2017, the bossman renewed his contract for a further two seasons with Benfica. In his second full season, he managed the team to the Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal, and Supertaça titles.
Last season, he was unable to lead Benfica to another league title as FC Porto were crowned champions, finishing seven points ahead of the Eagles. Benfica finished the season with 25 wins, 6 draws, and just 3 losses.
Vitória has managed Benfica in 102 games across his three seasons in charge, with 79 wins, 14 draws, and 9 losses in the league.
KEY PLAYERS
Eduardo Salvio: 28-year-old Argentinean winger Eduardo Salvio is Benfica’s key man in attack. Before making the move to Portugal, Salvio spent two seasons at Atletico Madrid where he won two UEFA Europa League titles. Salvio moved to Portugal in 2012 and since then, has made 238 appearances, scoring 56 goals, and making 49 assists for Benfica.
Pizzi: Pizzi, a 28-year old central midfielder for Benfica, gives Benfica the experience they need , having made 121 league appearances for the club since he arrived in 2013. Under Rui Vitoria’s guidance, Pizzi is more of a creative midfielder in comparison to other central midfielders, as he is given the licence to dictate the play and pull the strings in Benfica’s midfield.
Greek players at Benfica
Odisseas Vlachodimos: Earlier this year, the 24-year-old goalkeeper signed a five-year contract with Benfica in a transfer from Panathinaikos valued at 2.43 million euros. He is now Benfica’s number one keeper and has played all three competitive matches this season.
Andreas Samaris: Benfica signed Greek international midfielder, Andreas Samaris, in 2014 on a five-year contract for a transfer fee of 10 million euros from Olympiacos. The signing also included a whopping 45 million euro release clause. Over the past 5 years at the Portuguese giants, Samaris has made 130 appearances for the club and has lost his place in the starting line up.
LAST SEASON RECAP
Benfica’s league campaign did not go to plan as they finished in second place, seven points behind champions and arch rivals Porto, ending their four-year dominance in Portugal. Benfica went into the Taça de Portugal as title holders, but eventually were eliminated in the fifth round.
It was also a disappointing campaign for Benfica on the international front. They competed in the UEFA Champions League for the eighth consecutive season, but had a poor campaign as they lost all six group games, finishing with a -13 goal difference.
