1998–99 S.L. Benfica season

The 1998–99 European football season was the 95th season of Sport Lisboa e Benfica's existence and the club's 65th consecutive season in the top flight of Portuguese football. The season ran from 1 July 1998 to 30 June 1999; Benfica competed domestically in the Primeira Divisão and the Taça de Portugal. The club also participated in the UEFA Champions League as a result of finishing second in the Primeira Divisão in the previous season.

Benfica

1998–99 season
President	João Vale e Azevedo
Head coach	Graeme Souness (until 3 May 1999) Shéu (caretaker for four matches)
Stadium	Estádio da Luz
Primeira Divisão	3rd
Taça de Portugal	Fifth round
UEFA Champions League	Group stage (2nd)
Top goalscorer	League: Nuno Gomes (24) All: Nuno Gomes (34)
Highest home attendance	80,000 vs Boavista (14 March 1999)
Lowest home attendance	2,000 vs Chaves (14 May 1999)
Home colours Away colours

After guiding Benfica to second place, Graeme Souness remained in charge for a first full season. The Scottish brought in a handful of British players to the team, but only Michael Thomas, Mark Pembridge and Dean Saunders got regular playing time. To offset, Benfica lost the likes of Edgar Pacheco, Brian Deane and Scott Minto.

The season started with the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League, which the club successfully passes, although not without drama. Domestically, Benfica fared better, quickly reaching the top spots by early October. However, a home draw with Alverca, starts a six-match winless spree that put them in fifth place in the league and negatively impacted their Champions League campaign.

Benfica eventually regained their step in the Primeira Divisão. From late November till early February, they won 8 out of 9 matches, including seven in a row. This allowed them to battle the second place with Boavista with a match between in 14 March assuming significant importance. Benfica lost and started another downward spiral of erratic results that eventually led to the dismissal of Souness. Long-time assistant Shéu finished the season, with Benfica reaching 65 points, 14 less than Porto. Nuno Gomes had its best season of his career, scoring 34 goals in all competitions.

Season summary

Following a season, where Benfica made a convincing second round, collecting 41 out of 51 points.[1] Souness had his status increased, with more influence on player signings and the technical staff around him. One of his first decisions was replacing Nelo Vingada by his personal friend, Phil Boersma.[2][3][4] Vingada work as assistant was influential in helping Souness understand the intricacy of Portuguese football.[2] The Scottish also brought in reinforcements from England, inspired by the effect that Poborský and Brian Deane had in the team, when they joined in January.[5] After a pre-season that saw them meet Newcastle United, Sheffield United and Italians, Empoli and Lazio, the team was set to debut in the qualifying rounds of the Champions League against Beitar Jerusalem. With a six nil thrashing in the first leg, the second leg was a mere formality. However, in Israel, the team suffered a setback, conceding four goals, that although it did not harm progress to the group stage, it upset the management.[3][5]

In the league, Benfica started in the best possible way, amassing three consecutive wins and reaching top of the table.[6] A loss in Faro dropped them to second, but did not stop their momentum, as two more wins and a hard-fought draw against F.C. Alverca followed.[6] Equal on the first place, the team visited Boavista next. A last minute goal from Martelinho forced Benfica to spend the week in fifth place.[6] In Europe, the situation was not any better, with five points dropped against HJK Helsinki, who were making their debut in the group stage of the Champions League.[7]

"An initial scare foresees an unsettling season. With the qualification for the millionaire Champions League almost assured, Benfica unexpectedly crashes in Israel for unthinkable numbers. Still, the Champions League is a reality – as his the ever present controversy caused by Souness. His signings – Michael Thomas and Mark Pembridge in July, Dean Saunders in January, Steve Harkness and Gary Charles in March – rarely ever get it right. Adding to this, the problems with the players are recurring and successive examples of stubbornness force him out, after a home draw against Campomaiorense. By then, Champions League, Portuguese League and Portuguese Cup were a thing of the past. Till the end, it is Shéu who leads the team, and holds on to the third place with a draw in the last match-day..."

