List of S.L. Benfica managers

Sport Lisboa e Benfica is a Portuguese professional football team based in Lisbon. The club was formed as Sport Lisboa on 28 February 1904, following a meeting of former Casa Pia students, led by Cosme Damião, at Farmácia Franco (Franco Pharmacy).[1] Since the club lacked a field to play, it merged with Grupo Sport Benfica on 13 September 1906 to form Sport Lisboa e Benfica.[2]

Benfica won their first Primeira Liga title in 1935–36. Since then, they have won a further 36 league titles, 26 Portuguese Cups, plus a number of other more recently established trophies. In addition, they have been crowned champions of European football on two occasions, when they won the European Cup in 1961 and 1962.[3] The club was one of the eight founding members of the Primeira Liga in 1934.

This page includes a chronological list comprising all those who have held the position of manager of Benfica's first team since its foundation. Each manager's entry includes his dates of tenure and the club's overall competitive record (in terms of matches won, drawn and lost), honours won and significant achievements while under his care. Caretaker managers are included (when known), as well as those who have been in permanent charge. The club's longest-serving manager is Cosme Damião, who managed the team from 1908 to 1926, totalling 18 years.

Managerial history

Benfica's first manager ever was Manuel Gourlade, an employee at Fármacia Franco and the club's treasury manager.[4] He served for sixteen matches, from the team's first official match on 4 November 1906 until the end of their second season, in 1907–08, when eight players defected to Sporting CP. From then on, Cosme Damião took over and led the club to its first ever Lisbon Championship, in the 1909–10 season.[5] Until the end of the 1910s, he won seven more championships – the last one, in 1920, was particularly hard because of another mass player defection to recently created clubs Os Belenenses and Casa Pia.[6] Facing a much less talented squad and an ever increasing debt related to the construction of football fields, Benfica entered a trophyless period, which led to the departure of Cosme Damião in 1926, after 18 years in charge.[7][8]

Damião was replaced by Ribeiro dos Reis, a former player of the club who had recently managed the Portugal national team.[7] Despite the slight improvement of Benfica's performances, he failed to win any silverware, ending his spell in 1929 to make way for a foreign manager, Arthur John, who would also double as a masseur for the club's other sports.[9] He was much more successful, leading the club to its first national title, the Championship of Portugal in 1929–30,[10] and retaining it in the next season.[11] Following his move to Sporting in the next season,[12] Benfica reappointed Ribeiro dos Reis for a second spell; nonetheless, he did not fare much better in his second year, adding only a Lisbon Championship, by then a second grade competition.[13] He was succeeded by Vítor Gonçalves in 1934, who would reconquer the Championship of Portugal in his first season and lead the team to their first ever Primeira Liga title in his second tenure.[14]

The managerial changes continued in 1936, with Benfica hiring the first of six Hungarian managers, Lippo Hertzka,[15] who had led Real Madrid to their first La Liga title in 1932. He remained victorious at Benfica, adding two more Primeira Liga titles in three seasons.[16] In 1939, Benfica changed manager again, hiring János Biri. In his first year, he won the club's last Lisbon Championship as well as their first Portuguese Cup.[17] Over the following six seasons, he managed the team in 272 games, winning three Primeira Liga titles and another two Portuguese Cups.[18] With the appearance of Sporting's "five violins" in 1946, Benfica attempted to fight them by sacking Biri at the end of the season and rehiring Hertzka.[19] Under his guidance, Benfica led the 1947–48 league for most of the season; however, they finished in second place, equalised on points with Sporting but with one goal less.[19] Benfica then returned to English managers, hiring Ted Smith in 1948.[20] He guided the team to the Portuguese Cup in his first year, to the league title and to their first international trophy, the Latin Cup, in his second year.[21] He later concluded his two remaining seasons at Benfica with two more Portuguese Cup trophies – although the latter cup was also conquered by his assistant, Cândido Tavares, after Smith's return to England.[22]

