1966–67 S.L. Benfica season

Benfica
1966–67 season
President	José Ferreira Queimado; (until 3 July 1967); Adolfo Vieira de Brito
Head coach	Fernando Riera
Stadium	Estádio da Luz
Primeira Divisão	1st
Taça de Portugal	Quarter-finals
Fairs Cup	Third round
Top goalscorer	League: Eusébio (31); All: Eusébio (42)
Biggest win	Beira-Mar 0–9 Benfica ; (7 May 1967)
Biggest defeat	Braga 4–0 Benfica; (20 November 1966)
Home colours	Away colours

The 1966–67 season was Sport Lisboa e Benfica's 63st season in existence and the club's 33st consecutive season in the top flight of Portuguese football, covering the period from 1 August 1966 to 31 July 1967. Domestically, Benfica competed in the Primeira Divisão and Taça de Portugal, while internationally participated in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.

After finishing the season without silverware for the first time in eight years, the Benfica board opted to bring back former manager Fernando Riera. José Neto, José Pérides, Domingos Fernandes, Pedras and Serafim departed, while Adolfo Calisto, José Henrique, Jaime Graça and Diamantino Costa joined the squad. The league title race was closely contested with Académica, but Benfica ultimately secured its 15th league championship. In the Taça de Portugal Benfica was eliminated by Académica, while in Europe they exited in the third round against Lokomotive Leipzig.

Season summary

After a trophyless campaign, the first in eight years, the board opted to bring back manager Fernando Riera. The squad underwent several changes: José Neto, José Pérides, Domingos Fernandes and Serafim departed, while Pedras, Arcanjo and Félix Guerreiro were included in a deal to bring Jaime Graça. Adolfo Calisto, José Henrique and Diamantino Costa also joined the club.

Pre-season began with participation in the Torneio Costa do Sol, where Benfica defeated Atlético Madrid 2–0 in the semi-finals before losing 2–1 to Tottenham Hotspur in the final. The team then embarked on a tour of the Americas, losing 4–0 to Santos in New York, defeating Club América 3–0 at the Estadio Azteca, drawing 2–2 with AEK in New York, and beating the Italian Falcons 1–0 in Toronto.

Later, a 3–2 victory over Atlético sent Benfica to the final of the Taça de Honra, where they defeated Sporting 2–0.

The official season began on 18 September with a 1–0 away win over Vitória de Guimarães in their first league match. In the following five rounds Benfica collected four wins and one draw, including a 3–0 home victory over Sporting,^[1] ending October with a three-point lead.

In the Fairs Cup they faced Spartak Plovdiv, drawing 1–1 away and winning 3–0 at home. In the Taça de Portugal a 9–0 aggregate victory secured progression to the next round. In the league Benfica played only two matches in November, losing 4–0 away to Braga^[2] and defeating Porto 3–0 at home,^[3] maintaining a two-point advantage. In December, three wins over Sanjoanense, CUF and Vitória de Setúbal kept Benfica top of the table with a two-point lead, while in Europe they suffered a 3–1 defeat to Lokomotive Leipzig in the first leg.

On 5 December, defender Luciano died after being electrocuted in a hot tub in the team's locker room due to an electrical malfunction.^[4]

Benfica began the new year with a 2–1 away defeat to Belenenses, followed by a 2–0 win over Beira-Mar and an 11–1 aggregate victory against Lusitano de Évora in the Taça de Portugal. In February, Benfica won its first three league matches before ending the month with a 1–1 draw against Sporting, finishing level on points with Académica.

In March, Benfica won all four of its league fixtures: 2–0 against Atlético, 1–0 away against Académica, 4–0 against Braga (avenging the earlier away loss), and 2–1 over Lokomotive Leipzig. The team ended the month with a four-point lead but was eliminated from European competitions.

