2003–04 S.L. Benfica season

Benfica
2003–04 season
PresidentManuel Vilarinho
(until 2 November 2003)
Luís Filipe Vieira
Head coachJosé Antonio Camacho
StadiumEstádio Nacional
(until 19 October 2003)
Estádio da Luz
Primeira Liga2nd
Taça de PortugalWinners
UEFA Champions LeagueThird qualifying round
UEFA CupFourth round
Top goalscorerLeague: Simão (12 goals)
All: Simão (15 goals)
Highest home attendance65,000 v Sporting CP
(4 January 2004)
Lowest home attendance8,000 v Vitória de Guimarães
(23 August 2003)
Biggest win3 goal difference in 5 matches
Biggest defeat2 goal difference in 3 matches

The 2003–04 season was Sport Lisboa e Benfica's 100th season in existence and the club's 70th consecutive season in the top flight of Portuguese football. It ran from 1 July 2003 to 30 June 2004. Benfica competed domestically in the Primeira Liga and the Taça de Portugal. The club also participated in the UEFA Champions League as a result of finishing second in the Primeira Liga in the previous season.

After José Antonio Camacho led Benfica to second place, the club offered him a new two-year contract as manager in June. As a condition to renewing the contract, Camacho requested that the club sign more established players, but budget restraints allowed for limited investment. After several unsuccessful player bids, Benfica added Luisão to the squad and re-signed Geovanni in August. Because their second-place finish only granted a berth in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, Benfica had to play Lazio for a spot in the group stage. They lost both legs and were relegated to the UEFA Cup.

Domestically, Benfica began the league campaign with five points in four games, losing ground in the league race. They improved in subsequent games, but dropped points two more times, including at the official opening of the new Estádio da Luz. January was a difficult month for Benfica as they lost the Derby de Lisboa with Sporting, and on 25 January witnessed the death of club player—Miklós Fehér—in the middle of a game. In February and March, the team fluctuated between winning and losing streaks, including knocking out Rosenborg and losing to Inter Milan in the UEFA Cup.

In the final two months, Benfica unexpectedly recovered six points against Sporting, overtaking them to finish second and qualify for the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League. The club also reached the Portuguese Cup Final for the first time in eight years. Benfica beat Porto in extra-time to win their 24th Cup, which they dedicated to Fehér.

Season summary

Pre-season

In the aftermath of their best league finish since 1997–98, Benfica negotiated a one-year extension to Camacho's contract, which had been set to expire on 30 June. As a condition to agreeing to stay, he wanted several problems related to the technical staff, training fields and signings to be solved. On 23 June, Camacho agreed to remain as manager, with Pepe Carcelén and Álvaro Magalhães assisting him. In his presentation, he confessed that the club's limited finances would make it harder to sign players; he also said that Benfica would give their best but did not expect to dethrone Porto. Benfica inquired after Helton, and Ricardo to compete with José Moreira for the goalkeeper position. Over the course of two weeks, the club negotiated unsuccessfully with the latter and ultimately chose to stay with Moreira. The club also looked into strengthen their options at centre and at left-back, negotiating unsuccessfully with Ânderson Polga, Atouba and Júnior. Despite these failed negotiations, Benfica added Luisão, and re-signed Geovanni; both would be regular starters throughout the season.

With Portugal in seventh place in the UEFA coefficient and because only the first six had their league runner-up drawn directly into the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, Benfica had to go through a qualifying round, and were paired with Lazio on the draw of 26 July. The first match was scheduled for 13 August at Stadio Olimpico and the return leg, on the 26 August, at the Estádio do Bessa, due to Estádio Nacional's inability to receive European games. The team began their season preparations on 5 July, with two days reserved for medicals. After a week and a half of training sessions on Jerez de la Frontera, they travelled to Nyon on 16 July, for a seven-day tour. In Switzerland, they played Panathinaikos and Sporting, with different results, a loss with the Greeks and a win with Sporting. Back in Portugal, Benfica competed in two tournaments, first at the Guadiana Trophy with Belenenses, and later at the Centenarian Trophy with Boavista and Leixões. The team ended their pre-season with a match against Moreirense. Although Camacho initially doubted the team's chances in the title race, in August he said that the team "was stronger than last year, due to the added time together", and that they would fight for the title.

