25 January 1942 - Portugal Reaps The Benefit Of Colonization

On 25 January 1942, Portuguese star forward Eusébio, the 1965 European Footballer of the Year, was born in what is now Mozambique.

At the time of his birth, Mozambique was under the control of Portugal and was known as Portuguese East Africa. Eusébio grew up there and signed his first contract there in 1957 with his neighborhood club, Sporting de Lourenço Marques, and remained there until he signed with Benfica in December 1960.

He quickly made his mark at his new club, scoring a hat-trick in his first appearance, a May 1961 friendly against Atlético Clube de Portugal. He went on to score a total of 473 goals for them in 440 appearances across all competitions while winning eleven league titles, five Portuguese Cups, and the 1962 European Cup, scoring the last two goals in Benfica's 5-3 win over Real Madrid.

In the 1964-65 season, he scored a career-high 48 goals, leading to his European Footballer of the Year award. He remains the club's all-time appearances and scoring leader.

He left Benfica in 1975 and spent time with several different clubs in the United States, Mexico, and Portugal before retiring in 1980.

11 October 1962 - He Really Did Earn That Reputation, You Know

On 11 October 1962, Pelé won the battle of superstars, outdoing Eusébio with a hat-trick to lead Santos over Benfica for their first Intercontinental Cup.

The contest matched Santos, the reigning Copa Libertadores champions, against European Cup winners Benfica. In the first leg, played at the Maracaña on 19 September, Pelé scored an 85th-minute match-winner with the final score of 3-2.

In the second leg, played in Lisbon's Estádio da Luz, the striker picked up where he left off, opening the scoring in the 15th minute with a sliding tap-in from a low cross. Ten minutes later, he doubled lead with an impressive finish after avoiding two tackles, then blowing by a third defender.

Santos stretched their lead to five after a goal from Coutinho (48'), another from Pelé (64'), and one from Pepe (77') before Benfica finally got on the scoresheet with an 85th-minute goal from Eusébio. Four minutes later, they cut the margin to 2-4 after a strike from Joaquim Santana (who had provided both of their goals in the first leg). But it was too little, too late for the Portuguese side as they fell to Santos, 2-5.

It was the second time Benfica had conceded five goals in the Intercontinental Cup--they lost 5-0 to Peñarol in the second leg the year before, then fell 2-1 in the play-off. Santos had better luck in the competition, repeating as champions in 1963 by beating AC Milan.

19 September 1961 - There's No Place Like Home In The Intercontinental Cup

On 19 September 1961, Peñarol won their first Intercontinental Cup, beating Benfica in a replay at the Estadio Centenario. They went on to win the competition twice more to become its most successful team.

The Uruguayans had participated in the inaugural Intercontinental Cup the year before, but lost to Real Madrid over two legs. In 1961, they returned to the cup to face Benfica, but lost the first leg 1-0 in Lisbon on 4 September. Thirteen days later, they hosted the Portuguese side at Montevideo and won convincingly by the score of 5-0. Under the rules at the time, the cup was decided on points and not goal differential, so they went to a replay to determine the winner.

Meeting again the Estadio Centenario, Peñarol took a quick lead with a 5th-minute goal from inside forward José Sasía. Half an hour later, Benfica forward Eusébio, who was then in his second season with the club and had not played in the first two matches, found a 35th-minute equalizer. But just five minutes after that, Sasía converted a penalty to restore the lead for Peñarol and they held on to claim the 2-1 victory.

They went on to win it again in 1966 and 1982 to become the first team to win the Intercontinental Cup three times. Their tally has since been matched by four other clubs--Nacional, AC Milan, Real Madrid, and Boca Juniors--but has never been exceeded.

22 May 1963 - Instead Of A Third, We Got A First

On 22 May 1963, AC Milan stopped Benfica from winning their third straight European Cup, beating the Portuguese side 2-1 at Wembley. It was the first of Milan's 7 European Cup/Champions League titles and the first time an Italian team won the tournament.

At the time, Benfica were staking their claim as the best team in the world, coming off back-to-back tournament titles with Final wins over Barcelona (3-2 in 1961) and Real Madrid (5-3 in 1962). They also boasted one of the sport's biggest stars in Eusébio, who late brace provided the winning margin in the previous Final.

Mian, however, had stars of their own, including forward José Altafini, who played for Brazil in the 1958 World Cup then for Italy in the 1962 tournament. The Rossoneri had been in the Final before, taking Real Madrid to extra time in 1958 before falling 3-2.