April opened with a 1–1 away draw against Porto,^[5] followed by two victories over Sanjoanense and CUF. A defeat in Setúbal was offset by further wins against Belenenses and Beira-Mar, securing Benfica's 15th league title.^[6] The season concluded with a 4–3 elimination in the Taça de Portugal quarter-finals against Académica.^[7]

Competitions

Win Draw Loss Postponed

Overall record

Competition	First match	Last match	Record
Competition	First match	Last match	G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %	Source
Primeira Divisão	18 September 1966	7 May 1967	26	20	3	3	64	19	+45	076.92	^[8]
Taça de Portugal	30 October 1966	18 June 1967	6	5	0	1	22	4	+18	083.33	^[9]
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup	26 October 1966	7 March 1967	4	2	1	1	7	5	+2	050.00	^[10]
Total			36	27	4	5	93	28	+65	075.00

Primeira Divisão

League standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Benfica (C)	26	20	3	3	64	19	+45	43	Qualification to European Cup first round
2	Académica	26	18	4	4	50	18	+32	40
3	Porto	26	17	5	4	56	22	+34	39	Qualification to Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round
4	Sporting CP	26	11	8	7	36	24	+12	30	Qualification to Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round
5	Vitória de Setúbal	26	10	7	9	27	25	+2	27	Qualification to Cup Winners' Cup first round

Source: RSSSF^[11] and footballzz.co.uk^[12]
(C) Champions

Results by round

Matches

18 September 1966 1	Vitória de Guimarães	0–1	Benfica	Guimarães
	Eusébio 42'	Report		Stadium: Estádio D. Afonso Henriques Referee: Pinto Ferreira

25 September 1966 2	Benfica	3–1	Leixões	Lisbon
	Simões 14' Eusébio 15' (penalty), 85'	Report	Arnaldo 70'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Encarnação Salgado

2 October 1966 3	Varzim	0–0	Benfica	Póvoa do Varzim
		Report		Stadium: Estádio do Varzim SC Referee: António Amaro

9 October 1966 4	Benfica	3–0	Sporting	Lisbon
	Eusébio 16', 35' (penalty) Torres 41'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Aníbal Oliveira

16 October 1966 5	Atlético	1–2	Benfica	Lisbon
	Matateu 82'	Report	Eusébio 18', 42' (penalty)	Stadium: Estádio da Tapadinha Referee: Salvador Garcia

23 October 1966 6	Benfica	2–1	Académica	Lisbon
	Celestino Martins 2' (o.g) Augusto 86'	Report	Artur Jorge 12'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Manuel Fortunato

20 November 1966 7	Braga	4–0	Benfica	Braga
	Adão Craveiro 15', 48' Miguel Perrichon 58', 60'	Report		Stadium: Estádio 28 de Maio Referee: Caetano Nogueira

27 November 1966 8	Benfica	3–0	Porto	Lisbon
	Eusébio 11', 64' Augusto 59'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Samuel de Abreu

4 December 1966 9	Sanjoanense	1–3	Benfica	São João da Madeira
	Valter Ferreira 67'	Report	Eusébio 10', 20' Simões 87'	Stadium: Estádio Conde Dias Garcia Referee: Aniceto Nogueira

11 December 1966 10	Benfica	3–0	CUF	Lisbon
	Eusébio 2', 65' (penalty) Yaúca 43'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: João Pinto Ferreira

18 December 1966 11	Benfica	1–0	Vitóra de Setúbal	Lisbon
	Augusto 1'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Braga Barros

1 January 1967 12	Belenenses	2–1	Benfica	Belém
	Carlos Pedro 27', 40', penalty'	Report	Coluna 80'	Stadium: Estádio do Restelo Referee: Mário Mendonça

8 January 1967 13	Benfica	2–0	Beira-Mar	Lisbon
	Eusébio 39' (penalty) Augusto 62'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz

6 February 1967 14	Benfica	7–0	Vitória de Guimarães	Lisbon
	Jaime Graça 1' Augusto 17', 55', 60' Torres 26', 67', 75'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz

12 February 1967 15	Leixões	1–2	Benfica	Matosinhos
	Esteves 86'	Report	Torres 2', 58'

19 February 1967 16	Benfica	6–2	Varzim	Lisbon
	Torres 2', 26' Yaúca 14' Eusébio 22' (penalty), 51', 78' (penalty)	Report	Sidónio 59' (penalty) Jorge 74'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz

