Benfica called the Eagles were beaten in the Europa League final by Chelsea last season and last night by sevilla.
"Not in 100 years from now will Benfica win a European Cup." said Bela Guttman who was football coach of Benfica during 1961and 1962.Bela Guttman was born in Hungary in 1900;
The classic, most popular version claims that he decreed upon his acrimonious departure in 1962: "Not in 100 years from now will Benfica win a European Cup." The accuracy of that statement, however, is far from certain.
The reason for Guttmann’s abrupt exit from Lisbon was all about the Benfica management’s refusal to pay him a bonus for winning the European Cup twice in a row. Alternative theories say that he stated in an interview that it would be 100 years before another Portuguese team managed to win back-to-back European Cups.
Whichever account you choose to believe, all Guttmann’s predictions - real or fictional- have come true. The debt was never paid and European success has deserted the club ever since. The Eagles have reached the European Cup final on six occasions since Guttmann’s famous words and lost every time.
AC Milan dethroned them in 1963, Inter got the upper hand two years later, Matt Busby’s Manchester United won the famous Wembley final in extra-time in 1968, PSV took the title on penalties in 1988 and, finally, Milan were 1-0 winners in 1990, Chelsea last year and now sevilla yesterday.
hat historic final took place in Vienna, where Guttmann - who died 33 years ago last month - is buried, and the great Eusebio went to pray on his grave beforehand, asking for the curse to be removed. It didn’t help
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