A Tribute to Sven-Goran Eriksson: His Two Special Spells in Benfica

 

Sven Goran Eriksson, who has just departed recently, had Benfica as the only club he led twice in his managerial career.

The world mourns as another former top manager has passed away in less than a week. After the departure of German gaffer Christoph Daum, now it is the turn of Sven Goran Eriksson, the former England manager during their so-called ‘golden generation’. He is always remembered as one of the best Nordic football managers in history.

During his long managerial career, the Swede boss might have been more well-known in Italy and England, beside his own homeland, as he spent the longest tenure in the Italian top flight by taking charge of four teams: AS Roma, Fiorentina, Sampdoria, and Lazio. In his 16-year stay there, he managed to snatch one league title only, four Coppa Italia trophies, plus the Winners Cup and UEFA Super Cup. Meanwhile, his time in England marked him as a centre of attention on and off the pitch, from his failure to guide England’s best squad to progress further than the quarterfinals in major tournaments to his series of unnecessary issues involving Nancy De’Ollio, Faria Alam, and the fake sheikh scandal.

His spells in Benfica, however, were often overlooked. Eriksson’s tenure with the Portuguese giant might not have been as memorable as those in Serie A and English soil but remained special. Benfica was the only club he took charge of twice and was able to lead to the European Cup final.

Sven’s First Spell (1982-1984)

Erikson joined Benfica after his unlikely success in winning the UEFA Cup with IFK Goteborg in 1982. His team crushed the favourite, Hamburg, 4-0 on aggregate (1-0; 3-0). The Portuguese giant was hoping that the Sweden boss could put the curse of Bela Guttmann to an end. At first, he did bring promising results. Humberto Coelho and Co clinched a league title in 1983 by toppling their archrivals, FC Porto and Sporting, by four and nine points clear on the table.

In Europe, Eriksson’s men were able to progress to the final of the UEFA Cup. They were tipped as the favourites over Belgium’s Anderlecht. The Portuguese giant eased past Real Betis, Lokeren, FC Zurich, AS Roma, and Universitatea Craiova to the summit. Unfortunately, their Guttmann’s curse was still too strongly attached to them. They were beaten 1-0 on the road and, surprisingly, failed to clinch a win as both sides shared spoils in a 1-1 draw.

In the following season, Benfica competed in the European Cup, UEFA’s top flight competition, known as the UEFA Champions League today. Eriksson’s men could only reach the quarterfinals and were hapless against the eventual champions, Liverpool. They suffered a 5-1 defeat on aggregate. His campaign in the domestic league was not entirely disappointing, as his side still managed to defend the league title. Sven decided to ply his trade to Italy by signing for Italian Serie A side AS Roma in summer 1984.

The key men:

• Humberto Coelho (WB)
• Zoran Filipovic (FW)
• Manuel Bento (GK)

Sven’s Second Spell (1989-1992)

After five years in Italy taking charge of AS Roma and Fiorentina, Sven returned to Da Luz. His best performance in Serie A was in 1985/86. The Sweden boss guided Giallorossi to finish second and clinch Coppa Italia. In the rest of the seasons during his tenure there, he was only able to bring his teams to the midtable.

Back in Portugal, Sven was back with a bang in his first campaign as he led Benfica to the European Cup final again. They eliminated Derry City, Hungarian Honved, USSR’s Dnipro, and Olympique Marseille to reach the summit. Unfortunately, Guttmann’s curse once again denied their attempt in the final. Despite dominating the game and creating a number of crucial chances in the final third against the reigning Champions AC Milan, plus the impressive form of the goalie Silvino between the sticks, they had to succumb to a narrow loss. Frank Rijkaard broke the deadlock to give Rossonerri their second consecutive trophy in Vienna. 1-0 for Arrigo Sacchi’s Milan. It was also Benfica’s last UCL final to date.

His fairly successful campaign in Europe did not share the same result in the domestic league, as they only finished second below FC Porto with four points adrift. Erikson paid his due in the second season by winning his third Portuguese La Liga, or the first in his second stint. Although such success was at the expense of failing to progress from the first round of the UEFA Cup.

In the following season, 1991/92, the former defender was aiming to snatch double success. His side managed to qualify to the final stage in the Champions Cup after dismantling Arsenal 4-2 on aggregate with a 3-1 win in Highbury. They were seeded then by Johan Cryuff’s Barcelona, Dynamo Kiev, and Sparta Prague to fight for one spot in the final.

Sadly, neither resulted well in the end. Benfica could only sit third on the table with one win and three draws, below Barcelona and Sparta Prague. In their domestic campaign, they were 10 points behind Porto in second place. Eriksson’s team went trophyless one more time, and he decided to move back to Italy to be at the helm of Champions Cup runner-up, Sampdoria.

The key men:

• Valdo (MC, CB)
• Jonas Thern (MC)
• Paulo Sousa (AMC, MC)
• Aldair (CB)
• Ricardo Gomes (CB)
• Stefan Schwarz (MC, MR)
• Sergey Yuran (ST)