For 1952–53, Benfica hired Alberto Zozaya only to be replaced in the middle of the season by Ribeiro dos Reis, whose third spell at the club would lead them to a second place league finish and one Portuguese Cup.[23] Later on, Ribeiro dos Reis led the club halfway through the next year, with José Valdivieso ending their first trophyless season in five years.[24] Benfica then hired Otto Glória, a Brazilian manager that would revolutionise the club by introducing professionalisation.[25] He introduced: a house for the players to focus before matches, and to strengthen discipline; increased wages, allowing professional footballers instead of part-time players; improved physical training; careful supervision of the players' food; regular medical check-ups; an academic program to improve the players' education; the teaching of English language and also, through etiquette, on how to dress and eat.[26]

Statistics
Information correct as of 27 January 2021. Only competitive matches are counted.
Table headers
  • Nat. – The coach's nationality is given as his country of birth.
  • From – The date the coach began working for Benfica.
  • To – The date the coach last worked for Benfica.
  • P – The number of games coached for Benfica.
  • W – The number of games won as a coach.
  • D – The number of games draw as a coach.
  • L – The number of games lost as a coach.
  • GF – The number of goals scored under his tenure.
  • GA – The number of goals conceded under his tenure.
  • Win% – The total winning percentage under his tenure.
  • Honours – The trophies won while coaching Benfica.
Table key
  •   Player-coach (team player that assumed simultaneously the role of coach)
  •   Caretaker coach (coach who assumed temporarily the job in the absence of the incumbent head coach or until a new head coach was hired)
Managers of S.L. Benfica, their statistics and honours
Name Nat. From To P W D L GF GA Win% Honours N
Manuel Gourlade 4 November 190622 March 1908 16 8 0 8 18 22 050.00
Cosme Damião 17 October 190828 March 1926 157 102 21 34 427 161 064.97 99988 Campeonato de Lisboa [n 1]
Ribeiro dos Reis 17 October 192626 May 1929 52 28 11 13 128 86 053.85
Arthur John 20 October 192928 June 1931 46 28 6 12 137 55 060.87 99982 Campeonato de Portugal
Ribeiro dos Reis 10 January 193230 June 1934 56 37 8 11 135 70 066.07 99981 Campeonato de Lisboa
Vítor Gonçalves 1 October 193430 May 1936 63 41 9 13 184 91 065.08 99981 Primeira Liga
1 Campeonato de Portugal
Lippo Hertzka 1 October 193625 June 1939 92 61 14 17 290 127 066.30 99982 Primeira Liga
János Biri 1 September 19392 July 1947 272 194 25 53 982 470 071.32 99983 Primeira Divisão
3 Taça de Portugal
1 Campeonato de Lisboa
Lippo Hertzka 1 September 194730 June 1948 30 22 3 5 97 42 073.33
Ted Smith 1 July 19486 April 1952 109 73 18 18 354 148 066.97 99981 Primeira Divisão
2 Taça de Portugal
1 Latin Cup		 [n 2]
Cândido Tavares 3 December 195115 June 1952 17 13 1 3 59 19 076.47 99981 Taça de Portugal
Alberto Zozaya 1 September 19521 February 1953 15 10 1 4 45 17 066.67
Ribeiro dos Reis 2 February 195320 December 1953 28 19 7 2 77 28 067.86 99981 Taça de Portugal
José Valdivieso 21 December 195331 May 1954 19 8 3 8 46 37 042.11
Otto Glória 1 August 195414 June 1959 169 113 30 26 447 163 066.86 99982 Primeira Divisão
2 Taça de Portugal
José Valdivieso 14 June 195930 June 1959 1 1 0 0 1 0 100.00 99981 Taça de Portugal
Béla Guttmann 1 July 195930 June 1962 124 89 20 15 402 144 071.77 99982 Primeira Divisão
2 European Cup
Fernando Caiado 1 July 19621 July 1962 1 1 0 0 3 0 100.00 99981 Taça de Portugal
Fernando Riera 1 October 196230 May 1963 43 33 5 5 130 44 076.74 99981 Primeira Divisão
Lajos Czeizler 1 June 196330 June 1964 41 33 6 2 169 44 080.49 99981 Primeira Divisão
1 Taça de Portugal
Elek Schwartz 1 July 196430 June 1965 46 33 7 6 157 41 071.74 99981 Primeira Divisão
Béla Guttmann 1 July 196530 June 1966 38 25 7 6 116 51 065.79
