It's already 58 years since Béla Guttman stopped coaching Benfica, exactly in 1962. The Hungarian coach He arrived two seasons earlier, in which he achieved a historic feat with the 'Águilas': he won the 1960-61 and 1961-62 European Cup. Paradoxically, the only two that the Portuguese club has to date. However, his high economic pretensions, seeking an upward renewal, precipitated his sudden dismissal by the board.
That dismissal led to one of the most haunted stories in football. On the day of his departure, Béla Guttman uttered a phrase that, to this day, remains a slab at Benfica: “Benfica will not be European champions again for the next hundred years.” As well, In the 58 years that have already been covered, the 'incarnate' club has lost up to eleven continental finals. Also, of several categories.
In the first place, the most painful are, without a doubt, those of the Champions League. The first of all was, of course, the same season in which the Hungarian packed his bags. That of 1962-63 against Milan. Later, those of 1964-65, 1967-68, 1987-88 and 1989-90 would be added. That is, a total of five European Cup finals they are the ones that Benfica has come to lose.
To all these, we should add, later, another three from the UEFA Cup / European League.. The first in the 1982-83 season against Anderlecht. The other two, consecutively. In 2012-13, falling to Chelsea for a goal from Ivanovic in the 93rd minute. And in 2013-14 against Unai Emery's Sevilla, in this case, through a penalty shoot-out.
Bela Guttman, the only Benfica coach to win the European Cup (twice in his case).
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By last, to this unfortunate trend of Benfica in continental competitions must be added the lost finals in the UEFA Youth League. Yes, the last straw is that Guttman's curse has spread to the youth categories themselves. The 'Águilas' are already the team with the most runners-up in the competition: in 2014, when they were beaten 3-0 by Barcelona of Munir, Adama Traoré, Ondoa or Kaptoum; in 2017 against RB Salzburg; and, finally, in 2020 against Real Madrid led by Raúl González, a match in which they missed a penalty with 2-3 down on the mark and sent a ball to the crossbar in the 96th minute.
So, There are 42 years that Benfica and its fans still have to bear this curse. What is clear is that, for the moment, Béla Guttman wins, and with a landslide. Another European title that escapes the 'incarnate' painting. The question now is, will they ever be able to break it?