26 February 1967 17	Sporting	1–1	Benfica	Lisbon
	Gonçalves 50'	Report	Eusébio 14'	Stadium: Estádio José Alvalade Referee: Mário Mendonça

3 March 1967 18	Benfica	2–0	Atlético	Lisbon
	Coluna 33' Eusébio 75' (penalty)	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Joaquim Campos

12 March 1967 19	Académica	0–1	Benfica	Coimbra
		Report	Nélson Fernandes 53'	Stadium: Estádio Cidade de Coimbra Attendance: 43,000

19 March 1967 20	Benfica	4–0	Braga	Lisbon
	Eusébio 32' (penalty), 59', 83', 85'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz

2 April 1967 21	Porto	1–1	Benfica	Porto
	Manuel António 56'	Report	Augusto 12'	Stadium: Estádio das Antas Referee: Manuel Fortunato

9 April 1967 22	Benfica	1–0	Sanjoanense	Lisbon
	Eusébio 14'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz

16 April 1967 23	CUF	1–2	Benfica	Barreiro
		Report	Nélson Fernandes 3' Eusébio 86'	Stadium: Campo de Santa Bárbara Referee: João Pinto Ferreira

23 April 1967 24	Vitória de Setúbal	3–2	Benfica	Setúbal
	José Maria 50', 51' Fernando Tomé 69'	Report	Eusébio 14' (penalty), 89' (penalty)	Stadium: Estádio Alfredo da Silva Referee: Renato Santos

30 April 1967 25	Benfica	2–0	Belenenses	Lisbon
	Eusébio 44' (penalty) Augusto 73'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Braga Barros

7 May 1967 26	Beira-Mar	0–9	Benfica	Aveiro
		Report	Raúl Machado 5' Eusébio 10', 35' (penalty), 61' Nélson Fernandes 33', 43', 68' Simões 46' Yaúca 89'	Stadium: Estádio Mário Duarte Referee: Mário Mendonça

Taça de Portugal

First round

30 October 1966 First leg	Ovarense	0–6	Benfica	Ovar
		Report	Santana 41' Raúl Machado 64' Torres 67', 70' Simões 75' Jaime Graça 85'	Stadium: Estádio Marques da Silva Referee: Saldanha Ribeiro

3 November 1966 Second leg	Benfica	3–0 (9–0 agg.)	Ovarense	Lisbon
	Augusto Silva 6' Diamantino Costa 25' Amaro Vieira 61'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Virgílio Baptista

Second round

15 January 1967 First leg	Lusitano de Évora	1–3	Benfica	Évora
	António Louro 46'	Report	Eusébio 2' Yaúca 28' Augusto 81'	Stadium: Campo Estrela Referee: Marcos Lobato

18 January 1967 Second leg	Benfica	8–0 (11–1 agg.)	Lusitano de Évora	Lisbon
	Torres 13', 66' Eusébio 29', 47', 52', 64', 83' Augusto (40)	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Virgílio Baptista

Quarter-Finals

11 June 1967 First leg	Académica	2–0	Benfica	Coimbra
	Ernesto 36', 88'	Report		Stadium: Estádio Municipal de Coimbra Referee: João Pinto Ferreira

18 June 1967 Second leg	Benfica	2–1 (3–4 agg.)	Académica	Lisbon
	Eusébio 33' Jorge Calado 53'	Report	Serafim	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Referee: Marcos Lobato

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

Second round

26 October 1966 First leg	FC Spartak Plovdiv	1–1	Benfica	Stadion 9-ti Septemvri, Plovdiv
	Dishkov 30'		Eusébio 4'	Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Alojz Obtulovič (Czechoslovakia)

22 November 1966 Second leg	Benfica	3–0 (4–1 agg.)	FC Spartak Plovdiv	Estádio da Luz, Lisbon
	Eusébio 53' Torres 55' Dimov 76' (o.g.)			Attendance: 14,200 Referee: John Paterson (Scotland)

Third Round

21 December 1966 First leg	Lokomotive Leipzig	3–1	Benfica	Zentralstadion, Leipzig
	Santos 25' (o.g.) Frenzel 47', 51'		José Augusto 40'	Attendance: 68,000 Referee: Kevin Howley (England)

