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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