1969–70 S.L. Benfica season

After winning the league title for the third consecutive year, Benfica aimed for a historic fourth straight championship (tetra), with Otto Glória as head coach. The squad was reinforced with Messias, Carlos Marques, and Artur Jorge, who had already scored 94 goals in 112 matches in Académica. Meanwhile, club legends Cavém and Raul Machado departed.

Pre-season began with a tour of Africa, where Benfica beat Racing 1–0 but lost twice to Sporting, 1–0 and 5–2. Later, in the Taça de Honra, Benfica defeated Atlético 2–1 in the semi-finals and drew 1–1 with Belenenses in the final

The official season opened on 7 September with a 2–0 away defeat to Leixões in the first league match. In the following three rounds, Benfica beat Vitória de Guimarães, Belenenses, and Académica, finishing the month two points behind Sporting.^[1] In Europe, Benfica eliminated KB 5–2 on aggregate.^[2][3]

In October, Benfica won both league matches, beating CUF 2–0 away and Boavista 8–0 at home. November began with a 1–0 defeat to Sporting,^[4] followed by a 3–0 away loss to Celtic in the 1969–70 European Cup.^[5] The team responded with a 5–0 win over Braga, a 1–0 away loss to Vitória de Setúbal, and then the second leg against Celtic. Benfica won 3–0, leveling the tie, but with no goals scored in extra time, the outcome was decided by a coin toss. Celtic advanced and went on to reach the final.^[6]

In December, Benfica won three league matches and drew one, including a 2–0 home victory against Porto,^[7] finishing the first half of the season three points behind Sporting.^[8] The new year began with a 3–0 win over Leixões, followed by a 2–1 away defeat to Vitória de Guimarães and a 0–0 draw against Belenenses, leaving Benfica six points adrift of Sporting.^[9]

February was disappointing, as Benfica beat Académica 2–0 away but then lost 1–0 at home to CUF. This defeat led to the dismissal of Otto Glória, with José Augusto retiring as a player to take over as manager. The month ended with a 1–1 away draw against Boavista, which left Benfica in third place, eight points behind the leaders.^[10] In March, the team drew 1–1 with Sporting in Alvalade,^[11] before recording three consecutive wins over Braga, Vitória de Setúbal, and União de Tomar, maintaining the gap at eight points. In the Taça de Portugal, Benfica overturned a 3–2 away defeat to eliminate Vitória de Setúbal with a 2–0 home victory.

In April, Benfica won all of its league matches: 3–0 against Barreirense at home, 2–1 away against Porto, and 1–0 against Varzim at home. The team also secured a 6–1 victory over Boavista in the first leg of the second round of the Taça de Portugal. Benfica ended the league campaign eight points behind Sporting.^[12]

In the Taça de Portugal, Benfica defeated Boavista 3–2 away in the second leg, eliminated Vitória de Guimarães 4–3 on aggregate, and overcame Leixões 9–1 on aggregate to reach the final. There, they faced recently crowned league champions Sporting and won 3–1.^[13]

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

The squad for the season consisted of the players listed in the tables below, as well as staff member Otto Glória (manager), José Augusto (manager), Fernando Cabrita (assistant manager).

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 1969–70 season via transfer, with more details in the following section.

More information No., Pos ...

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Primeira Divisão		Taça de Portugal		European Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	POR	Alfredo Nascimento	2	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
1	GK	POR	José Henrique	32	0	19	0	9	0	4	0
1	GK	POR	João Fonseca	8	0	8	0	0	0	0	0
	DF	POR	Augusto Matine	17	0	8	0	9	0	0	0
	DF	POR	Carlos Marques	7	0	3	0	4	0	0	0
	MF	POR	Carlos Tomás	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
	DF	POR	Fernando Cruz	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
	DF	POR	Jacinto	22	0	16	0	5	0	1	0
2	DF	POR	Malta da Silva	33	0	22	0	7	0	4	0
3	MF	POR	Humberto Coelho	37	0	25	0	9	0	3	0
3	DF	POR	Messias	3	0	2	0	0	0	1	0
4	DF	POR	Zeca	27	0	16	0	8	0	3	0
5	MF	POR	Humberto Fernandes	2	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
5	DF	POR	Adolfo Calisto	19	0	14	0	2	0	3	0
	MF	POR	Antoninho	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
	DF	POR	Diamantino Costa	16	6	8	1	4	2	4	3
	MF	POR	Jorge Calado	5	0	4	0	1	0	0	0
	MF	POR	Vitor Martins	9	2	4	1	4	1	1	0
6	MF	POR	Jaime Graça	33	8	23	4	7	3	3	1
7	MF	POR	Mário Coluna	19	1	15	1	0	0	4	0
7	FW	POR	José Augusto	7	0	5	0	0	0	2	0
8	MF	POR	Toni	35	0	26	0	6	0	3	0
9	FW	POR	Artur Jorge	31	18	21	9	8	9	2	0
9	FW	POR	José Torres	29	19	20	13	6	6	3	0
9	FW	POR	Abel Miglietti	8	1	7	1	1	0	0	0
9	FW	POR	Praia	3	0	2	0	1	0	0	0
10	FW	POR	Eusébio	28	25	22	20	2	1	4	4
10	FW	POR	Raul Águas	15	5	10	3	4	2	1	0
11	FW	POR	Nené	2	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
11	FW	POR	António Simões	34	8	23	3	7	5	4	0

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