1990 European Cup final: no breaking of the Guttmann curse as Eriksson’s Benfica are denied by Sacchi’s AC Milan | OneFootball

On Wednesday night Benfica play AC Milan at the San Siro to kick off their Europa League campaign. Portuguese football historian Miguel Lourenço Pereira turns the clock back to when two of the most prestigious names in football history met in the 1989/90 European Cup final.

“Benfica, the champion of lost finals” was A Bola’s headline the day after the game

They were the best team in the world, and still the Eagles believed the spirit of Béla Guttmann would finally be appeased. In Vienna, of all places, Benfica met the mighty AC Milan for a second time in a European Cup final. The Rossoneri had been the first side to beat them in a continental final after back-to-back trophies won, and that was also the first year Béla Guttmann was no longer club manager.

For the next decades, the so-called curse Guttman curse started to spread, and hours before kick-off, Eusébio even decided to visit his old manager’s grave to ask for forgiveness. In the end, Benfica matched the powerhouse of the day on the pitch, but their hearts were broken once more.

Football royalty

When lists are compiled of the best ever teams in the history of football nobody forgets Arrigo Sacchi’s AC Milan. They are a mandatory choice and with good reason. Few teams were so mesmerising, attractive while attacking, secure when defending, and mixed two different football cultures so well. Their fame is even greater than what they actually achieved on the pitch, and that says it all. Still, one night in Praterstadion, they were almost beaten by one of the most unfancied Benfica sides ever to reach a European final. A side few would remember much about if it wasn’t for that night when they almost earned payback for what had happened twenty-seven years earlier.

Back in 1963 Benfica were the undisputed kings of Europe. Beating Barcelona was one thing; thrashing Real Madrid was something different. One might have been a coincidence, two was a certainty. Nobody played better football than Guttmann’s men, guided by the genius of Mário Coluna, the leadership of José Águas and the goalscoring machine that was Eusébio, the African version of Pelé that European football had the luck to enjoy.

Eusébio and Amália Rodrigues, two icons of Portuguese popular culture of the 20th century were in attendance

Roughhouse Milan stop Benfica making it three in a row

That Benfica was also one of the greatest club sides ever – albeit if many forget it – but when they travelled to Wembley and were expected to add a third consecutive crown to their trophy cabinet, they were beaten by Nereo Rocco’s AC Milan. That side was everything Benfica wasn’t. They were defensive, controlling and not exciting at all, but they knew how to win matches, even if that meant deliberately taking an opponent out of the equation. Ask Coluna, who was kicked off the pitch in that 2-1 defeat. That win paved the way for Milan’s first golden era but didn’t finish Benfica’s. The Lisbon giants played in two more European Cup finals during the sixties, thus equalling Real Madrid’s record of five finals in the fifties, only Benfica had three Cups fewer to their name.

Fast forward to 1990 and things had changed dramatically. Now it was Milan who were the dashing, energetic attacking force and Benfica looked more of a self-composed defensive side who knew how to compete and had a European pedigree few sides could lay claim to. They showed that all too well during the European campaign. League champions under Toni, who had also guided them to the 1988 European Cup final, lost on penalties against PSV, they welcomed back Sven-Göran Eriksson after his first unsuccessful stint in Italy. The Swede was so popular and beloved that the supporters were happy to have him back even after winning the championship, and Toni, the deputy of Eriksson in his first successful period at the club, took a step back to return to his previous role, always the club man.

Ruud Gullit with his distinctive dreadlocks was one of Milan’s star players

Benfica could not halt FC Porto, now managed again by Artur Jorge, who won the league, but the Eagles put their efforts into the European Cup and were rewarded for it. They thrashed Derry City, Honved and Dniepr to set up an encounter with a much-fancied Olympique Marseille side in the semi-final. The French had become the greatest force in Ligue 1 under the leadership of Bernard Tapie, the goalscoring prowess of Jean-Pierre Papin, and the attacking verve of Uruguayan Enzo Francescoli and English winger Chris Waddle. Many had them as favourites in the tie, and they duly won the home leg 2-1 at the Velodrome.

Vata ‘hands’ Benfica spot in the final

However, when they reached the mighty Estádio da Luz, with its pulsating 120,00 plus capacity crowd, their nerves broke. Carlos Mozer, who had played for Benfica before moving to Marseille, had warned their teammates that a goal lead would not suffice and then almost laughed when he saw their faces the first time they climbed from the tunnel onto the pitch. The match was tense. Marseille held on while they could, and then a cross into the box found Angolan striker Vata, who pushed the ball smoothly into the net with his right hand, and Benfica all the way to the final with it. It became a key moment in the club’s history and, rumour has it, also had an impact on Tapie who would be convicted of trying to bribe a referee prior to a Champions League final years later.