— Rui Miguel Tovar on the season events[5]

After five points earned in three match days in early November, the team faced FC Porto for the Clássico on the road, losing for a fifth consecutive season, and ending up in fifth place with a seven-point gap for the leader.[8] In Europe, Benfica finished second in his group, with another late goal costing them points, now against PSV Eindhoven.[7] Nonetheless, with the advancing season, Benfica performance improved, starting a seven-game winning streak that spread two months, and saw the jump to second, only a point behind leaders Porto. They were stopped in late January, when S.C. Beira-Mar draw them at home.[9]

In February the team conceded a fourth league loss, which was followed by the premature exit of the Portuguese Cup.[10] Still, they recovered by winning the two subsequent games, matching Boavista on the league table, and facing them next, knowing that a win, would put the team one point behind leaders Porto.[9] On 14 March, Souness decided to Gary Charles and Steve Harkness, the first was coming out of an injury and the second arrived days before.[5] Benfica lost 0–3, dropped to third place and Souness saw his first handkerchiefs.[3] A week later Benfica draw against U.D. Leiria, bagging only one point out of six possible in a crucial part of the season.[11]

April would be much the same, with five points lost out of nine possible, the advantage over the fourth place, Sporting was reduced to two points.[11] With a home draw against S.C. Campomaiorense in early May, and in danger of losing the third place, Souness was sacked with immediate effect.[12][13][5] He was banned from entering the stadium,[14] and Shéu replaced him in the final four matches, winning seven points out of twelve, but more importantly, securing the third place.[10]

Competitions

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Overall record

Competition	First match	Last match	Record
			G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %	Source
Primeira Divisão	21 August 1998	30 May 1999	34	19	8	7	71	29	+42	055.88	[15]
Taça de Portugal	10 January 1999	16 February 1999	2	1	0	1	4	3	+1	050.00	[15]
UEFA Champions League	12 August 1998	9 December 1998	8	4	2	2	16	13	+3	050.00	[15]
Total			44	23	10	11	91	45	+46	052.27

Primeira Divisão

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Porto (C)	34	24	7	3	85	26	+59	79	Qualification to Champions League group stage
2	Boavista	34	20	11	3	57	29	+28	71	Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round
3	Benfica	34	19	8	7	71	29	+42	65	Qualification to UEFA Cup first round
4	Sporting CP	34	17	12	5	64	32	+32	63
5	Vitória de Setúbal	34	15	8	11	37	38	−1	53

Source: Primeira Divisão
Rules for classification: 1st points, 2nd head-to-head, 3rd goals average
(C) Champion.

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34
Ground	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H
Result	W	W	W	L	W	W	D	L	D	D	W	L	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	D	W	L	W	W	L	D	W	L	D	D	L	W	W	D
Position	4	1	1	2	2	2	1	5	5	4	4	5	4	4	4	3	2	2	2	3	2	3	3	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	3	3	3

Source: FootballPortugal
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

21 August 1998 1	Benfica	2–0	Estrela da Amadora	Lisbon
18:15	Poborský  16' Tahar  72'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Isidoro Rodrigues

30 August 1998 2	Rio Ave	0–2	Benfica	Vila do Conde
20:15		Report	Nuno Gomes  70' (pen.), 85'	Stadium: Estádio do Rio Ave FC Attendance: 20,000 Referee: José Pratas

12 September 1998 3	Benfica	3–0	Beira-Mar	Lisbon
17:00	Martin Pringle  15' Luís Carlos  25' Ronaldo  54'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Vítor Pereira

21 September 1998 4	Farense	1–0	Benfica	Faro
20:30	Hassan Nader  90' Miguel Serôdio  85'	Report		Stadium: Estádio de São Luís Attendance: 9,000 Referee: Jorge Coroado