Playing before a crowd of 45,700, Benfica took the lead with an 18th-minute strike from Eusébio, who sprinted down the middle of the pitch and blasted a right-footed shot past Milan keeper Giorgio Ghezzi. It took Milan 40 minutes to find an equalizer, as Altafini unleashed a right-footed shot of his own from the edge of the box. Just eight minutes later, Altafini found himself in a one-on-one situation with Benfica keeper Costa Pereira. Pereira successfully stopped the initial shot, but Altafini slammed the rebound home to give Milan the 2-1 lead that was the match's final score.

Milan went on to win the tournament a total of seven times, second only to Real Madrid's ten. Benfica returned to the Final five more times and were runners-up each time, most recently in 1990 when they lost again to Milan.

27 May 1965 - Inter Bars The Door

On 27 May 1965, Inter defeated Benfica 1-0 in the European Cup Final before a crowd of 85,000 at the San Siro. It was the second consecutive European Cup for the Italian side, who would not win it again until 2010.

At the time, Benfica had themselves recently won two straight European Cups (in 1961 and 1962) and boasted the tournament's joint top scorers in Eusébio and José Augusto Torres (pictured at far right), both with nine goals. But Inter were playing at their home stadium, where, playing the catenaccio system masterminded by their manager Helenio Herrera, they had conceded only one goal throughout that season's competition. The Final thus shaped up as a classic battle of offense against defense.

On the day, Inter were helped by the poor weather, with rain slowing both the pitch and the speed of the Portuguese attack. Inter received another lucky break when their Brazilian midfielder Jair de Costa took what appeared to be an easily-handled shot on goal in the 42nd minute. The wet ball slipped through the hands of Benfica keeper Costa Pereira to give Inter a 1-0 lead. Which, as it turned out, was all they needed as Benfica proved unable to crack the Italians' defense.

Inter returned to the Final twice more, losing to Celtic in 1967 and Ajax in 1972 before winning their third European Cup/Champions League trophy in 2010 over Bayern Munich.

2 May 1962 - That's A Hat-Trick Gone To Waste

On 2 May 1962, Benfica defeated Real Madrid 5-3 in Amsterdam to claim their second consecutive European Cup.

1962 was the seventh season of the prestigious competition and the Final matched the only two clubs with European Cup trophies in their cabinets - Real Madrid won the first five tournaments, while Benfica had won the previous year's cup, defeating Barcelona 3-2.

Real were heavy favorites, having moved through the tournament with relative ease. In the preliminary round, they defeated Hungarian side Vasas 5-1 on aggregate, then overwhelmed Denmark's Boldklubben 1913 in the first round by the aggregate score of 12-0. Their only real test leading up to the Final was against Juventus, who held them to a 1-1 draw, but then lost 3-1 to Real in the ensuing play-off. Real returned to form in the semifinals, beating Standard Liège 6-0.

Benfica's road was nearly as smooth, with a 6-2 first-round defeat of Austria Vienna, a 7-3 win over Nuremberg in the second round, and a 4-3 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the semifinals.

In the Final, Real took an early lead as their Hungarian forward Ferenc Puskás scored goals in the 17th and 23rd minutes. Benfica pulled even after goals from José Águas (25') and Domiciano Cavém (34'), but Puskás completed his hat trick with a goal in the 38th minute.

The scoring pace continued in the second half, as Benfica's Mário Coluna scored an equalizer in the 51st minute. Then came Eusébio. Benfica's soon-to-be legendary forward, making his first European Cup Final appearance, put Benfica ahead for the first time when he scored in the 65th minute. He scored again three minutes later to seal the win for the Portuguese side.

Benfica has appeared in the Finals five more times, finishing as runners-up each time. Real went on to win four more European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles, most recently in 2002, and is playing for another title when they meet Atlético Madrid in this year's final in Lisbon on 24 May.

23 July 1966 - It Helps To Have A Ballon D'Or Winner On Your Team, Apparently

On 23 July 1966, four goals from Eusébio helped Portugal rally from a 3-0 deficit to beat North Korea 5-3 in the World Cup quarterfinals.

North Korea had already delivered the shock of the tournament, beating Italy 1-0 in their final group stage match to qualify for the knockout rounds, while Portugal had breezed through their group by winning all three matches.

The teams met at Goodison Park in Liverpool, where a crowd of almost 52,000 gathered to watch what looked to be another upset. The Koreans took a staggering 3-0 lead just 25 minutes in with goals from Pak Seung-Zin (1'), Lee Dong-Woon (22'), and Yang Seung-Kook (25').

