Benfica enter the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time, carrying the weight of history and the expectations of one of the world’s most popular clubs. With Boca Juniors, Bayern Munich and Auckland City in Group C, the Lisbon giants will be tested from the very start.
1) Who will Benfica face at the Club World Cup?
Benfica have been drawn into Group C and these are their group stage fixtures:
15 June: vs Boca Juniors. Hard Rock Stadium, Miami.
20 June: vs Auckland City. Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando.
24 June: vs Bayern Munich. Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte.
2) Domestic silverware
Benfica are Portugal's most-successful club, having won 38 Primeira Liga titles. That's eight more than fellow-Club World Cup participants Porto and 17 more than fierce local rivals Sporting CP.
On top of this, the Eagles have also won 26 Taça de Portugals and the Taça da Liga eight times, both of which are a record.
3) A disappointing season
Given Benfica's own high standards, this was a very disappointing season. They finished second in the Primeira Liga, two points behind Sporting, before also being beaten 3-1 by their fiercest rivals in the Taça de Portugal Final. They conceded a penalty in the 11th minute of injury time, before Sporting struck twice more in extra time to snatch victory at Estádio Nacional last month.
4) The Béla Guttmann curse: is it real?
Benfica won back-to-back European Cups in the 1961 and 1962, defeating Barcelona in Bern and then Real Madrid in Amsterdam in those respective finals. The club's greatest-ever player Eusébio, who was just 20 years old at the time, scored twice in the 5-3 victory at Olympisch Stadion.
After that second triumph, manager Béla Guttmann requested a pay rise, in recognition for the success he had brought to the club. When this was declined by the board of directors, the Hungarian instantly resigned and cursed the club, exclaiming "not in a hundred years from now will Benfica ever be European champions again".
Well, in the intervening period, the Eagles have featured in eight European finals but lost all eight, most-recently defeated in successive Europa League Finals of 2013 and 2014 by Chelsea and Sevilla. Thus, the curse lives on for another 37 years.
5) Past Club World Cup expirence
Benfica have never previously qualified for the Club World Cup, but did participate in the tournament's precursor the Intercontinental Cup. They were beaten by Peñarol in 1961 and then again a year later, smashed 8-4 on aggregate by a Santos side featuring Pelé, who scored five of the eight.
6) Champions League stalwarts
Benfica have featured in the European Cup or Champions League in 42 seasons, second on the all-time list, behind only Real Madrid. They will enter next year's edition in the third qualifying round.
7) One of the biggest clubs on the planet
Benfica have over 400,000 paid members worldwide, which is more than any other football club on the planet, underlining their status as a global superpower.
8) Benfica player to watch: Vangelis Pavlidis
Vangelis Pavlidis joined the Eagles from AZ Alkmaar a year ago for a reported fee of €18 million, and this has certainly proved to be money well spent.
The Greek international scored 29 goals during his debut season in Lisbon, making him the club's top-scorer. Seven of these goals came in the Champions League, including a hat-trick during a 5-4 defeat to Barcelona at Estádio da Luz, only the fifth player in the competition to bag a treble in defeat.
9) Manager Bruno Lage: a point to prove
Manager Bruno Lage was re-appointed last September, having previously been in charge in 2019/20, with stints at Wolverhampton Wanderers and, very briefly, Botafogo in-between. He led them to Taça da Liga glory in January, defeating Sporting 7-6 on penalties in the final in Leiria.
10) Benfica's key tournament opener
As alluded to at the top, Benfica will face minnows Auckland City and Bayern Munich in Group C; they were beaten 1-0 by the latter in Bavaria as recently as November.
The key group stage fixture though is likely to be their first, taking on Boca Juniors in Miami, and that match could go along way to determining who progresses through to the round of 16.