Benfica launches José "Gato" Henrique's replica jerseys

SL Benfica launches this Friday, January 21, a collection of Historic Replica Jerseys: the jerseys in the colors worn by José "Gato" Henrique, one of the best goalkeepers in the history of Benfica and the world.

José Henrique was 15 years old when he arrived at Benfica to represent the U-19 team in 1958/59. After spells in the reserve team and other clubs, he returned to the eagles in 1966/67 where he had the privilege to "replace a 'monster' like Costa Pereira", having in this context worn the light blue jersey.

The dark blue jersey marks his official debut in the team of honor on June 11, 1967, in the match of the 1^st leg of the Portuguese Cup quarterfinals against Académica de Coimbra.

He was the goalkeeper with the least goals conceded in the 1971/72 National Championship, having won the Silver Goal award, a feat he repeated the following season wearing the orange jersey.

The historic yellow jersey was worn in 1967/68, when Benfica faced Saint-Étienne, the French champions, for the European Cup. The Reds won the match at Estádio da Luz (2-0), but in the 2nd leg, the French side scored a goal in the 10^th minute. In the 80 minutes that followed, José Henrique was outstanding and ensured Benfica's qualification to the next round. In that season, Benfica reached its fifth European final.

The purple jersey intends to mark José Henrique's 13 seasons with an eagle on his chest, a period in which he met great coaches that helped him become a goalkeeper of excellence: Fernando Cabrita, Fernando Riera, Otto Glória, Jimmy Hagan, John Mortimore, and Mário Wilson.

The collection is already on pre-sale at the SL Benfica Online Store (see HERE).