7 March 1967 Second leg	Benfica	2–1 (3–4 agg.)	Lokomotive Leipzig	Estádio da Luz, Lisbon
	Eusébio 65' (pen.), 88'		Frenzel 81'	Attendance: 50,000 Referee: William Syme (Scotland)

Friendlies

14 August 1966 Torneio Costa do Sol Semi-Finals	Benfica	2–0	Atlético Madrid	Málaga
	Eusébio			Stadium: Estadio La Rosaleda

16 August 1966 Torneio Costa do Sol Final	Benfica	1–2	Tottenham	Málaga
	Eusébio 28'		Graves 14' Robertson 65'	Stadium: Estadio La Rosaleda

21 August 1966	Benfica	0–4	Santos	New York
				Stadium: Downing Stadium Attendance: 25,671 Referee: John Di Salvatore

23 August 1966	Club América	0–3	Benfica	Mexico City
			Eusébio Simões	Stadium: Estadio Azteca

28 August 1966	Benfica	2–2	A.E.K	New York
				Stadium: Downing Stadium

30 August 1966	Italian Falcons	0–1	Benfica	Toronto
				Stadium: Varsity Stadium

7 September 1966 Taça de Honra^[13] Semi-Finals	Benfica	3–2	Atlético	Belém
	Diamantino Costa 8' Diamantino Costa 29' Baptista 51'	Report	Cravo 58' Marinho 80'	Stadium: Estádio do Restelo

14 September 1966 Taça de Honra^[14] Finals	Benfica	2–0	Sporting	Belém
	Amaro Vieira Nélson Fernandes	Report		Stadium: Estádio do Restelo

12 October 1966	Barcelona	1–1	Benfica	Barcelona
			Eusébio	Stadium: Camp Nou

19 October 1966	Benfica	1–0	Barcelona	Lisbon
	Augusto			Stadium: Estádio da Luz (1954)

6 November 1966	Belgrade Selection	1–2	Benfica	Bagdad
	Albert 53'		Torres 35' Simões 81'	Stadium: Al-Shaab Stadium Referee: El-Kaimabji

22 January 1967	Benfica	1–1	Sporting	Belém
				Stadium: Estádio do Restelo

25 January 1967	Universidad Católica	2–2	Benfica	Santiago
			Eusébio Augusto	Stadium: Estádio Julio Martínez Prádanos

28 January 1967	Mixed Universidad Chile/Un.Católica	2–1	Benfica	Santiago
			Eusébio	Stadium: Estádio Julio Martínez Prádanos

12 May 1967	Universitario	2–2	Benfica	Lima
			José Augusto	Stadium: Estadio Nacional de Lima

17 May 1967	Benfica	3–1	Manchester United	Los Angeles
			Eusébio Jorge Calado	Stadium: Memorial Coliseum

21 May 1967	Mexico	4–0	Benfica	Mexico City
				Stadium: Estadio Azteca

15 June 1967	Angers	0–1	Benfica	Paris
			Eusébio	Stadium: Parc des Princes

15 June 1967	Angrense	1–6	Benfica	Angra do Heroísmo
			Eusébio Iaúca Augusto Nélson Fernandes	Stadium: Campo Municipal de Futebol de Angra do Heroísmo

Player statistics

The squad for the season consisted of the players listed in the tables below, as well as staff member Fernando Riera (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 1966–67 season via transfer, with more details in the following section.