August–September

Benfica played their first competitive game of the season against Lazio in Rome and lost 3–1. This reduced their hopes of reaching the group stage of the Champions League, as Camacho said: "Lazio were supposed to do more tonight to win this game. Benfica helped them by committing some mistakes, mainly due to our lack of experience. We have complicated our lives in view of the second-leg match.". The third goal from Lazio, scored by Mihajlović, came from a Roger's foul after touching the ball with his hands; Camacho openly criticized Roger for the incident. On the 17th, Benfica began their league campaign away to Boavista. Their last win there was on 30 March 1996, eight seasons ago. The game ended as a goalless draw, with Camacho criticizing the referee for the excessive number of interruptions. On the following Saturday, Benfica defeated Vitória de Guimarães at home, in a 2–0 win, which Camacho admitted to be flattering in comparison with the team performance. Two days later, the club announced they were postponing their third match day from 31 August to 29 October, because of Académica's desire to play that game at the newly renovated Estádio Cidade de Coimbra. On the 27th, Benfica lost one-nil to Lazio, and were knocked out of the Champions League. Because of the financial loss from the elimination, the club was unable to invest further in squad; the team closed the transfer window with only Alex and Luisão as new signings.

Benfica's first match in September was on the 14th against Belenenses. Despite leading the game with 90 minutes played, Benfica allowed the visitors to score two goals in extra time to draw the match 3–3. Camacho took responsibility for the goals in extra-time, admitting the team needed to be smarter and waste time. The next match was the Clássico away on the 21st; Porto had a five-point lead in the league table, although Benfica had played one less game. Porto won 2–0. Camacho complained of bad luck: "What happened was that one team entered the game to dominate, achieved some control, but it was the other team who scored. What matters in football is goals, and Porto scored, while we did not." Three days later, Benfica started their UEFA Cup campaign against La Louvière, a Belgian team that António Simões described as "easy". The game ended in a 1–1 draw, with Camacho dismissing the idea that it was a bad result, saying that an away draw in a European competition was still a satisfying outcome. On the 28th, Benfica closed the month with a home win against Nacional, with Tiago scoring the only goal. Despite the fans whistling the team, Camacho was pleased with the performance, noting the opportunities the team had to double the lead.

October–November

The first match in October was on the 4th; it was an away match at Parque de Jogos, Moreirense's home ground. Benfica won 4–1, which was their largest win all season. Camacho attributed the team's success to an improvement in the conversion rate of the attacking line. After a break for international matches, Benfica returned with the second leg of the UEFA Cup on the 15th. They dominated the match, and only a strong performance from Silvio Proto allowed the Belgians to leave with only a goal conceded. Two days later, Benfica announced they were rescheduling the game against Marítimo from 25 October to 12 November, due to the opening game of the new Estádio da Luz on the same day. On 19 October, Benfica ended their six-month spell at Estádio Nacional with a match against Gil Vicente. Benfica scored first but Gil Vicente equalized three minutes later, unsettling the home side. In the second half, Simão scored the winning goal for Benfica. Camacho acknowledged that Benfica struggled after conceding Gil Vicente's goal, adding that it was a normal behaviour in football. On the 25th, Benfica opened its brand new Estádio da Luz, attracting a sell-out crowd against Nacional Montevideo. Benfica won 2–1, with Nuno Gomes scoring twice. On the following Wednesday, Benfica opened the redeveloped Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, in a game transferred from August. Simão put on a man of the match performance, leading the team to a 3–1 win to Académica.

Benfica started November by hosting Beira-Mar on the 2nd in the official opening of their new stadium. Beira-Mar won 2–1, inflicting Benfica's second league defeat, which opened an 11-point gap to Porto. Camacho blamed the defeat on the lack of goal opportunities. Four days later, Benfica received Molde for the UEFA Cup, beating them 3–1 and assuring a two-goal lead for the second leg. Camacho recognized the team was struggling to defend against corner-kicks, as both Beira-Mar and Molde had scored in corners. On 9 November, the team visited Alverca and won three-nil, with two goals from Tiago and one from Geovanni. Camacho was pleased with the performance, but said that Benfica should have scored more. On 12 November, Benfica played Marítimo, in a fixture transferred from October. Weakened by injuries in some of the regular players, Benfica could not do better than a one-all draw. Camacho attributed the result to the excessive number of games in short amount of time, something most of the players were not accustomed to. After a 10-day international break, Benfica opened the Portuguese Cup campaign against Estrela da Amadora on the 22nd. They won 3–1 with all of the goals arriving late in the game. Benfica closed the month with a 2–0 win to Molde, on the second leg of the UEFA Cup, with Tiago again scoring twice.

