List of S.L. Benfica managers

Benfica's first manager ever was Manuel Gourlade, an employee at Fármacia Franco and the club's treasury manager.[4] He served for sixteen matches, from the team's first official match on 4 November 1906 until the end of their second season, in 1907–08, when eight players defected to Sporting CP. From then on, Cosme Damião took over and led the club to its first ever Lisbon Championship, in the 1909–10 season.[5] Until the end of the 1910s, he won seven more championships – the last one, in 1920, was particularly hard because of another mass player defection to recently created clubs Os Belenenses and Casa Pia.[6] Facing a much less talented squad and an ever increasing debt related to the construction of football fields, Benfica entered a trophyless period, which led to the departure of Cosme Damião in 1926, after 18 years in charge.[7][8]

Damião was replaced by Ribeiro dos Reis, a former player of the club who had recently managed the Portugal national team.[7] Despite the slight improvement of Benfica's performances, he failed to win any silverware, ending his spell in 1929 to make way for a foreign manager, Arthur John, who would also double as a masseur for the club's other sports.[9] He was much more successful, leading the club to its first national title, the Championship of Portugal in 1929–30,[10] and retaining it in the next season.[11] Following his move to Sporting in the next season,[12] Benfica reappointed Ribeiro dos Reis for a second spell; nonetheless, he did not fare much better in his second year, adding only a Lisbon Championship, by then a second grade competition.[13] He was succeeded by Vítor Gonçalves in 1934, who would reconquer the Championship of Portugal in his first season and lead the team to their first ever Primeira Liga title in his second tenure.[14]

The managerial changes continued in 1936, with Benfica hiring the first of six Hungarian managers, Lippo Hertzka,[15] who had led Real Madrid to their first La Liga title in 1932. He remained victorious at Benfica, adding two more Primeira Liga titles in three seasons.[16] In 1939, Benfica changed manager again, hiring János Biri. In his first year, he won the club's last Lisbon Championship as well as their first Portuguese Cup.[17] Over the following six seasons, he managed the team in 272 games, winning three Primeira Liga titles and another two Portuguese Cups.[18] With the appearance of Sporting's "five violins" in 1946, Benfica attempted to fight them by sacking Biri at the end of the season and rehiring Hertzka.[19] Under his guidance, Benfica led the 1947–48 league for most of the season; however, they finished in second place, equalised on points with Sporting but with one goal less.[19] Benfica then returned to English managers, hiring Ted Smith in 1948.[20] He guided the team to the Portuguese Cup in his first year, to the league title and to their first international trophy, the Latin Cup, in his second year.[21] He later concluded his two remaining seasons at Benfica with two more Portuguese Cup trophies – although the latter cup was also conquered by his assistant, Cândido Tavares, after Smith's return to England.[22]

For 1952–53, Benfica hired Alberto Zozaya only to be replaced in the middle of the season by Ribeiro dos Reis, whose third spell at the club would lead them to a second place league finish and one Portuguese Cup.[23] Later on, Ribeiro dos Reis led the club halfway through the next year, with José Valdivieso ending their first trophyless season in five years.[24] Benfica then hired Otto Glória, a Brazilian manager that would revolutionise the club by introducing professionalisation.[25] He introduced: a house for the players to focus before matches, and to strengthen discipline; increased wages, allowing professional footballers instead of part-time players; improved physical training; careful supervision of the players' food; regular medical check-ups; an academic program to improve the players' education; the teaching of English language and also, through etiquette, on how to dress and eat.[26]

Information correct as of 12 May 2024. Only competitive matches are counted.

Table headers

• Nat. – The coach's nationality is given as his country of birth.
• From – The date the coach began working for Benfica.
• To – The date the coach last worked for Benfica.
• P – The number of games coached for Benfica.
• W – The number of games won as a coach.
• D – The number of games draw as a coach.
• L – The number of games lost as a coach.
• GF – The number of goals scored under his tenure.
• GA – The number of goals conceded under his tenure.
• Win% – The total winning percentage under his tenure.
• Honours – The trophies won while coaching Benfica.

Table key

•   Player-coach (team player that assumed simultaneously the role of coach)
•   Caretaker coach (coach who assumed temporarily the job in the absence of the incumbent head coach or until a new head coach was hired)

• List of S.L. Benfica players
• List of S.L. Benfica presidents

Bibliography

• Pereira, Luís Miguel (2014). Bíblia do Benfica. Portugal: Prime Books. ISBN 978-9896552152.
• Tomaz, João (2014). Plantel Glorioso. Portugal: Prime Books. ISBN 978-989-655-246-6.
• Tovar, Rui Miguel (2012). Almanaque do Benfica. Portugal: Lua de Papel. ISBN 978-989-23-2087-8.