Four years after Maradona’s famous “Hand of God” goal against England, Vata emulated the Argentine genius by also scoring a crucial goal with his hand

While Benfica’s route to the final had been almost uneventful until the semi, AC Milan’s was anything but. Arrigo Sacchi’s team had won the previous year’s trophy with a dashing display in the final, beating Steaua Bucharest 4-0 at the Camp Nou, after beating the favourites Real Madrid in the semis. They met the Spanish giants again in the last sixteen of the 1989/90 campaign, after the Italians had disposed of HJK from Finland, and this time the famous offside trap, well-rehearsed by the likes of Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta and Mauro Tassoti, performed wonders as they beat them 2-0 at home before conceding a defeat away by a single goal.

Then came KV Mechelen, winners of the previous season Cup Winners’ Cup trophy and finally the toughest bone to crack, Bayern Munich, in the semi-final. They needed a goal in extra time from Stefano Borgonovo to beat the Bavarians and book themselves a place in the final against Benfica. Two sides of European royalty who were expected to offer a grand spectacle on the eve of the 1990 Italy World Cup. However, it was anything but.

Magical Dutch trio

AC Milan’s cult status owed much to the genius of their three Dutchmen, signed over the previous years by club owner Silvio Berlusconi. He first brought in Ruud Gullit from PSV, then Marco van Basten from Ajax and together they managed to win the only Serie A trophy for that squad, in 1988, overcoming Diego Armando Maradona’s Napoli. The following season Frank Rijkaard, who before landing in Italy signed for Sporting CP and then had a short spell on loan in Zaragoza, was also added as they claimed the continental crown.

Dutch legend Frank Rijkaard signed for Sporting after falling out with Ajax coach Johan Cruyff but never played for the Lions

Losing the league first to Inter and then to Napoli in consecutive seasons was only admissible for Berlusconi if there was European silverware to make up for domestic failure. But the side had suffered that campaign greatly with injuries. Gullit was not on his best form, nor was van Basten. Still, they were all considered fit to play Benfica so Sacchi could call upon his best eleven, bar Roberto Donadoni, who was out of contention due to suspension. The Italians had requested to wear all white as their previous wins in the competition in 1963 and 1989 had happened when they used their alternative kit. Although they won in 1969 with their main strip, it became a tradition for Milan to play European finals in white over the years, and thus Benfica could play in their red shirt but were forced to use red shorts as well under the new design of the German brand Hummel, who had just arrived mid-season to the club.

Eriksson, on the other hand, had already guided Benfica to a UEFA Cup final in his first stint at the club in 1983, and was now highly motivated to bring the trophy home, putting an end to almost three decades of misery. Benfica were, by 1990, the European side who had lost the most finals, and the second club with most finals played outright, only behind Real Madrid. There were 8 finals in the record books, compared to 11 for the Spaniards, counting the European Cup, UEFA Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup competitions. Milan had played a total of four, but they were still considered heavy favourites.

Successive losses give traction to the Guttmann curse

Benfica’s latest defeat in a European Cup final two years previously against PSV Eindhoven had fed into the growing legend of the Guttmann curse among supporters and in the press. Although never proved, it was known the Hungarian manager had requested a raise after guiding Benfica to back-to-back European Cups. In his first contract he had asked for 100 contos as a bonus if he won the trophy, at a time when Benfica had never gone beyond the first round. The board laughed out loud put in double the figure just for kicks, but would not stump up more money after the second triumph.

Benfica’s cultured Brazilian midfielder Valdo, here escaping the attentions of Angelo Colombo, is now a pundit on Portuguese TV

A furious Guttmann stormed out of the club and apparently vowed that they would not win anything in Europe for the next 100 years. Another version contends that he had said Benfica wouldn’t win anything without him. He did eventually return but unsuccessfully. Yet another account claims his fury extended wider, as he raged that no other Portuguese side would ever win the European Cup, which of course Porto did in 1987.

Eusébio’s plea for penitence

Either way, the so-called curse was much talked about and as the game was going to be played in Vienna, Guttmann’s final resting place, Eusébio took the opportunity, on the morning of the final, to visit his grave and ask for his divine help. It didn’t work.

