1943–44 S.L. Benfica season

Benfica
1943–44 season
President	Augusto da Fonseca Júnior
Head coach	János Biri
Stadium	Estádio da Luz
Primeira Divisão	2nd
Taça de Portugal	Winners
Taça Império	Runners-Up
Campeonato de Lisboa	2nd
Top goalscorer	League: Teixeira (14); All: Julinho (31)
Biggest win	Benfica 8–0 Estoril Praia; (28 May 1944)
Biggest defeat	Belenenses 4–2 Benfica ; (17 October 1943) ; Atlético 3–1 Benfica ; (9 January 1944)
Home colours	Away colours
	← 1942–43 1944–45 →

The 1943–44 season was Sport Lisboa e Benfica's 40th season in existence and the club's 10th consecutive season in the top flight of Portuguese football, covering the period from 1 September 1943 to 30 June 1944. 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 and Taça de Portugal titles and to reclaim the Campeonato de Lisboa. Despite a competitive campaign under fifth-year Hungarian coach János Biri, the team finished runners-up in both the regional championship and the national league, falling behind Sporting in the decisive stages. Success came in the Taça de Portugal, where Benfica claimed the trophy for a second consecutive year, with a 8–0 win over Estoril Praia in the final. The season concluded with a 3–2 extra-time defeat to Sporting in the Taça Império.

Season summary

Benfica entered the season aiming to defend both the league championship and the Taça de Portugal, as well as to reclaim the Campeonato de Lisboa. Hungarian coach János Biri remained in charge for his fifth year at the club. During the off-season, the team strengthened its attack with the arrival of goalscorer Arsénio Duarte.

The team opened its Campeonato de Lisboa campaign with a 5–3 away victory over Os Unidos,^[1] followed by a 5–0 win against Os Fósforos. On 3 October, Benfica travelled to face Sporting in the Derby de Lisboa, earning a 2–2 draw.^[2] The team responded with a 6–2 victory over Atlético, but on the fifth matchday it was surprised by a 4–2 defeat to Belenenses, dropping to third place, three points behind its opponent.^[3]

Benfica responded with two further victories, scoring a total of 11 goals, and on 7 November hosted Sporting in the second Derby of the season, winning 4–3.^[4] A 2–2 draw against Atlético in the following matchday effectively handed the title to Belenenses,^[5] whom Benfica defeated 2–1 in the subsequent round. The team concluded the regional championship in second place.^[6]

Benfica began its league title defense with a 1–1 draw away to Vitória de Setúbal.^[7] The team responded with a victory over Salgueiros, but a 1–1 home draw against Belenenses on the third matchday dropped Benfica to fourth place.^[8] In the following round, the team defeated Vitória de Guimarães, before travelling to face Porto in the first O Clássico of the season. Benfica drew 2–2, with comeback goals from Valadas and Julinho, finishing the year in fourth place, two points behind leaders Sporting.^[9]

Benfica opened the new year with a win over Académica, but a week later suffered a 3–1 defeat to Atlético, falling three points off first place.^[10] In the following week, Benfica hosted Sporting in their first league encounter of the season, winning 5–4 with Joaquim Teixeira scoring four goals, reducing the gap to two points.^[11] The team closed the month with a 5–3 victory over Vitória de Setúbal.

In February, the team recorded three wins and a draw, the last of which was a 6–3 victory over Porto, with Manuel da Costa and Joaquim Teixeira each scoring twice.^[12] Despite the strong run, Benfica remained two points behind Sporting.^[13] In the decisive month of March, the team opened with wins over Académica and Atlético, entering the crucial Derby de Lisboa just one point behind Sporting. In the penultimate matchday, Benfica lost 1–0 away to Sporting, effectively handing the league title to their rivals.^[14] The team concluded the league campaign with a 3–2 away defeat to Olhanense, finishing in second place, five points behind Sporting.

