After promising to win the European Cup the year before, Guttmann made almost no changes, only signing centre-back Germano. A dominant league campaign saw Benfica lap the first half with 12 wins in 13 games. A loss in January did not stop their momentum, and they added five more wins in the following weeks. On day 22, they drew with Sporting, and a week later they sealed their second consecutive league title. José Águas scored a league best 27 goals. Meanwhile, in Europe, Benfica defeated Hearts, Újpesti Dózsa, and AGF on their way to a semi-final with Rapid Wien. They won three-nil at home and drew one-all in Vienna, qualifying for the European Cup final, where they would meet favourites Barcelona. A 3–2 win secured their historic first European Cup.
Season summary
After Béla Guttmann led Benfica to the league title in 1959–60, he set his eyes on winning the European Cup, a promise he made when he first arrived at Benfica.[1] In his second year, he recruited Fernando Caiado as assistant, due to his connection with the players, and said to him: "Caiado, help me because I am going to make Benfica the European Champion".[2] He only made one signing for the first team, centre-back, Germano.[3] The season began on 27 August with a game against Barreirense.[4] After other matches, Benfica ended the pre-season with the Taça de Honra, which they finished third.[5][6] Despite the focus in Europe, Benfica domestic performance was dominant with 12 wins and one draw in the first half of the league. [7] At the same time, they eliminated Hearts in the preliminary round of the European Cup, and Újpesti Dózsa in the first round.[8] In the first leg, at home, Benfica build up a 5–0 lead in 28 minutes.[8] The second half of the league was less imposing, with Benfica conceding their first loss with Vitória de Guimarães.[7] This was followed by five consecutive wins.[7] In Europe, they had no difficulties in quarter-finals with the Danish AGF, beating them by 4–1 at their own home.[8] In April, Benfica wrapped up the league, after drawing with Sporting CP on match-day 22, keeping a five-point lead. A week later, they beat Braga by 7–1 and won the league with three match-days to go, a new club record.[7]José Águas was Bola de Prata for league top-scorer with 27 goals.[9]
With the league conquered, Benfica met Rapid Wien in semi-finals, beating them at home by 3–0.[7] In Vienna, the match was abandoned on the 88th minute, with the score on 1–1, after Rapid fans invaded the pitch.[10] Qualified for the European Cup final, they would face favourites FC Barcelona, who had eliminated five-time winners and title-holders Real Madrid.[10] On 31 May 1961, Barcelona scored first, but Benfica levelled by José Águas after a cross from Cavém. In the next minute, José Neto set up a long ball for Santana, with Barcelona defender, Enric Gensana heading it backwards into his own goal.[11] In the second half, Cavém crossed another ball from the left, reaching Coluna, who waited at the front of the box, to score the 3–1. Barcelona brought it down to 3–2, but no more goals occurred with Benfica winning their first ever European Cup.[12] Benfica played the second leg of the third round of the Portuguese Cup the very next day, with all the team still in Vienna, because the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) would not postpone it.[13] Entirely composed of reserve players, it marked the debut of Eusébio after five months of legal battle for his signing.[13] He scored once, and Benfica lost 4–1.[13] The season final game was with Belenenses in which Benfica won, therefore ending the league with a four-point lead over Sporting and 13 over Porto.[13]
The squad for the season consisted of the players listed in the tables below, as well as staff member Béla Guttman (manager), Fernando Cabrita (assistant manager).[14][2][23][A]
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 1960-61 season via transfer, with more details in the following section.
^There were no fixed numbers assigned, and the positions used by the players may not have a modern equivalence, the tactic was closely matched for a 3–4–3
References
^Livro do Cinquentenário do Record - Volume 1 (First ed.). Portugal: Edições ASA. December 1999. p. 54.
^ abcCentenarium Benfica 100 Nomes 100 Histórias (in Portuguese). Portugal: Correio da Manhã. January 2004. p. 53. ISBN972-99026-15.
^ ab"Homenagem ao jogador Pinto" [Testimonial to Pinto]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese). No. 13549. 28 August 1960. pp. 1–16. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
^António Manuel Morais; Carlos Perdigão; João Loureiro; José de Oliveira Santos (1994). Benfica: 90 Anos de História (in Portuguese). SOGAPAL. p. 250.
^"Os novos do Benfica revelaram qualidades" [The new Benfica players showed some skills]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese). No. 13550. 29 August 1960. p. 19. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
^Melo, Afonso de (November 2007). 100 anos: 1907-2007, Benfica-Sporting x Sporting Benfica...pior do que inimigos, eram irmãos [100 years: 1907-2007, Benfica-Sporting x Sporting-Benfica...worse than enemies, they were friends] (in Portuguese). Portugal: PrimeBooks. p. 146. ISBN978-989-8028-52-5.
^"A invulgar classe dos brasileiros" [The unusual class of the Brazilians]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese). No. 13831. 16 June 1961. p. 24. Archived from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
^Melo, Afonso de (March 2005). Viagem em redor do planeta Eusébio (Second ed.). Portugal: PrimeBooks. p. 38. ISBN972-8820-49-6.
^"Faleceu Zézinho" [Zézinho has died]. SL Benfica (in Portuguese). 30 August 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
^"Os jogos do torneio relâmpago" [The games of Angola Tournament]. Diário de Lisboa (in Portuguese). No. 13904. 28 August 1961. p. 21. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
Bibliography
Tovar, Rui Miguel (2012). Almanaque do Benfica. Portugal: Lua de Papel. ISBN978-989-23-2087-8.
Miguéns, Alberto (2005). 100 anos 100 troféus. Portugal: Prime Books. ISBN972-8820-34-8.
Simões, António (2008). Equipamentos com história. Vol. 3. Portugal. ISBN978-972-99134-6-4. {{cite book}}: |newspaper= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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