The Glorioso in Portuguese Cup finals

This Sunday, May 25, Benfica will play in the final of the Portuguese Cup for the 39th time and will be aiming for their 27th title. It's the 9th time they've face Sporting in the final clash of the cup, and the Eagles have beaten their rivals in 6 of the 8 previous encounters.

In 1938/39, the debut season of the competition under the name Taça de Portugal, Benfica were finalists, but fortune smiled on Académica, who won 3-4. A year later, Benfica were again in the final, but this time with the desired success, beating Belenenses 3-1 and starting a run of 9 consecutive victories in the decisive match.

Benfica's winning streak every time they reached the final lasted until 1956/57, when they won 3-1 against SC Covilhã. The following season, the Reds suffered a 0-1 defeat against FC Porto.

In the first 18 editions of the Portuguese Cup, Benfica won nine times. During this period, the Reds set the record for consecutive triumphs, lifting the trophy in four consecutive editions, from 1948/49 to 1952/53 (in 1949/50 it was not held due to the Portuguese organization of the Latin Cup, which was won by the Eagles, who thus won their first official international trophy).

These 9 victories include the most significant win in a final, with Benfica beating Estoril 8-0 (1943/44). And it includes perhaps the best ever: in 1951/52, Benfica and Sporting met for the first time in the decisive match and the red and whites won 5-4, in a match with an electrifying second half (7 goals), only decided at the final whistle by Rogério Carvalho Pipi, who is the record holder for goals scored in finals (15 - curiously he is “only” the 6th highest scorer for Benfica in the competition, with 51 goals). Benfica's 6th top scorer in the competition, with 51 goals, ahead of Eusébio, with 98, José Águas, Nené, Torres and Arsénio).

In 1958/59, Benfica beat FC Porto 1-0. The lone goal came from Cavém and is the fastest ever scored in a Portuguese Cup final (13 seconds).

It should also be noted that both teams took to the field under interim managers. In the case of Benfica, it was Valdivieso who guided the team in the gap between Otto Glória's departure and the arrival of Béla Guttmann, who had already served FC Porto that season.

From 1960/61 to 1967/68, Benfica played in five European Champion Clubs' Cup finals, but only three in the Portuguese Cup, winning two (including a 6-2 win over FC Porto at the Estadio Nacional) and losing one. This was followed by three victories in four consecutive appearances in the final (1969, 1970 and 1972).

Three of these clashes were against Sporting, with two victories for the Red and Whites.

Until 1980, Benfica played two finals, but without success. 1979/80 saw the start of a successful run of four finals against FC Porto (1979/80, 1980/81, 1982/83 - this one at Estádio das Antas - and 1984/85). Still in the 1980s, the Reds reached the final on three more occasions, winning two of them, in 1986 against Belenenses, in 1987 against Sporting, and losing in 1989 against the team from Restelo.

The 2-1 win over Sporting in 1987 was Benfica's 21st victory in the 27th final played in 47 editions of the competition.

Since then, Benfica's record in the competition has been less impressive, with 11 appearances in the final and 5 wins (1993, 1996, 2004, 2014 and 2017). Now, on Sunday, winning the 27th is the goal.