Having lost both the regional and national league titles, Benfica entered the Taça de Portugal seeking to defend its trophy. The team began by defeating Luso Beja 8–2 on aggregate in the round of 16. In the quarter-finals, Benfica faced Belenenses, winning 2–1 away and 8–2 at home.^[15] A 6–1 home victory in the first leg of the semi-finals against Académica,^[16] followed by a 1–1 away draw in the second leg, qualified the team for the final. On 28 May, Benfica defeated Estoril Praia 8–0, with Rogério Pipi scoring five goals, securing its second consecutive Taça de Portugal title.^[17]

On 10 June, Benfica faced Sporting in the Taça Império, a predecessor of the modern Supertaça, losing 3–2 after extra time.^[18]

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	28 November 1943	26 March 1944	18	11	4	3	57	34	+23	061.11
Taça de Portugal	16 April 1944	28 May 1944	7	6	1	0	33	7	+26	085.71
Taça Império	10 June 1944		1	0	0	1	2	3	−1	000.00
Campeonato de Lisboa	19 September 1943	21 November 1943	10	7	2	1	39	21	+18	070.00
Total			36	24	7	5	131	65	+66	066.67

Primeira Divisão

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Sporting (C)	18	14	3	1	61	22	+39	31
2	Benfica	18	11	4	3	57	34	+23	26
3	Atlético	18	9	6	3	51	28	+23	24
4	Porto	18	10	3	5	46	36	+10	23
5	Olhanense	18	10	2	6	65	34	+31	22

Source: rsssf.com
(C) Champions

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Ground	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	H	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A
Result	D	W	D	W	D	W	L	W	W	W	W	W	D	W	W	W	L	L
Position	5	2	4	4	4	3	4	4	3	4	2	2	2	3	2	2	2	2

Source: ForaDeJogo
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

28 November 1943 1	Vitória de Setúbal	1–1	Benfica	Setúbal
	Rodrigues 60'	^{[citation needed]}	15' Silva	Stadium: Campo dos Arcos

5 December 1943 2	Salgueiros	1–6	Benfica	Lisbon
	Viana 69'	^{[citation needed]}	5' Costa 20', 31'Julinho 25' Valadas 40', 60' Teixeira	Stadium: Estádio do Bessa Referee: Jorge de Vasconcelos

12 December 1943 3	Benfica	1–1	Belenenses	Lisbon
	Teixeira 31'	^{[citation needed]}	4' (pen.) Feliciano	Stadium: Estádio do Campo Grande

19 December 1943 4	Benfica	5–1	Vitória de Guimarães	Lisbon
	Arsénio 4' Adelino 13', 76' Teixeira 40' Pipi 58'	^{[citation needed]}	31' Brioso	Stadium: Estádio do Campo Grande Referee: José Trindade

26 December 1943 5	Porto	2–2	Benfica	Porto
	Pinga 15' Lourenço 48'	^{[citation needed]}	75' Valadas 77' Julinho	Stadium: Estádio do Lima Referee: José Lira

2 January 1944 6	Benfica	2–1	Académica	Lisbon
	Costa 11' Julinho 28'	^{[citation needed]}	65' Micael	Stadium: Estádio do Campo Grande

9 January 1944 7	Atlético	3–1	Benfica	Lisbon
	Catinana 3', 43' Jesus 60'	^{[citation needed]}	49' Julinho	Stadium: Estádio da Tapadinha

16 January 1944 8	Benfica	5–4	Sporting	Lisbon
	Teixeira 24', 55', 72', 89' Julinho 74'	^{[citation needed]}	18' (pen.) Martins 50' Peyroteo 77' Albano 84' Mourão	Stadium: Estádio do Campo Grande Referee: Carlos Canuto

23 January 1944 9	Benfica	5–4	Olhanenses	Lisbon
	Costa 12' Arsénio 20' Julinho 45', 50' Teixeira 80'	^{[citation needed]}	23', 84' Palmeiro 60' Moreira 68' Salvador	Stadium: Estádio do Campo Grande

30 January 1944 10	Benfica	5–3	Vitória de Setúbal	Lisbon
	Teixeira 22' Pipi 44', 55', 90' Montês 53' (pen.)	^{[citation needed]}	45', 78' Rodrigues 79' Nunes	Stadium: Estádio do Campo Grande

6 February 1944 11	Benfica	6–1	Salgueiros	Lisbon
	Julinho 18', 53', 82', 87' Teixeira 42', 83'	^{[citation needed]}	59' Renato	Stadium: Estádio do Campo Grande