Two minutes later, however, Eusébio--the 1965 Ballon d'Or winner--started the comeback by scoring his first of the day. He followed that with a 43rd-minute penalty kick to close the gap to 3-2 at the break, then the second half belonged to Portugal. Eusébio completed his hat-trick in the 53rd minute, then added a fourth via the penalty spot three minutes later to give the Portuguese their first lead of the day.

His Benfica teammate José Augusto, who had assisted Eusébio's first goal, capped the win with an 80th minute strike to set the final margin at 5-3.

Despite the amazing effort--or perhaps because of it--Portugal fell to England in the next round, 2-1. But their comeback against North Korea remains one of the most dramatic matches in tournament history.

25 January 1942 - Portugal Reaps The Benefit Of Colonization

On 25 January 1942, Portuguese star forward Eusébio, the 1965 European Footballer of the Year, was born in what is now Mozambique.

At the time of his birth, Mozambique was under the control of Portugal and was known as Portuguese East Africa. Eusébio grew up there and signed his first contract there in 1957 with his neighborhood club, Sporting de Lourenço Marques, and remained there until he signed with Benfica in December 1960.

He quickly made his mark at his new club, scoring a hat-trick in his first appearance, a May 1961 friendly against Atlético Clube de Portugal. He went on to score a total of 473 goals for them in 440 appearances across all competitions while winning eleven league titles, five Portuguese Cups, and the 1962 European Cup, scoring the last two goals in Benfica's 5-3 win over Real Madrid.

In the 1964-65 season, he scored a career-high 48 goals, leading to his European Footballer of the Year award. He remains the club's all-time appearances and scoring leader.

He left Benfica in 1975 and spent time with several different clubs in the United States, Mexico, and Portugal before retiring in 1980.

11 October 1962 - He Really Did Earn That Reputation, You Know

On 11 October 1962, Pelé won the battle of superstars, outdoing Eusébio with a hat-trick to lead Santos over Benfica for their first Intercontinental Cup.

The contest matched Santos, the reigning Copa Libertadores champions, against European Cup winners Benfica. In the first leg, played at the Maracaña on 19 September, Pelé scored an 85th-minute match-winner with the final score of 3-2.

In the second leg, played in Lisbon's Estádio da Luz, the striker picked up where he left off, opening the scoring in the 15th minute with a sliding tap-in from a low cross. Ten minutes later, he doubled lead with an impressive finish after avoiding two tackles, then blowing by a third defender.

Santos stretched their lead to five after a goal from Coutinho (48'), another from Pelé (64'), and one from Pepe (77') before Benfica finally got on the scoresheet with an 85th-minute goal from Eusébio. Four minutes later, they cut the margin to 2-4 after a strike from Joaquim Santana (who had provided both of their goals in the first leg). But it was too little, too late for the Portuguese side as they fell to Santos, 2-5.

It was the second time Benfica had conceded five goals in the Intercontinental Cup--they lost 5-0 to Peñarol in the second leg the year before, then fell 2-1 in the play-off. Santos had better luck in the competition, repeating as champions in 1963 by beating AC Milan.

19 September 1961 - There's No Place Like Home In The Intercontinental Cup

On 19 September 1961, Peñarol won their first Intercontinental Cup, beating Benfica in a replay at the Estadio Centenario. They went on to win the competition twice more to become its most successful team.

The Uruguayans had participated in the inaugural Intercontinental Cup the year before, but lost to Real Madrid over two legs. In 1961, they returned to the cup to face Benfica, but lost the first leg 1-0 in Lisbon on 4 September. Thirteen days later, they hosted the Portuguese side at Montevideo and won convincingly by the score of 5-0. Under the rules at the time, the cup was decided on points and not goal differential, so they went to a replay to determine the winner.

Meeting again the Estadio Centenario, Peñarol took a quick lead with a 5th-minute goal from inside forward José Sasía. Half an hour later, Benfica forward Eusébio, who was then in his second season with the club and had not played in the first two matches, found a 35th-minute equalizer. But just five minutes after that, Sasía converted a penalty to restore the lead for Peñarol and they held on to claim the 2-1 victory.

They went on to win it again in 1966 and 1982 to become the first team to win the Intercontinental Cup three times. Their tally has since been matched by four other clubs--Nacional, AC Milan, Real Madrid, and Boca Juniors--but has never been exceeded.