Fernando Riera 1 July 196630 November 1967 49 35 8 6 123 33 071.43 99981 Primeira Divisão [n 3]
Fernando Cabrita 1 December 19677 April 1968 18 13 2 3 51 17 072.22
Otto Glória 8 April 19688 February 1970 75 45 16 14 170 65 060.00 99982 Primeira Divisão
1 Taça de Portugal
José Augusto 9 February 197014 May 1970 16 12 3 1 44 13 075.00 99981 Taça de Portugal
Jimmy Hagan 30 June 197023 September 1973 120 94 14 12 339 80 078.33 99983 Primeira Divisão
1 Taça de Portugal
Fernando Cabrita 24 September 19739 June 1974 35 24 6 5 83 25 068.57
Milorad Pavić 1 July 197430 June 1975 41 27 10 4 86 21 065.85 99981 Primeira Divisão
Mário Wilson 1 July 197530 June 1976 37 25 5 7 108 32 067.57 99981 Primeira Divisão
John Mortimore 1 July 197630 June 1979 114 79 22 13 244 77 069.30 99981 Primeira Divisão
Mário Wilson 1 July 197930 June 1980 39 27 7 5 102 27 069.23 99981 Taça de Portugal
Lajos Baróti 1 July 198030 June 1982 92 63 16 13 187 59 068.48 99981 Primeira Divisão
1 Taça de Portugal
1 Supertaça de Portugal
Sven-Göran Eriksson 1 July 198230 June 1984 91 65 17 9 223 60 071.43 99982 Primeira Divisão
1 Taça de Portugal
Pál Csernai 1 July 198430 June 1985 45 28 7 10 100 41 062.22 99981 Taça de Portugal
John Mortimore 1 July 19854 June 1987 88 60 19 9 173 52 068.18 99981 Primeira Divisão
2 Taça de Portugal
1 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
Ebbe Skovdahl 10 July 198728 November 1987 16 10 3 3 24 7 062.50
Toni 29 November 198730 May 1989 87 52 24 11 158 52 059.77 99981 Primeira Divisão
Sven-Göran Eriksson 1 July 198930 June 1992 143 94 31 18 304 85 065.73 99981 Primeira Divisão
1 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
Tomislav Ivić 1 July 199225 October 1992 12 7 3 2 23 8 058.33
Toni 26 October 199230 June 1994 85 57 19 9 176 62 067.06 99981 Primeira Divisão
1 Taça de Portugal
Artur Jorge 1 July 19949 September 1995 54 28 15 11 92 45 051.85
Mário Wilson 10 September 199530 June 1996 43 29 7 7 77 39 067.44 99981 Taça de Portugal
Paulo Autuori 1 July 199619 January 1997 23 14 4 5 43 19 060.87
Mário Wilson 20 January 199726 January 1997 1 0 0 1 1 2 000.00
Manuel José 26 January 199720 September 1997 29 14 5 10 39 33 048.28
Mário Wilson 21 September 19971 November 1997 6 3 3 0 9 4 050.00
Graeme Souness 1 November 19972 May 1999 71 41 15 15 139 65 057.75
Shéu 3 May 199930 May 1999 4 2 1 1 10 5 050.00
Jupp Heynckes 31 May 199920 September 2000 48 27 8 13 81 55 056.25
José Mourinho 20 September 20005 December 2000 11 6 3 2 17 9 054.55
Toni 7 December 200027 December 2001 43 17 16 10 67 58 039.53
Jesualdo Ferreira 29 December 200125 November 2002 30 16 7 7 65 32 053.33
Fernando Chalana 25 November 200230 November 2002 1 1 0 0 3 0 100.00
José Antonio Camacho 1 December 200225 May 2004 71 47 14 10 133 60 066.20 99981 Taça de Portugal
Giovanni Trapattoni 5 July 200431 May 2005 51 29 10 12 82 50 056.86 99981 Primeira Liga
Ronald Koeman 8 June 20058 May 2006 49 27 11 11 64 38 055.10 99981 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
Fernando Santos 20 May 200620 August 2007 49 29 11 9 86 41 059.18
José Antonio Camacho 20 August 20079 March 2008 38 18 13 7 57 29 047.37
Fernando Chalana 10 March 200811 May 2008 10 3 3 4 13 13 030.00
Quique Flores 24 May 20088 June 2009 44 23 12 9 73 47 052.27 99981 Taça da Liga
Jorge Jesus 17 June 20094 June 2015 321 225 51 45 674 249 070.09 99983 Primeira Liga
1 Taça de Portugal
5 Taça da Liga
1 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
Rui Vitória 15 June 20154 January 2019 180 123 27 30 382 160 068.33 99982 Primeira Liga
1 Taça de Portugal
1 Taça da Liga
2 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
Bruno Lage 3 January 20194 July 2020 76 51 12 13 181 75 067.11 99981 Primeira Liga
1 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira		 [n 4]
Nélson Veríssimo 30 June 20201 August 2020 6 4 1 1 13 5 066.67
Jorge Jesus 3 August 2020Present 28 16 7 5 61 31 057.14