26 September 1998 5	Benfica	3–1	Maritimo	Lisbon
21:15	Nuno Gomes  32' (pen.), 59', 90' (pen.)	Report	Herivelto  22' Jokanović  37'  50'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 10,000 Referee: António Costa

4 October 1998 6	Vitória Guimarães	0–2	Benfica	Guimarães
19:00		Report	Alexandre  2' (o.g.) Kandaurov  70'	Stadium: Estádio D. Afonso Henriques Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Paulo Costa

17 October 1998 7	Benfica	2–2	Alverca	Lisbon
19:00	Poborský  12' Bruno Basto  42'  73' Nandinho  89'	Report	Marco Freitas  44' Maniche  81'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Emanuel Camâra

25 October 1998 8	Boavista	2–1	Benfica	Porto
20:00	Timofte  49' (pen.) Martelinho  89'	Report	Nuno Gomes  50' Poborský  86'	Stadium: Estádio do Bessa Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Lucílio Baptista

1 November 1998 9	Benfica	0–0	União Leiria	Lisbon
20:05	José Calado  65'  80'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 30,000 Referee: António Costa

10 November 1998 10	Salgueiros	1–1	Benfica	Porto
21:15	Reis  90'	Report	João Pinto  49' Luís Andrade  83'  90'	Stadium: Estádio Prof. Dr. José Vieira de Carvalho Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Paulo Costa

15 November 1998 11	Benfica	4–1	Braga	Lisbon
19:30	Kandaurov  3' Poborský  33' João Pinto  57' Nuno Gomes  89'	Report	Odair  13'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Mário Mendes

21 November 1998 12	Porto	3–1	Benfica	Porto
20:30	Chaínho  18' Jardel  39', 54'	Report	Kandaurov  57' João Pinto  66'  76'	Stadium: Estádio das Antas Attendance: 45,000 Referee: José Pratas

29 November 1998 13	Campomaiorense	0–5	Benfica	Campo Maior, Portalegre
20:30		Report	Nuno Gomes  25', 76' (pen.) Hugo Leal  43', 44' Michael Thomas  37'  55' Kandaurov  75'	Stadium: Estádio Capitão Cesar Correia Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Vítor Pereira

4 December 1998 14	Benfica	2–0	Vitória Setúbal	Lisbon
19:30	Pembridge  4' Nuno Gomes  47'	Report	Pedro Henriques  77'  83'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Lucílio Baptista

14 September 1998 15	Desp. Chaves	0–4	Benfica	Chaves
21:15	Filipe  35'  38' Neves  49'  58'	Report	Nuno Gomes  9', 27', 68' Tahar  48'	Stadium: Estádio Municipal de Chaves Attendance: 3,000

20 December 1998 16	Benfica	3–0	Académica	Lisbon
17:00	Poborský  30' Nuno Gomes  55', 61'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 45,000 Referee: Bentua Marques

3 January 1999 17	Sporting	1–2	Benfica	Lisbon
21:30	Delfim  81'	Report	Beto  27' (o.g.), 79' (o.g.)	Stadium: Estádio de Alvalade Attendance: 45,000 Referee: Martins dos Santos

16 January 1999 18	Estrela da Amadora	0–1	Benfica	Lisbon
20:00		Report	Dean Saunders  87'	Stadium: Estádio da Reboleira Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Vítor Pereira

23 January 1999 19	Benfica	3–1	Rio Ave	Lisbon
19:00	Nuno Gomes  48' Cadete  81' Pepa  90'	Report	André Jacaré  58'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Francisco Vicente

29 January 1999 20	Beira-Mar	1–1	Benfica	Aveiro
19:30	Gila  47'	Report	Tahar  57'	Stadium: Estádio Mário Duarte Attendance: 15,000 Referee: António Costa