December–January

On 1 December, Benfica won its first league match in their new stadium, beating Rio Ave by 2–0. After the match, Camacho defended his team to the press by saying "Eusébio's team is gone." A week later, the team defeated Paços de Ferreira away, with João Pereira scoring two goals. Because Porto had lost points, Benfica were now only six points from the top of the league. On the 13th, Benfica won their fifth match in a row, beating Braga at home. After the game, Camacho angrily refuted any idea that Benfica did not play accordingly to expectations: "A poor performance? That's not what I saw. In football there are two teams. Everyone knows that, against Benfica, all teams give their best, and we suffer that in the first half, because Braga played like every other team here. It is like the story of the bottle, for the optimist it is half full; for the pessimist, it is half empty." On the same day, they were drawn with Rosenborg in the upcoming round of the UEFA Cup. The following Wednesday, Benfica progressed through the fifth round of the Portuguese Cup, with Luisão scoring a single goal in an away win against Académica. The final game of the month came on the 21st, with a 3–0 win to Estrela da Amadora. Two goals within the first ten minutes allowed the team to comfortably manage the remaining time. Camacho later said that Benfica could have scored six or seven goals. This was the team's seventh win in a row, the longest streak of consecutive wins in Camacho's time at Benfica.

Miklós Fehér shirt showing the cuts done by the paramedics

2004 opened with a Derby de Lisboa against Sporting on 4 January. Benfica conceded an early goal, after Moreira fouled Silva inside the box. Sporting added a second before half-time and closed the match with another converted penalty; winning 3–1 and increasing their lead over Benfica to four points. On 11 January, Benfica visited União de Leiria at the newly developed Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa. In a tightly contested match, Benfica fell behind twice and briefly led on the 80th minute. However, Leiria equalized within two minutes and the match ended in a 3–3 draw. With five points lost in two games, the distance to the top was again 11 points, with 6 to second place. The game also marked the debut of Takis Fyssas, a 30-year-old left-back hired to compete with Cristiano. A week later, Benfica beat Boavista 3–2 with two goals from Sokota. At the press conference, Camacho criticized the media's behaviour after two weeks of intense pressure due to previous results. On 25 January, Benfica closed the month with an away game at Vitória de Guimarães. They won the game with a late goal, but the match was more remembered for the collapse and later death of Miklós Fehér, who suffered a cardiac arrhythmia brought on by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The day after his death, Benfica announced they were permanently retiring his shirt number.

February–March

In the aftermath of Fehér's death, Benfica played at home to Académica on 3 February. Benfica scored first on the 27th minute with a goal from Zahovič, with Geovanni later making it 2–0. On the 8th, Benfica defeated Belenenses at Restelo, with two second half goals from Sokota and João Pereira. Camacho said the team had won the first of a cycle of three decisive matches. Three days later, Benfica played the quarter-finals of the Portuguese Cup against Nacional. After conceding on 22nd minute, the team spent over an hour trying to score. Tiago then scored in the 85th minute, with Sokota scoring Benfica's second a minute later. This put the team into the semi-final. On 15 February, Benfica received Porto for the second Clássico of the season. Porto scored first through Costinha, but Benfica levelled the match through Simão on the 50th minute, with the game ending in a 1–1 draw. Camacho expressed that the correct result should have been a win for Benfica, and that Porto had been lucky. A week later, Benfica met Nacional again, now on their home turf. After conceding an early goal, Benfica fought back to a 2–1 lead; only to allow Nacional to score two goals within two minutes and win the game. Because two goals had come from corner-kicks, Camacho was questioned if the centre-backs were at fault; which he answered: "We conceded three goals from set pieces, and that could not be the centre-backs' fault, because we defend them with 5 or 6 players – so they alone cannot be blamed." On the 26th, Benfica received Rosenborg in the UEFA Cup. While both teams had opportunities to open the score sheet in the first half, the winning goal arrived on the 61st minute when Zahovic released a powerful shot. The final game of February was on the 29th, with Benfica hosting Moreirense at Da Luz. Benfica scored first by Fernando Aguiar, but could not retain their lead and conceded a late goal from Demétrius. Although Sporting had a seven-point advantage, Camacho refused to admit defeat on the Champions League race, saying: "We have not lost the fight yet.".