13 February 1944 12	Belenenses	1–2	Benfica	Lisbon
	Franklim 49'	^{[citation needed]}	5' Pires 7' Julinho

20 February 1944 13	Vitória de Guimarães	2–2	Benfica	Guimarães
	César Ferreira 18' (pen.) Miguel 51'	^{[citation needed]}	38', 68' Julinho	Stadium: Campo do Benlhevai

27 February 1944 14	Benfica	6–3	Porto	Lisbon
	Costa 15', 82' (pen.) Teixeira 30', 62' Julinho 32' Pipi 40'	^{[citation needed]}	3', 59' Correia Dias 33' Araújo	Stadium: Estádio do Campo Grande Referee: Paulo de Oliveira

5 March 1944 15	Académica	1–4	Benfica	Coimbra
	Micael 57' Silva 60'	^{[citation needed]}	5' Costa 12', 18', 68' Pires 60' Teixeira

12 March 1944 16	Benfica	2–1	Atlético	Lisbon
	Costa 43' Pires 85'	^{[citation needed]}	58' Catinana	Stadium: Estádio do Campo Grande

19 March 1944 17	Sporting	1–0	Benfica	Lisbon
	Peyroteo 43'	^{[citation needed]}		Stadium: Stadium de Lisboa Referee: Vieira da Costa

26 March 1944 18	Olhanense	3–2	Benfica	Olhão
	Vieira 36' Silva 76' (pen.) Salvador 78'	^{[citation needed]}	8' Espírito Santo 68' Valadas	Stadium: Estádio Padinha

Taça de Portugal

Round of 16

16 April 1944 First leg	Luso Beja	1–4	Benfica	Beja
		^{[citation needed]}	8' Valadas 46' Arsénio 76' Ferreira

23 April 1944 Second leg	Benfica	4–1 (8–2 agg.)	Luso Beja	Lisbon
	Julinho 20', 75', 82' Valadas 43'	^{[citation needed]}		Stadium: Estádio do Campo Grande

Quarter-Finals

30 April 1944 First leg	Belenenses	1–2	Benfica	Lisbon
	Quaresma 85'	^{[citation needed]}	38' Teixeira 80' Julinho	Stadium: Estádio do Campo Grande

7 May 1944 Second leg	Benfica	5–2 (7–3 agg.)	Os Belenenses	Lisbon
	Julinho 12', 76', 89' Pipi 58', 65' Arsénio 73' Teixeira 81' Espírito Santo 87'	^{[citation needed]}	2', 75' Correia	Stadium: Estádio do Campo Grande Referee: Carlos Canuto

Semi-Finals

14 May 1944	Benfica	6–1	Académica	Lisbon
	Julinho 40', 84' Teixeira 43', 77', 86' Pipi 83'	^{[citation needed]}	1' Lemos	Stadium: Estádio do Campo Grande Referee: Vieira da Costa

21 May 1944	Académica	1–1 (2–7 agg.)	Benfica	Coimbra
	Micael 1'	^{[citation needed]}	88' Teixeira	Stadium: Estádio Municipal do Fontelo Referee: João Vaz

Final

28 May 1944	Benfica	8–0	Estoril Praia	Lisbon
	Pipi 13', 56', 69', 75', 86' Julinho 15', 29' Arsénio 35'	^{[citation needed]}		Stadium: Estádio José Manuel Soares Referee: Carlos Canuto

Taça Império

10 June 1944	Sporting	3–2	Benfica	Lisbon
	Peyroteo 60', 92' Eliseu 107'	^[19]^[20]	77' Espírito Santo 115' Julinho	Stadium: Estádio Nacional Attendance: 60000 Referee: Vieira da Costa

Campeonato de Lisboa

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Belenenses (C)	10	9	0	1	48	12	+36	28
2	Benfica	10	7	2	1	39	21	+18	26
3	Sporting	10	5	2	3	28	24	+4	22
4	Atlético	10	3	2	5	25	32	−7	18
5	Unidos de Lisboa	10	1	1	8	23	41	−18	13
6	Os Fósforos	10	1	1	8	15	48	−33	13

Source:
(C) Champions

19 September 1943 1	Os Unidos	3–5	Benfica	Lisbon
		^{[citation needed]}	68' Costa 70', 76' Julinho 88' Teixeira 90' Correia	Stadium: Campo Bairro Padre Cruz