Eusébio visited the grave of his former manager Béla Guttmann on the morning of the match

Eriksson decided to go with Silvino Louro in goal, followed by José Carlos, Ricardo Gomes, Samuel and Aldair in defence, with usual right-back António Veloso suspended. Jonas Thern and Hernâni provided backing to the defensive line to better mark the moves between van Basten and Gullit that had been so devastating for the Italian side. Vítor Paneira, from the right, and Pacheco, moving from the left, supported Valdo and Magnusson as the key frontmen while the semi-final hero Vata was on the bench alongside César Brito, Fernando Mendes and veterans Diamantino and Bento.

Sacchi played with his usual back five of Giovanni Galli, Mauro Tassoti, Alessandro Costacurta, Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini. The veteran Carlo Ancelloti was accompanied in midfield by Angelo Colombo, Alberto Evani and Frank Rijkaard in support of the Dutch duo. Marco Simone, Stefano Borgonovo, Daniel Massaro and Filippo Galli were on the bench for support, as was the understudy goalkeeper Andrea Pazzagli.

Little excitement for the bumper crowd

The Praterstadion, where Porto had won the European Cup only three seasons prior, was packed full, with almost 60,000 supporters, the huge majority of them Italians who had travelled by train, car or bus while many Portuguese emigrants from Germany and Luxembourg joined the Benfica supporters who had travelled by plane from Lisbon. Milan had been preparing for the final for weeks. The Serie A league season had finished much earlier than usual so that the country would have the time to prepare for the upcoming World Cup. The Italians decided to stay in an hotel in the countryside for days, while Benfica arrived in Austria in full operational mode and Eriksson and Toni believed that could work to their advantage.

Analysis in A Bola newspaper focused on both teams’ emphasis on stopping the opposition, which took precedence over their offensive game

One thing was clear: both managers prepared a very tactical game, and that was exactly what they got. If people remember Italy 90 as one of the dullest World Cups ever, it seemed that the European Cup of that season was mirroring what was about to happen over the following weeks. During the first half, no side had a clear chance on goal. The ball was mostly moving in midfield, space was sparse, and neither Benfica nor Milan managed to get close enough to the opposition goal to be a threat. Still, Benfica proved a much more apt rival than Bayern or Real had been. They understood how to neutralise Milan’s offensive danger, taking both Gullit and van Basten out of the game tactically.

Tactical stalemate

However, the problem was that none of Valdo, Paneira, Pacheco or Magnussen were ever a real threat to the famous Milan backline. In a sense, Benfica were biding their time, praying for a miracle, but they were also holding the lines steadily and not giving in to pressure. They weren’t going back and defending on their line, offering chances. They were fighting for every acre in midfield but not taking too many risks. The plan was to reduce to a minimum every chance Milan could create.

Benfica managed to stifle their opponents almost completely. A little after the hour came the only time when Milan had a clear shot on goal. And they took it. A collective marking error in midfield opened a highway and Rijkaard, of all players, simply ran with the ball towards Silvino and didn’t even blink when he fired past him. Everyone knew it was game over despite 25 minutes remaining on the clock. If neither side had been able to pose a real threat until then, it would be hard to imagine things changing now that Sacchi’s men had control of operations.

“Milan made changes to win; Benfica just the opposite” according to A Bola

No way through Milan’s defensive fortress

César Brito was already on the pitch, replacing Pacheco, and then Vata was called on to perform a second miracle, but he wasn’t able to. Benfica tried but never came close to a breakthrough, surrendering in the last minutes. It remains the last time they played a European Cup final. They haven’t reached further than the last eight since, but played in two Europa League finals in the 2010s.

AC Milan kept up their brilliant record over the course of the following decades, first with Fabio Capello, Sacchi’s assistant, who lost the 1993 and 1995 finals to Olympique Marseille and Ajax but won 4-0 against Cruyff’s Dream Team. Then Carlo Ancelotti, who was subbed off near the end of the final against Benfica to receive a standing ovation, led Milan to two more wins in 2003 and 2007 and defeat in an iconic final against Liverpool in 2005.

In the end, two of the greatest sides in European Cup history provided a poor spectacle as football gradually shifted towards a more creative, offensive-minded mentality in the 1990s, a consequence of the game’s merchandization that the likes of Berlusconi favoured. That shift, in turn, expelled the great clubs of old and the major powers of the leagues outside of the so-called Big Five from the decisive moments of Europe’s premier club competition. In the last three decades, Ajax and FC Porto are the only clubs from outside of the five top leagues to have won the trophy.