Benfica played the second leg of the UEFA Cup third round on 3 March. At the Lerkendal Stadion, Rosenborg scored two goals inside the first 15 minutes, but Benfica regained their aggregate lead with a goal on the 19th minute. Despite playing with a man less in the second half, Moreira was not beaten again and Benfica went through to the next round on away goals. On the 7th, the team visited Gil Vicente's home stadium. Benfica scored first with Geovanni, but squandered two chances to make it 2–0. Instead Gil Vicente were able to equalize. Camacho substituted in Manuel Fernandes and the 17-year-old scored the winning-goal for Benfica. Camacho praised the players for maintaining their commitment after an exhausting European game. On the following Thursday, Benfica hosted Inter Milan in the UEFA Cup. The team had multiple chances against Toldo but could not beat him, with the match ending 0–0. On 14 March, Benfica played host to Marítimo, beating them 1–0 with a goal by Simão in the 81st minute. On the 17th, Benfica hosted Belenenses for the Portuguese Cup semi-final. With three goals scored in the first 36 minutes, Benfica managed the lead until the end. They qualified for their first final since 1997. On 21 March, Benfica visited the new Municipal de Aveiro to face the local team, Beira-Mar. With the team resting players for the game with Inter, Camacho brought in Nuno Gomes and the striker scored the winning goal with 15 minutes left to play. The win reduced the gap to Sporting to just 4 points. Four days later, Benfica and Inter Milan had an entertaining seven-goal thriller in the second leg of the UEFA Cup. At half-time, the teams were level, but in the 10 minutes between the 60th and 70th minute, Inter scored three to Benfica's one, opening a two-goal cushion. Benfica later reduced the lead to 4–3, but this was insufficient to prevent an elimination. Benfica closed March on the 28th. Two early goals allowed the team to cruise past Alverca, bringing their win tally to five wins in eight games.

April–May

Benfica opened April in Vila do Conde with an away match against Rio Ave on Sunday 4 April. The home team opened the scoring in the second half and six minutes later Benfica equalized by Tiago. The game ended with a 1–1 draw, with Camacho admitting the team showed signs of fatigue. This draw also allowed Sporting to regain a six-point lead, with just five match-days to go. On 10 April, Benfica played Paços de Ferreira at home. Nuno Gomes and Geovanni both scored in the second half to give Benfica a 2–1 win. A week later Benfica won their second game in a row, 3–0 away at Braga. Miguel scored his first of the season while Sokota and Simão made it 3–0 by the half-hour point. The win, Benfica's largest there since 1989-90, helped them reduce the gap to second place to three points, because of Sporting's loss to Boavista. Camacho attributed the easy win to his team's motivation. Benfica ended April with a home game against Estrela da Amadora. They took an early lead through Nuno Gomes and Sokota scored the second later in the first half. Davide reduced the lead on the 86th minute, but an additional goal by Miguel led to a 3–1 win that put Benfica in second place in the league table, after catching up to Sporting. Camacho liked the win but not the performance, saying: "We lacked sharpness and played on a slow pace." For the upcoming match with Sporting, Tiago commented that the Derby could go either way, but dismissed the idea that it was the most important game in the season for Benfica, saying: "The Portuguese Cup final is our most important game."

On 2 May, Benfica visited the new Estádio José Alvalade for a match that decided who would go to the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League. Sporting pressed hard from the start and dominated the first half, but Benfica managed to balance the game in the second, until they finally beat Sporting's defence with an 87th-minute goal. Rui Dias described the goal for Record: "It wasn't until the 87th minute that the game knew its man of the match: Geovanni; if the game was destined to be generic, the Brazilian added inspiration and scored a spectacular goal that decided the game and almost certainly sealed the unthinkable second place for Benfica – who could have thought of that only a month ago?." With the win, Benfica were only a point short of qualifying for the Champions League. Camacho praised the team, saying they had had a fantastic season. A week later, Benfica secured the second place in the league and the associated place in the third qualifying round of the Champions League with a 0–0 home draw against União de Leiria. Camacho later said: "We finished in second place, because we did not give up.". Benfica's last game of the season was the 2004 Taça de Portugal Final. In a highly competitive match, Porto took the lead through Derlei on the 45th minute, before Benfica equalized by Fyssas on the 58th minute. In extra-time, Simão scored the winner, sealing Benfica's 24th Portuguese Cup. It was the first trophy for the team since 1996, ending the club longest drought. Camacho complimented his team and dedicated the win to Fehér and Bruno Baião, the latter a youth team player who had died the day before, also from heart related complications. In the post-season, although Camacho said he was preparing for the following season, he chose to depart to Real Madrid on 24 May, as he signed a 2-year deal.

Competitions

 Win  Draw  Loss  Postponed

Overall record

Competition First match Last match Record
G W D L GF GA GD Win % Source
Primeira Liga 17 August 2003 9 May 2004 34 22 8 4 62 28 +34 064.71
Taça de Portugal 22 November 2003 16 May 2004 5 5 0 0 11 4 +7 100.00
UEFA Champions League 13 August 2003 27 August 2003 2 0 0 2 1 4 −3 000.00
UEFA Cup 24 September 2003 25 March 2004 8 4 2 2 12 8 +4 050.00
Total 49 31 10 8 86 44 +42 063.27