26 September 1943 2	Benfica	5–0	Os Fósforos	Lisbon
	Correia 20', 47' Costa 22' (pen.) Albino 50' Teixeira 55'	^{[citation needed]}		Stadium: Estádio do Campo Grande

3 October 1943 3	Sporting	2–2	Benfica	Lisbon
	Peyroteo 75', 77'	^{[citation needed]}	55' Teixeira 80' Julinho	Stadium: Stadium de Lisboa

10 October 1943 4	Benfica	6–2	Atlético	Lisbon
	35' Pipi 40', 82' Correia 41' Teixeira 72' Valadas 83' Pires	^{[citation needed]}		Stadium: Estádio do Campo Grande

17 October 1943 5	Belenenses	4–2	Benfica	Lisbon
	Correia 43' Quaresma 44'	^{[citation needed]}	5' Teixeira 88' Valadas	Stadium: Estádio José Manuel Soares Referee: João Vaz

24 October 1943 6	Benfica	5–4	Os Unidos	Lisbon
	Correia 30' Pipi 32', 53', 90' Ferreira 81'	^{[citation needed]}		Stadium: Estádio das Amoreiras Referee: Domingos Godinho

31 October 1943 7	Os Fósforos	0–6	Benfica	Lisbon
		^{[citation needed]}	9', 30', 75' Costa 12' Guia 42' Valadas 87' Teixeira	Stadium: Estádio Eng.º Carlos Salema Referee: Carlos Canuto

7 November 1943 8	Benfica	4–3	Sporting	Lisbon
	Valadas 6' Teixeira 46' Costa 63' Julinho 80'	^{[citation needed]}	27' Marques 30', 42' Albano	Stadium: Estádio do Campo Grande Referee: Domingos Godinho

14 November 1943 9	Atlético	2–2	Benfica	Lisbon
	Santos 86'	^{[citation needed]}	1' Costa 27' Teixeira	Stadium: Estádio da Tapadinha Referee: Filipe Gameiro

21 November 1943 10	Benfica	2–1	Belenenses	Lisbon
	Teixeira 10' Costa 21' Pinto	^{[citation needed]}	65' Quaresma	Stadium: Estádio do Campo Grande Referee: Carlos Canuto

Non-official matches

12 September 1943 Farewell to Antonio Augusto Pires	Chelas	3–10	Benfica	Lisbon
		^[21]

1 December 1943 Farewell to Manuel Soeiro	Sporting	0–3	Benfica	Lisbon
		^[22]		Stadium: Stadium de Lisboa

27 March 1944

Sport Faro e Benfica

0–3

Benfica

29 March 1944

Lusitano VRSA

2–11

Benfica

3 May 1944	S.L. Marinha	1–4	Benfica	Marinha Grande
				Stadium: Campo da Marinha Grande

17 May 1944	União Almadense	1–6	Benfica	Almada
				Stadium: Campo das Fontainhas

31 May 1944

Alcobaça

2–12

Benfica

Player statistics

The squad for the season consisted of the players listed in the tables below, as well as staff member János Biri (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 1943-44 season via transfer, with more details in the following section.

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Primeira Divisão		Taça de Portugal		Taça Império		Campeonato de Lisboa
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	POR	António Martins	35	0	17	0	7	0	1	0	10	0
1	GK	POR	Mário da Rosa	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	DF	POR	Artur Teixeira	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	DF	POR	Gaspar Pinto	11	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	10	0
	DF	POR	Mário Galvão	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
2	DF	POR	César Ferreira	28	0	17	0	7	0	1	0	3	0
3	DF	POR	António Carvalho	17	0	9	0	7	0	1	0	0	0
	MF	POR	Eduardo Cerqueira	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	MF	POR	Guia Costa	10	1	8	0	0	0	0	0	2	1
	MF	POR	Joaquim Alcobia	20	0	11	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
	MF	POR	Manuel Jordão	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
4	MF	POR	Jacinto Marques	5	0	3	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
4	MF	POR	João Silva	15	1	8	1	7	0	0	0	0	0
5	MF	POR	Francisco Albino	34	1	16	0	7	0	1	0	10	1
6	MF	POR	Francisco Ferreira	34	2	16	0	7	1	1	0	10	1
	FW	POR	Adelino Gonçalves	1	2	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	POR	Carlos Brito	4	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	POR	Dário Rodrigues	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	POR	Francisco Pires	8	6	6	5	0	0	0	0	2	1
	FW	POR	Jaime Correia	9	6	3	0	0	0	0	0	6	6
	FW	POR	Manuel da Costa	20	15	13	7	0	0	0	0	7	8
	FW	POR	Mário Rui	3	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	POR	Pessoa Duarte	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	FW	POR	Espírito Santo	8	3	3	1	4	1	1	1	0	0
8	FW	POR	Arsénio Duarte	14	5	6	2	7	3	1	0	0	0
9	FW	POR	Julinho	31	32	16	16	7	11	1	1	7	4
10	FW	POR	Joaquim Teixeira	32	29	15	14	6	6	1	0	10	9
11	FW	POR	Rogério Pipi	28	17	13	5	4	8	1	0	10	4
11	FW	POR	Alfredo Valadas	18	9	9	3	3	2	0	0	6	4