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Primeira Divisão		Taça de Portugal		Fairs Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	POR	Costa Pereira	9	0	6	0	2	0	1	0
1	GK	POR	Alfredo Nascimento	24	0	20	0	1	0	3	0
1	GK	POR	José Henrique	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
1	GK	POR	José Melo	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
1	GK	ANG	Manuel Abrantes	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
	DF	POR	Adolfo Calisto	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
	DF	POR	Augusto Silva	5	1	2	0	1	1	2	0
	DF	POR	Fernando Severino	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
	DF	POR	Jacinto	29	0	23	0	2	0	4	0
	DF	POR	Luciano	5	0	5	0	0	0	0	0
	DF	POR	Malta da Silva	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
2	DF	POR	Domiciano Cavém	35	0	26	0	5	0	4	0
3	DF	POR	Germano	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
4	DF	POR	Raul Machado	31	2	24	1	3	1	4	0
5	DF	POR	Fernando Cruz	28	0	23	0	3	0	2	0
	MF	POR	António Paula	3	0	0	0	3	0	0	0
	MF	POR	Carmo Pais	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
	MF	POR	Diamantino Costa	3	1	2	1	1	0	0	0
6	MF	POR	José Ferreira Pinto	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
	MF	POR	Jorge Calado	10	1	6	0	2	1	2	0
	MF	POR	Nélson Fernandes	15	5	12	5	1	0	2	0
	MF	POR	Humberto Fernandes	2	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
	FW	POR	Amaro Vieira	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0
	FW	POR	Camolas	2	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
6	MF	POR	Jaime Graça	31	2	24	1	4	1	3	0
7	FW	POR	José Augusto	31	12	23	9	4	2	4	1
8	MF	POR	Mário Coluna	23	2	19	2	2	0	2	0
8	FW	POR	Santana	4	1	2	0	2	1	0	0
9	FW	POR	José Torres	18	13	13	8	3	4	2	1
9	FW	POR	Yaúca	14	4	8	3	4	1	2	0
10	FW	POR	Eusébio	33	42	26	31	3	7	4	4
11	FW	POR	António Simões	28	4	22	3	4	1	2	0

References

^ "Robusta Vitória do Benfica". Diário de Lisboa. p. 21. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
^ "O Braga inflingiu a 1.ª derrota ao Benfica, que continua «líder»". Diário de Lisboa. p. 25. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
^ "O Benfica venceu o Porto". Diário de Lisboa. p. 25. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
^ "Luciano: a morte no Estádio da Luz numa manhã de dezembro". Mais Futebol. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
^ "O Benfica empatou no Porto". Diário de Lisboa. p. 17. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
^ "Benfica Campeão e Académica no 2.º Lugar". Diário de Lisboa. p. 21. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
^ "Aplausos ao jogo da Luz". Diário de Lisboa. p. 25. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
^ "1966-67 Primeira Divisão". RSSSF. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
^ "1966-67 Taça de Portugal". RSSSF. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
^ "Inter-Cities Fairs Cup". UEFA. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
^ "Portugal 1966-67 - RSSSF (Jorge Miguel Teixeira)". RSSSF. 2001. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
^ "Portuguese League 1966/67 - footballzz.co.uk". ZeroZero. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
^ Official AFL tournament.
^ Official AFL tournament.

[1] "Robusta Vitória do Benfica". Diário de Lisboa. p. 21. Retrieved 2025-09-18.

[2] "O Braga inflingiu a 1.ª derrota ao Benfica, que continua «líder»". Diário de Lisboa. p. 25. Retrieved 2025-09-18.

[3] "O Benfica venceu o Porto". Diário de Lisboa. p. 25. Retrieved 2025-09-18.

[4] "Luciano: a morte no Estádio da Luz numa manhã de dezembro". Mais Futebol. Retrieved 2025-09-14.

[5] "O Benfica empatou no Porto". Diário de Lisboa. p. 17. Retrieved 2025-09-14.

[6] "Benfica Campeão e Académica no 2.º Lugar". Diário de Lisboa. p. 21. Retrieved 2025-09-18.

[7] "Aplausos ao jogo da Luz". Diário de Lisboa. p. 25. Retrieved 2025-09-18.

[8] "1966-67 Primeira Divisão". RSSSF. Retrieved 2025-09-17.

[9] "1966-67 Taça de Portugal". RSSSF. Retrieved 2025-09-17.

[10] "Inter-Cities Fairs Cup". UEFA. Retrieved 2025-09-17.

[RSSSF-11] "Portugal 1966-67 - RSSSF (Jorge Miguel Teixeira)". RSSSF. 2001. Retrieved 2012-04-24.

[footballzz.co.uk-12] "Portuguese League 1966/67 - footballzz.co.uk". ZeroZero. Retrieved 2012-04-24.

[13] Official AFL tournament.

[14] Official AFL tournament.

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