Primeira Liga

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Porto (C) 34 25 7 2 63 19 +44 82 Qualification to Champions League group stage
2 Benfica 34 22 8 4 62 28 +34 74 Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round
3 Sporting CP 34 23 4 7 60 33 +27 73 Qualification to UEFA Cup first round
4 Nacional 34 17 5 12 56 35 +21 56
5 Braga 34 15 9 10 36 38 −2 54
Source: Foradejogo
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored
(C) Champion
Notes:
  1. ^ Maritimo qualified for the UEFA Cup because Benfica, the Portuguese Cup winners qualified for Champions League

Results by round

Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334
GroundAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
ResultDWWDLWWWDLWWWWWLDWWWWDLDWWWWDWWWWD
Position9435863225333333333333333333333222
Source: ForaDeJogo.net
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

17 August 2003 1 Boavista 0–0 Benfica Porto
18:15 Report Stadium: Estádio do Bessa
Referee: Carlos Xistra
23 August 2003 2 Benfica 2–0 Vitória Guimarães Lisbon
20:00 Zahovič 44' (pen.)
Fehér 80'
Report Guga Red card 43' Stadium: Estádio Nacional
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Pedro Henriques
14 September 2003 4 Benfica 3–3 Belenenses Lisbon
18:15 João Pereira 27'
Fehér 54'
Luisão 87'
Report Sané 82' (pen.), 90+1'
Leonardo 90+5'
Stadium: Estádio Nacional
Referee: Duarte Gomes
21 September 2003 5 Porto 2–0 Benfica Porto
21:00 Derlei 30'
Argel 52' (o.g.)
Report Ricardo Rocha Yellow card 40' Yellow-red card 78' Stadium: Estádio das Antas
Attendance: 44,441
Referee: Lucílio Baptista
28 September 2003 6 Benfica 1–0 Nacional Lisbon
19:15 Tiago 25' Yellow card 23' Yellow-red card 79' Report Goulart Red card 40' Stadium: Estádio Nacional
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: João Vilas Boas
4 October 2003 7 Moreirense 1–4 Benfica Moreira de Cónegos
21:15 Vítor Pereira Red card 55'
Armando Red card 55'
Manoel 70'
Report Simão 26', 55' (pen.)
Fehér 45'
Roger 90+2'
Stadium: Parque Joaquim Almeida Freitas
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: João Ferreira
19 October 2003 8 Benfica 2–1 Gil Vicente Lisbon
21:00 Šokota 28'
Simão 64'
Report Ferreira 31' Stadium: Estádio Nacional
Referee: 12,000
25 October 2003 9 Marítimo Postponed Benfica Funchal
Stadium: Estádio dos Barreiros
29 October 2003 3 Académica 1–3 Benfica Coimbra
20:00 Tonel 6' Report Šokota 21'
Simão 27'
Roger 83'
Stadium: Estádio Cidade de Coimbra
Attendance: 22,500
Referee: Augusto Duarte
2 November 2003 10 Benfica 1–2 Beira-Mar Lisbon
20:15 Simão 40' Report Sandro Gaúcho 53'
Wijnhard 64'
Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Carlos Xistra
9 November 2003 11 Alverca 0–3 Benfica Lisbon
19:00 Report Tiago 14', 82'
Geovanni 73'
Stadium: Complexo Desportivo FC Alverca
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Paulo Paraty
12 November 2003 9 Marítimo 1–1 Benfica Funchal
20:00 Dinda 64' Report Simão 82' Stadium: Estádio dos Barreiros
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Mário Mendes
1 December 2003 12 Benfica 2–0 Rio Ave Lisbon
19:15 Simão 41' (pen.)
Cristiano 68'
Report Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 26,375
Referee: Paulo Baptista
13 December 2003 14 Benfica 2–0 Braga Lisbon
21:00 Simão 28'
Šokota 83'
Report Artur Jorge Amorim Red card 78' Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Referee: Duarte Gomes
21 December 2003 15 Estrela da Amadora 0–3 Benfica Lisbon
20:30 Rui Baião Red card 90' Report Nuno Gomes 2'
Tiago 10'
Šokota 32'
Stadium: Estádio da Reboleira
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: Lucílio Baptista