Transfers

In

Position	Player	From	Fee	Ref
FW	Arsénio Duarte	Barreirense	Undisclosed

References

↑ "Benfica-Os Unidos". Diário de Lisboa.
↑ "Sporting e o Benfica empataram por 22". Diário de Lisboa.
↑ "O Belenenses venceu o Benfica". Diário de Lisboa.
↑ "O Benfica venceu, mais uma vez, o Sporting". Diário de Lisboa.
↑ "O Belenenses é virtualmente campeão de 1943-44". Diário de Lisboa.
↑ "Derrota frente ao Benfica". Diário de Lisboa.
↑ "Setúbal-Benfica". Diário de Lisboa.
↑ "Belenenses e Benfica empataram". Diário de Lisboa.
↑ "Benfica e Porto empataram". Diário de Lisboa.
↑ "O Altético obteve uma boa vitória". Diário de Lisboa.
↑ "Derrota dos leaders Sporting". Diário de Lisboa.
↑ "O Benfica bateu o FC Porto". Diário de Lisboa.
↑ "O Benfica bateu o FC Porto". Diário de Lisboa.
↑ "O Sporting será o campeão". Diário de Lisboa.
↑ "O Benfica eliminou o Belenenses". Diário de Lisboa.
↑ "O Benfica venceu a Académica". Diário de Lisboa.
↑ "A Taça de Portugal mantém-se na posse do Benfica". Diário de Lisboa.
↑ "O encontro de futebol". Diário de Lisboa.
↑ "Mais de 60000 mil pessoas". Diário de Lisboa.
↑ "O encontro de futebol". Diário de Lisboa.
↑ "Abriu a época da bola". Diário de Lisboa.
↑ "A festa de despedida de Manuel Soeiro". Diário de Lisboa.

[1] "Benfica-Os Unidos". Diário de Lisboa.

[2] "Sporting e o Benfica empataram por 22". Diário de Lisboa.

[3] "O Belenenses venceu o Benfica". Diário de Lisboa.

[4] "O Benfica venceu, mais uma vez, o Sporting". Diário de Lisboa.

[5] "O Belenenses é virtualmente campeão de 1943-44". Diário de Lisboa.

[6] "Derrota frente ao Benfica". Diário de Lisboa.

[7] "Setúbal-Benfica". Diário de Lisboa.

[8] "Belenenses e Benfica empataram". Diário de Lisboa.

[9] "Benfica e Porto empataram". Diário de Lisboa.

[10] "O Altético obteve uma boa vitória". Diário de Lisboa.

[11] "Derrota dos leaders Sporting". Diário de Lisboa.

[12] "O Benfica bateu o FC Porto". Diário de Lisboa.

[13] "O Benfica bateu o FC Porto". Diário de Lisboa.

[14] "O Sporting será o campeão". Diário de Lisboa.

[15] "O Benfica eliminou o Belenenses". Diário de Lisboa.

[16] "O Benfica venceu a Académica". Diário de Lisboa.

[17] "A Taça de Portugal mantém-se na posse do Benfica". Diário de Lisboa.

[18] "O encontro de futebol". Diário de Lisboa.

[19] "Mais de 60000 mil pessoas". Diário de Lisboa.

[20] "O encontro de futebol". Diário de Lisboa.

[21] "Abriu a época da bola". Diário de Lisboa.

[22] "A festa de despedida de Manuel Soeiro". Diário de Lisboa.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]