Notes
  1. Cosme Damião served as player-coach from 1908–09 until 1915–16.[27]
  2. Ted Smith resigned for personal reasons in December 1951 but unexpectedly returned in March 1952 and left again in April. The five games he coached after his return are added to the existing record.[28]
  3. Fernando Riera resigned after unpaid salaries and was replaced by his assistant, Fernando Cabrita.[29]
  4. Caretaker until 14 January 2019

References
  1. Tovar 2012, p. 11.
  2. "Foundation". S.L. Benfica. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  3. "Honours". S.L. Benfica. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  4. Tovar 2012, p. 29.
  5. Tovar 2012, p. 37.
  6. Tovar 2012, p. 68.
  7. Tomaz 2014, p. 144.
  8. Pereira 2014, p. 148.
  9. Pereira 2014, p. 100.
  10. Tovar 2012, p. 104.
  11. Tovar 2012, p. 111.
  12. "As histórias dos muitos treinadores do Sporting" [Histories of the many Sporting CP coaches]. Magazine Sábado (in Portuguese). 14 February 2011. Archived from the original on 10 March 2011.
  13. Tovar 2012, p. 120.
  14. "A Maior Mentira do Futebol Português" [The biggest lie in Portuguese football]. em-defesa-do-benfica.blogspot.pt. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  15. Tovar 2012, p. 139.
  16. Tovar 2012, p. 139, 145.
  17. Tovar 2012, p. 157.
  18. Tovar 2012, p. 171, 177, 189.
  19. Tovar 2012, p. 208.
  20. Tovar 2012, p. 214.
  21. Tovar 2012, p. 220.
  22. Tovar 2012, p. 233.
  23. Tovar 2012, p. 239.
  24. Tovar 2012, p. 245.
  25. Tovar 2012, p. 250.
  26. Tomaz 2014, p. 51.
  27. Tovar (2012), p. 57.
  28. Tovar (2012), p. 233.
  29. Tovar (2012), p. 336.

Bibliography

  • Pereira, Luís Miguel (2014). Bíblia do Benfica. Portugal: Prime Books. ISBN 978-9896552152.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Tomaz, João (2014). Plantel Glorioso. Portugal: Prime Books. ISBN 978-989-655-246-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • 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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