4 January 2004 16 Benfica 1–3 Sporting Lisbon
19:00 MiguelYellow card 47' Yellow-red card 64'
Luisão 56'
Ricardo Rocha Yellow card 47' Yellow-red card 90'
Report Rochemback 8' (pen.) Yellow card 21' Yellow-red card 42'
Silva 33'
Sá Pinto 90+2' (pen.)
Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 65,000
Referee: Pedro Proença
11 January 2004 17 União de Leiria 3–3 Benfica Leiria
19:15 Luís Filipe 19'
Douala 42', 82'
Report Šokota 29'
Nuno Gomes 57', 79'
Stadium: Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa
Attendance: 18,000
Referee: Paulo Costa
18 January 2004 18 Benfica 3–2 Boavista Lisbon
19:45 Šokota 18', 67'
Argel 24'
Report R. Sousa 29'
Anunciação 39'
Rui Óscar Yellow card 11' Yellow-red card 47'
Martelinho Yellow card 58' Yellow-red card 85'
Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 26,398
Referee: Elmano Santos
3 February 2004 20 Benfica 2–0 Académica Lisbon
21:15 Zahovič 27'
Geovanni 66'
Report Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 56,090
Referee: Martins dos Santos
8 February 2004 21 Belenenses 0–2 Benfica Lisbon
19:45 Report Šokota 53'
João Pereira 67'
Stadium: Estádio do Restelo
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Pedro Henriques
15 February 2004 22 Benfica 1–1 Porto Lisbon
20:00 Simão 50' Report Costinha 29' Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 57,000
Referee: João Ferreira
22 February 2004 23 Nacional 3–2 Benfica Funchal
20:15 Adriano 10', 54'
Gouveia 56'
Report Simão 31'
Nuno Gomes 51'
Stadium: Estádio da Madeira
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Augusto Duarte
29 February 2004 24 Benfica 1–1 Moreirense Lisbon
19:00 F. Aguiar 56' Report Demétrios 87' Yellow card 78' Yellow-red card 88' Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 32,171
Referee: Jacinto Paixão
7 March 2004 25 Gil Vicente 1–2 Benfica Barcelos
19:15 Braíma 67' Report Geovanni 31'
Fernandes 78'
Stadium: Estádio Adelino Ribeiro Novo
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Carlos Xistra
14 March 2004 26 Benfica 1–0 Marítimo Lisbon
19:00 Simão 81' (pen.) Report Fernando Red card 54' Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 18,193
Referee: João Vilas Boas
21 March 2004 27 Beira-Mar 0–1 Benfica Aveiro
20:30 Report Nuno Gomes 74'
João Pereira Red card 74'
Stadium: Estádio Municipal de Aveiro
Attendance: 21,901
Referee: Pedro Proença
28 March 2004 28 Benfica 2–0 Alverca Lisbon
21:15 Šokota 6'
Simão 16'
Report Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 11,767
Referee: Hélio Santos
4 April 2004 29 Rio Ave 1–1 Benfica Vila do Conde
19:15 Evandro 50' Report Tiago 56' Stadium: Estádio do Rio Ave FC
Attendance: 9,000
Referee: Paulo Paraty
10 April 2004 30 Benfica 2–1 Paços de Ferreira Lisbon
19:15 Nuno Gomes 47'
Geovanni 87'
Report Zé Manel 66'
Ricardo André Yellow card 79' Yellow-red card 89'
Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 16,631
Referee: Paulo Paraty
17 April 2004 31 Braga 0–3 Benfica Braga
18:45 Report Miguel 2'
Šokota 23'
Simão 31'
Stadium: Estádio Municipal de Braga
Attendance: 23,000
Referee: António Costa
24 April 2004 32 Benfica 3–1 Estrela Amadora Lisbon
20:00 Nuno Gomes 14' (pen.)
Šokota 45'
Miguel 90+3'
Report Davide 86' Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 21,227
Referee: Martins dos Santos
2 May 2004 33 Sporting 0–1 Benfica Lisbon
19:15 Report Geovanni 88' Stadium: Estádio de Alvalade
Attendance: 45,280
Referee: Lucílio Baptista
9 May 2004 34 Benfica 0–0 União Leiria Lisbon
16:00 Report Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 63,434
Referee: Augusto Duarte