22 May 1963 - Instead Of A Third, We Got A First

On 22 May 1963, AC Milan stopped Benfica from winning their third straight European Cup, beating the Portuguese side 2-1 at Wembley. It was the first of Milan's 7 European Cup/Champions League titles and the first time an Italian team won the tournament.

At the time, Benfica were staking their claim as the best team in the world, coming off back-to-back tournament titles with Final wins over Barcelona (3-2 in 1961) and Real Madrid (5-3 in 1962). They also boasted one of the sport's biggest stars in Eusébio, who late brace provided the winning margin in the previous Final.

Mian, however, had stars of their own, including forward José Altafini, who played for Brazil in the 1958 World Cup then for Italy in the 1962 tournament. The Rossoneri had been in the Final before, taking Real Madrid to extra time in 1958 before falling 3-2.

Playing before a crowd of 45,700, Benfica took the lead with an 18th-minute strike from Eusébio, who sprinted down the middle of the pitch and blasted a right-footed shot past Milan keeper Giorgio Ghezzi. It took Milan 40 minutes to find an equalizer, as Altafini unleashed a right-footed shot of his own from the edge of the box. Just eight minutes later, Altafini found himself in a one-on-one situation with Benfica keeper Costa Pereira. Pereira successfully stopped the initial shot, but Altafini slammed the rebound home to give Milan the 2-1 lead that was the match's final score.

Milan went on to win the tournament a total of seven times, second only to Real Madrid's nine. Benfica returned to the Final five more times and were runners-up each time, most recently in 1990 when they lost again to Milan.

27 May 1965 - Inter Bars The Door

On 27 May 1965, Inter defeated Benfica 1-0 in the European Cup Final before a crowd of 85,000 at the San Siro. It was the second consecutive European Cup for the Italian side, who would not win it again until 2010.

At the time, Benfica had themselves recently won two straight European Cups (in 1961 and 1962) and boasted the tournament's joint top scorers in Eusébio and José Augusto Torres (pictured at far right), both with nine goals. But Inter were playing at their home stadium, where, playing the catenaccio system masterminded by their manager Helenio Herrera, they had conceded only one goal throughout that season's competition. The Final thus shaped up as a classic battle of offense against defense.

On the day, Inter were helped by the poor weather, with rain slowing both the pitch and the speed of the Portuguese attack. Inter received another lucky break when their Brazilian midfielder Jair de Costa took what appeared to be an easily-handled shot on goal in the 42nd minute. The wet ball slipped through the hands of Benfica keeper Costa Pereira to give Inter a 1-0 lead. Which, as it turned out, was all they needed as Benfica proved unable to crack the Italians' defense.

Inter returned to the Final twice more, losing to Celtic in 1967 and Ajax in 1972 before winning their third European Cup/Champions League trophy in 2010 over Bayern Munich.

2 May 1962 - That's A Hat Trick Gone To Waste

On 2 May 1962, Benfica defeated Real Madrid 5-3 in Amsterdam to claim their second consecutive European Cup.

1962 was the seventh season of the prestigious competition and the Final matched the only two clubs with European Cup trophies in their cabinets - Real Madrid won the first five tournaments, while Benfica had won the previous year's cup, defeating Barcelona 3-2.

Real were heavy favorites, having moved through the tournament with relative ease. In the preliminary round, they defeated Hungarian side Vasas 5-1 on aggregate, then overwhelmed Denmark's Boldklubben 1913 in the first round by the aggregate score of 12-0. Their only real test leading up to the Final was against Juventus, who held them to a 1-1 draw, but then lost 3-1 to Real in the ensuing play-off. Real returned to form in the semifinals, beating Standard Liège 6-0.

Benfica's road was nearly as smooth, with a 6-2 first-round defeat of Austria Vienna, a 7-3 win over Nuremberg in the second round, and a 4-3 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the semifinals.

In the Final, Real took an early lead as their Hungarian forward Ferenc Puskás scored goals in the 17th and 23rd minutes. Benfica pulled even after goals from José Águas (25') and Domiciano Cavém (34'), but Puskás completed his hat trick with a goal in the 38th minute.

The scoring pace continued in the second half, as Benfica's Mário Coluna scored an equalizer in the 51st minute. Then came Eusébio. Benfica's soon-to-be legendary forward, making his first European Cup Final appearance, put Benfica ahead for the first time when he scored in the 65th minute. He scored again three minutes later to seal the win for the Portuguese side.

Benfica has appeared in the Finals five more times, finishing as runners-up each time. Real went on to win four more European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles, most recently in 2002.