1938–39 S.L. Benfica season

The 1938–39 season was Sport Lisboa e Benfica's 34th season in existence and the club's 5th consecutive season in the top flight of Portuguese football, covering the period from 1 September 1938 to 30 June 1939. Benfica competed in the Primeira Divisão, the Taça de Portugal and in the Campeonato de Lisboa.

Benfica entered the season aiming to defend its league title and to reclaim both the Campeonato de Lisboa and the Campeonato de Portugal now rebranded as Taça de Portugal. The team finished third in the regional championship and third in the Primeira Divisão after narrowly missing out on the title in a decisive final-day draw against Porto. In the Taça de Portugal, Benfica produced a remarkable comeback in the semi-finals but ultimately fell 4–3 to Académica in the final.

Benfica entered the season seeking a fourth consecutive league title, as well as the Campeonato de Portugal and the Campeonato de Lisboa, competitions it had failed to win in each of the previous three seasons. After guiding the team to a third straight league championship, Hungarian coach Lippo Hertzka remained in charge for his third year at the club. During the off-season, Domingos Lopes left for Lusitano VRSA, while Pedro Ferreira departed to join Belenenses. The club’s main arrivals were Alexandre Brito from Lusitano de Évora and António Martins from Sporting.

Before the start of the Campeonato de Lisboa, Benfica played three friendlies, recording one win, one draw and one loss. Two of these matches were against rivals Belenenses and Sporting, including a 3–3 draw with Sporting.^[1]

Benfica began the Campeonato de Lisboa with an away match against Sporting in the first Derby de Lisboa of the season, losing 2–1.^[2] The team responded with two victories over Carcavelinhos and União de Lisboa, but on the fourth matchday suffered a 4–0 defeat to Belenenses, dropping to third place, three points off the top.^[3] Benfica opened November with a win over Casa Pia before hosting Sporting, earning a 3–2 victory and drawing level on points with both Belenenses and Sporting.^[4]

On the seventh matchday, a surprising 2–0 loss to Carcavelinhos^[5] left the team one point behind both rivals. Benfica defeated União de Lisboa in the following round, but a 1–1 draw with Belenenses practically handed the title to Sporting or Belenenses, as Benfica would need both teams to lose their final match.^[6] A subsequent 3–2 loss to Casa Pia meant Benfica finished in third place, four points behind champions Sporting.

Before the start of the Primeira Divisão, Benfica played two Christmas friendly matches. On 25 December, a 4–4 draw with Porto, and six days later a 5–1 win over Barreirense.^[7][8] The team began their league title defence with a 4–0 win over Académica, followed by a 1–0 away victory against Sporting in the third Derby de Lisboa of the season.^[9] Benfica closed the month with a 4–3 away win over Académico F.C., ending the third matchday in first place.

On 29 January, Benfica hosted Belenenses, losing 4–3 after having taken a three-goal lead by the 19th minute, dropping to second place, two points behind Porto.^[10] A subsequent 1–1 draw with Barreirense left the team one point behind both rivals. Benfica concluded February with a 1–0 win over Casa Pia.

On 5 March, Benfica hosted Porto in the first O Clássico of the season, winning 4–1 and cutting their rival’s lead to one point.^[11] The result was followed by a 3–3 draw with Académica, but Benfica remained one point behind as Porto also dropped points.

On 19 March, Benfica faced Sporting for the fourth time that season, losing 4–1 and falling to third place, three points off the top.^[12] The team responded with a 5–2 win over Académico F.C.. With no margin for error remaining, Benfica visited Belenenses on 2 April, winning 3–2 in a hard-fought match. With Sporting drawing and Porto losing, Benfica drew level with the former and moved to within two points of the latter.^[13] The team won their subsequent matches, scoring 14 goals, leaving the title to be decided on the final matchday.

On the final matchday, with Sporting and Benfica level on points and Porto two points ahead, Benfica faced Porto in a decisive O Clássico at the Campo da Constituição. Due to having the best record in the three-way head-to-head among the contenders, three victories against Porto’s and Sporting’s one each, Benfica would win the league with a victory, even if Sporting also won their match. Porto opened the scoring through Costuras in the second minute, but Rogério equalised for Benfica in the seventh. Santos restored Porto’s lead in the 44th minute, allowing the home team to reach halftime ahead. Alexandre Brito levelled the match again in the 47th minute, but a second goal from Santos in the 61st minute put Porto 3–2 up. Brito responded immediately with his second goal of the match to make it 3–3. Knowing that only a win would secure the title, Benfica pressed intensely for a fourth goal, and a last-minute effort, celebrated by the Benfica player, appeared to have earned the championship. However, the referee disallowed the goal for unknown reasons, and the match ended 3–3, leaving Benfica in third place.^[14]

After the conclusion of the league, Benfica entered the Taça de Portugal, dispatching Luso Beja 8–1 on aggregate in the round of 16. In the quarter-finals, the team defeated CD Nacional 13–1 on aggregate, setting up another O Clássico in the semi-finals. A heavy 6–1 loss in the first leg left Benfica on the brink of elimination,^[15] but on 18 June, in the second leg, a 6–0 victory over Porto, featuring doubles from Espírito Santo and Valadas, secured the club’s place in the final.^[16] On 25 June, Benfica faced Académica in the Taça de Portugal final, losing 4–3.^[17]

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

The squad for the season consisted of the players listed in the tables below, as well as staff member Lippo Hertzka (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 1938-39 season via transfer, with more details in the following section.