Taça de Portugal

22 November 2003 Fourth Rd Benfica 3–1 Estrela da Amadora Lisbon
18:00 João Pereira 73'
Tiago 76'
Roger 81'
Report Bernardo 85' Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Referee: Paulo Paraty
17 December 2003 Fifth Rd Académica 0–1 Benfica Coimbra
21:15 Report Luisão 21'
Simão Yellow card 8' Yellow-red card 92'
Stadium: Estádio Cidade de Coimbra
Referee: Paulo Costa
11 February 2004 Quarter-finals Benfica 2–1 Nacional Lisbon
15:00 Tiago 85'
Tomo Šokota 86'
Report Serginho Baiano 22'
Cleomir Red card 95'
Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Referee: Bruno Paixão
17 March 2004 Semi-finals Benfica 3–1 Belenenses Lisbon
21:15 Tomo Šokota 7', 9'
Tiago 36'
Report Hélder Rosário 51' Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Referee: João Ferreira
16 May 2004 Final Porto 1–2 (a.e.t.) Benfica Lisbon
17:15 Derlei 45'
Jorge Costa Yellow card 40' Yellow-red card 70'
Report Takis Fyssas 58'
Simão 104'
Stadium: Estádio Nacional
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Lucílio Baptista

UEFA Champions League

Third qualifying round

13 August 2003 First leg Lazio Italy 3–1 Portugal Benfica Rome, Italy
19:45 Corradi 16'
Fiore 52'
Mihajlović 80'
Report Simão 63' Stadium: Stadio Olimpico
Attendance: 60,000
Referee: Herbert Fandel
27 August 2003 Second leg Benfica Portugal 0–1
(1–4 agg.)
Italy Lazio Porto, Portugal
19:45 Report César 26' Stadium: Estádio do Bessa
Attendance: 18,000
Referee: Urs Meier

UEFA Cup

First round

24 September 2003 First leg La Louvière Belgium 1–1 Portugal Benfica La Louvière, Belgium
20:00 Peter Odemwingie 14' Report Simão 52' Stadium: Stade du Tivoli
Attendance: 16,000
Referee: Yuri Baskakov
15 October 2003 Second leg Benfica Portugal 1–0
(2–1 agg.)
Belgium La Louvière Porto, Portugal
20:00 Miklós Fehér 58' Report Stadium: Estádio do Bessa
Attendance: 12,175
Referee: Pascal Garibian

Second round

6 November 2003 First leg Benfica Portugal 3–1 Norway Molde Lisbon, Portugal
20:45 Nuno Gomes 18', 53'
Geovanni 51'
Report Daniel Berg Hestad 76' Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 35,385
Referee: Hermann Albrecht
27 November 2003 Second leg Molde Norway 0–2
(1–5 agg.)
Portugal Benfica Molde, Norway
18:30 Report Tiago 30', 42' Stadium: Aker Stadion
Attendance: 4,184
Referee: Andy D'Urso

Third round

26 February 2004 First leg Benfica Portugal 1–0 Norway Rosenborg Lisbon, Portugal
20:45 Zlatko Zahovič 59' Report Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 40,000
Referee: Paul Allaerts
3 March 2004 Second leg Rosenborg Norway 2–1
(2–2 a agg.)
Portugal Benfica Trondheim, Norway
18:30 Ørjan Berg 7'
Azar Karadas 15'
Report Nuno Gomes 19' Yellow card 25' Yellow-red card 40' Stadium: Lerkendal Stadion
Attendance: 18,200
Referee: Vladimír Hriňák

Fourth round

11 March 2004 First leg Benfica Portugal 0–0 Italy Inter Milan Lisbon, Portugal
21:00 Report Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 64,569
Referee: Jan Wegereef (Netherlands)
25 March 2004 Second leg Inter Milan Italy 4–3
(4–3 agg.)
Portugal Benfica Milan, Italy
18:30 Martins 45+1', 70'
Recoba 60'
Vieri 64'
Report Nuno Gomes 36', 67'
Tiago 77'
Stadium: San Siro
Attendance: 27,638
Referee: Alain Sars

Friendlies

17 July 2003 (2003-07-17) Panathinaikos 2–1 Benfica Nyon, Switzerland
19:30 CET (UTC+01) Papadopoulos 54', 90' Report Tomo Šokota 47' Stadium: Centre sportif de Colovray Nyon
Attendance: 3,000
19 July 2003 (2003-07-19) Sporting 0–1 Benfica Nyon, Switzerland
19:30 CET (UTC+01) Report Fernando Aguiar 29' Stadium: Centre sportif de Colovray Nyon
Attendance: 4,000
26 July 2003 (2003-07-26) Guadiana Trophy Belenenses 2–2
(2–1 p)
Benfica Vila Real Santo António, Portugal
19:30 CET (UTC+01) Henri Antchouet 12'
Verona 14'
Report Argel 57'
Cristiano 90'
Stadium: Complexo Desportivo de Vila Real Santo António
2 August 2003 (2003-08-02) Boavista 0–2 Benfica Porto, Portugal
19:30 CET (UTC+01) Report Cristiano 31'
Simão 40'
Stadium: Estádio do Bessa
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: José Mesquita
3 August 2003 (2003-08-03) Leixões 2–5 Benfica Porto, Portugal
19:30 CET (UTC+01) João Pedro 49'
Pedras 65'
Report Cristiano 4'
Hélder 21'
Tomo Šokota 30', 90'
Tiago 56'
Stadium: Estádio do Bessa
Attendance: 18,000
Referee: José Mesquita
6 August 2003 (2003-08-06) Moreirense 3–1 Benfica Moreira de Cónegos, Portugal
18:30 CET (UTC+01) Armando 61', 68', 79' Report Cristiano 60' Stadium: Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: José Mesquita
25 October 2003 (2003-10-25) Benfica 2–1 Nacional Montevideo Lisbon, Portugal
18:30 CET (UTC+01) Nuno Gomes 7', 47' Report Mello 11' Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 65,000
Referee: Pedro Proença

Player statistics

The squad for the season consisted of the players listed in the tables below, as well as staff members Camacho (manager), Pepe Carcelan (assistant manager) and Alvaro Magalhães (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 2003–04 season via transfer, with more details in the following section.

