First Division. 6 teams were in danger and fought for survival, three teams way ahead of the rest of the league, but only two of them battled for the title. Not an extraordinary championship at all.
SC Espinho finished last with 17 points.
RD Agueda – 15th with 19 points.
GD Estoril-Praia – 14th with 21 points. Really unlucky, for there were 4 teams with 21 points and if goal-difference was the breaker, they would have been… not safe, but with a good chance to remain in the league. But goal-difference was not the decisive factor and Estoril-Praia went down along with Agueda and Espinho.
FC Penafiel – lucky 13th, for they had worse goal-difference than Estoril-Praia. But they were not safe yet, going to promotion/relegation tournament. This they won against the second-placed teams in the 3 second division zones and were good for at least one more season with the best.
SC Farense – 12th with 21 points. A bit of an anomaly: at least this season the Portuguese league was all or nothing and ties were few – Farense, however, depended on ties – 11 matches, 1/3 of their total were tied.
SC Salgueiros -11th with 21 points. Well… well done, for survival pretty much equals success for this club.
Portimonense SC – 10th with 26 points. Nothing much, but never in danger. Top row from left: Freitas, José Armando, Pedroto, Niromar, Fernando Martins, Barão I, Coelho, Gaspar, Luís Saura.
Middle row: Dr. Malha Gregório (médico), José Manuel Proença (massagista), Dérinho, Fernando, Valdemar Custódio (treinador adjunto), Manuel José (treinador pricipal), João Gouveia, Cabral, Simões, Coelho (dirigente) e Chico (roupeiro)
Sitting: Norton de Matos, Lúcio, Vítor Oliveira, Cadorin, Tavares, Damas, Barão II, Balacó, Luciano, Nelsinho, Rui Águas.
Rio Ave FC – 9th with 29 points.
Varzim SC – 8th with 29 points. By their standards, wonderful season.
Boavista – 7th with 31 points. That was the Portuguese predicament – Lisbon was unable to support 3 bog clubs, so how other cities could do better? Boavista was doing well in the general scheme of things, but next to FC Porto… had no chance at all.
Vitoria (Guimaraes) – 6th with 31 points. Solid, no more.
Vitoria (Setubal) – 5th with 34 points. As ever, among the top teams and, as ever, not a title contender. Standing from left: Freire, Jorge Martins, Formosinho, Nascimento, Artur, Vitinha.
Crouching: Roçadas, Mota, Sobrinho, Francisco Silva, Nunes.
Sporting (Braga) – 4th with 37 points. Nothing new as well – stronger than most,weaker than the big clubs. Standing from left: Artur, Nelito, Walter, Dito, Guedes, João Cardoso.
First row: Serrinha, Malheiro, Vitor Santos, Zinho, Wando.
Sporting (Lisbon) – 3rd with 42 points. 5 points ahead of Braga, showing the true divide in Portuguese football. But there was more to it, unfortunately – Sporting, although having a strong period, was no longer the second biggest club in the country – the rivalry shifted already from Lisbon derby to Lisbon-Porto rivalry and Sporting was not the representative of the capital: they were the third ranking club now and the final table showed it amply.
FC Porto – 2nd with 49 points. 7 points ahead of Sporting, which was really showing the difference between the 2 big clubs of the country and all others. And now FC Porto was the second big club of Portugal, not Sporting (Lisbon) – a permanent change. There was more to it: FC Porto ended the season with fantastic record – they allowed only 9 goals in their net! 4 at home and 5 away. In Porto, they were just perfect: 10 home games, 15 wins, scoring 54 goals. But FC Porto was still new great power, not exactly dominating yet: their away record was not bad at all, but Benfica was winning much more away matches and, tellingly, FC Porto scored only 11 goals in 15 away games. Benfica scored 37! So, FC Porto lost the title, but they must be excused: too many fronts. The team above is actually the squad playing the European Champions Cup final. FC Porto was still elbowing its way among the leaders of Portugal and the best in Europe – not quite established at the top presently, but very, very close.
By now, the champion is not even a slight mystery to anybody: Benfica. They finished with 3 points more than FC Porto. 24 wins, 4 ties, 2 lost games. That was the big difference between old power and newcomer: Benfica won 11 games on the road – FC Porto and Sporting Lisbon, the second best, only 7 gales each. Benfica scored 86 goals and if FC Porto had the best home record, this did not matter much – real class was presented away from home: there Benfica scored 37 goals, FC Porto – 11. Best defensive record… big deal, FC Porto allowed only 5 goals away from home, but Benfica got 24 points away – FC Porto 19. Oh, FC Porto won all their home games – but they did not have a bitter rival like Sporting next door. Benfica was so old fox, nothing was to be taken for granted against them, even if they were not in good shape. But they were in good shape! The only reason for one more picture of champions so boringly familiar.
Two slightly different formations of the winning team: most of the Portuguese national team was playing for Benfica, it was always a deep squad. And having strong period currently! One does not have to count much – yes, there were veterans and already former national team players. Nene, Pietra, Sheu, Humberto Coelho. Add Bento and you will have a bunch with impressive domestic record. Add Filipovic, who did not play much for Yugoslavia, but won titles with Crvena Zvezda and blended perfectly with this Benfica’s vintage – may be because Benfica and Crvena Zvezda were similar clubs, champion clubs. And than add the current start, like Chalana, Veloso, and brightly ascending coach Eriksson. This squad was no joke – no matter which version of the above, it would be matching at least FC Porto’s best. For FC Porto still had shorter and not that experienced team. Cannot blame Benfica for winning.