No. Pos Nat Player Total Primeira Liga Taça de Portugal Champions League UEFA Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK Portugal POR José Moreira 46 -43 33 -28 3 -3 2 -4 8 -8
2 DF Mozambique MOZ Armando Sá 27 0 19 0 3 0 0 0 5 0
3 DF Brazil BRA Argel 28 1 19 1 3 0 2 0 4 0
4 DF Brazil BRA Luisão 22 4 15 3 3 1 0 0 4 0
5 DF Brazil BRA Cristiano Roland 17 1 10 1 2 0 2 0 3 0
6 MF Portugal POR Petit 35 0 23 0 3 0 2 0 7 0
7 MF Sweden SWE Anders Andersson 25 0 20 0 1 0 2 0 2 0
8 MF Brazil BRA Roger 17 3 11 2 2 1 2 0 2 0
9 FW Angola ANG Mantorras 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 MF Slovenia SVN Zlatko Zahovič 32 3 21 2 3 0 2 0 6 1
11 MF Brazil BRA Geovanni 32 6 21 5 3 0 2 0 6 1
12 GK United States USA Zach Thornton 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
14 DF Greece GRE Takis Fyssas 16 1 14 0 2 1 0 0 0 0
16 MF Canada CAN Fernando Aguiar 32 3 25 3 4 0 1 0 2 0
19 DF Portugal POR Alex 18 0 14 0 3 0 0 0 1 0
20 MF Portugal POR Simão Sabrosa 45 15 31 12 4 1 2 1 8 1
21 FW Portugal POR Nuno Gomes 29 12 21 7 3 0 0 0 5 5
23 DF Portugal POR Miguel Monteiro 45 2 30 2 5 0 2 0 8 0
24 GK Argentina ARG Carlos Bossio 3 -1 1 0 2 -1 0 0 0 0
25 FW Croatia CRO Tomo Šokota 40 14 29 11 5 3 1 0 5 0
28 MF Portugal POR Carlitos 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
29 FW Hungary HUN Miklós Fehér 19 4 13 3 2 0 2 0 2 1
30 MF Portugal POR Tiago 43 11 29 5 5 3 1 0 8 3
32 DF Portugal POR Hélder 26 0 20 0 1 0 1 0 4 0
33 DF Portugal POR Ricardo Rocha 39 0 25 0 4 0 2 0 8 0
37 MF Portugal POR Manuel Fernandes 14 1 10 1 1 0 0 0 3 0
39 MF Portugal POR Hélio Pinto 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
47 MF Portugal POR João Pereira 32 3 25 3 1 0 0 0 6 0

Transfers

In

Entry date Position Player From club Fee Ref
1 July 2003 RW Alex Moreirense Free
2 August 2003 RW Geovanni Barcelona Free
22 August 2003 CB Luisão Cruzeiro Undisclosed
28 December 2003 LB Takis Fyssas Panathinaikos Free
31 January 2004 GK Zach Thornton Chicago Fire Free

Out

Entry date Position Player To club Fee Ref
7 July 2003 RW Ljubinko Drulović Partizan Free
24 July 2003 CB João Manuel Pinto Ciudad de Murcia Free
22 August 2003 DM Luís Andrade Tenerife Undisclosed
24 January 2004 ST André Neles Marítimo Free
31 January 2004 RW Carlitos Poli Ejido Undisclosed
31 January 2004 CM Anders Andersson Belenenses Undisclosed
14 February 2004 LW Hugo Porfírio None Released

Out by loan

Entry date Position Player To club Return date Ref
29 June 2003 CB Geraldo Alves Paços de Ferreira 30 June 2004
30 June 2003 GK Nuno Santos Vitória Setúbal 30 June 2004
15 July 2003 CB Eduardo Simões Amora 30 June 2004
22 August 2003 DM Peixe Leiria 30 June 2004
31 August 2003 CM Ednilson Vitória Guimarães 30 June 2004
30 January 2004 AM Roger Fluminense 30 December 2004
31 January 2004 FW Anderson Luiz Naval 30 June 2004

See also


This page was last updated at 2022-10-10 05:46 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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