5 February 1999 21	Benfica	5–0	Farense	Lisbon
20:00	Dean Saunders  23', 45' King  51' (o.g.) Nuno Gomes  73', 88'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Luís Miranda

13 February 1999 22	Maritimo	1–0	Benfica	Funchal
19:00	Tulipa  46'	Report		Stadium: Estádio dos Barreiros Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Martins dos Santos

21 February 1999 23	Benfica	3–1	Vitória Guimarães	Lisbon
19:00	João Pinto  27' Thomas  66' Nuno Gomes  87'	Report	Edmilson  15'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Paulo Baptista

28 February 1999 24	Alverca	0–2	Benfica	Alverca
18:00	Hugo Costa  50'  73'	Report	Dean Saunders  44' Paulo Madeira  75'	Stadium: Complexo Desportivo do Alverca Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Isidoro Rodrigues

14 March 1999 25	Benfica	0–3	Boavista	Lisbon
20:45		Report	Ayew  6', 66' Mário Silva  23'  78' Luís Manuel  89'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 80,000 Referee: Vítor Pereira

21 March 1999 26	União Leiria	1–1	Benfica	Leiria
21:00	Sérgio Nunes  89'	Report	João Pinto  46'	Stadium: Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Lucílio Baptista

3 April 1999 27	Benfica	5–0	Salgueiros	Lisbon
19:00	Charles  66' Dean Saunders  71' Ronaldo  83' Nuno Gomes  87' (pen.), 89'	Report	Ademir  55'  70'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Bento Marques

17 April 1999 28	Braga	2–1	Benfica	Braga
20:30	Toni  7' Odair  87'	Report	Paulo Madeira  62'	Stadium: Estádio 1º de Maio Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Isidoro Rodrigues

24 April 1999 29	Benfica	1–1	Porto	Lisbon
20:00	Bruno Basto  48'	Report	Zlatko Zahovič  40'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 40,000 Referee: João Esteves

2 May 1999 30	Benfica	1–1	Campomaiorense	Lisbon
20:00	Cadete  55'	Report	Welington  71'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Mário Mendes

10 May 1999 31	Vitória de Setúbal	1–0	Benfica	Setúbal
20:30	Toñito  12'	Report	Bruno Basto  88'	Stadium: Estádio do Bonfim Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Lucílio Baptista

14 May 1999 32	Benfica	4–1	Desp. Chaves	Lisbon
19:30	Tahar  43' Cadete  47' Poborský  78' Nuno Gomes  89'	Report	Carlos Álvarez  65' André  87'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 2,000 Referee: António Marçal

23 May 1999 33	Académica	0–3	Benfica	Coimbra
20:30		Report	Nuno Gomes  7' Mounir  40' (o.g.) Hugo Leal  81'	Stadium: Estádio Cidade de Coimbra Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Bento Marques

30 May 1999 34	Benfica	3–3	Sporting	Lisbon
20:00	Kandaurov  9' Poborský  29' Bruno Basto  35'  61' Nuno Gomes  86'	Report	Iordanov  5', 38' Marcos  14'  59' Rui Jorge  75'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Paulo Paraty

Taça de Portugal

10 January 1999 Fourth Rd	Benfica	4–1	Académica	Lisbon
18:00	Nuno Gomes  2', 14', 50' Calado  52'	Report	Dário Monteiro  79'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Paulo Baptista

16 February 1999 Fifth Rd	Vitória de Setúbal	2–0	Benfica	Setúbal
20:30	Chiquinho Conde  16' Chipenda  89'	Report		Stadium: Estádio do Bonfim Referee: Isidoro Rodrigues

UEFA Champions League

Second qualifying round

12 August 1998 First Leg	Benfica	6–0	Beitar Jerusalem	Lisbon
19:00	Pembridge  25', 82' Deane  29' Calado  64' Shelah  79' (o.g.) Nuno Gomes  85'	Report		Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 55,000 Referee: Edgar Steinborn

26 August 1998 Second Leg	Beitar Jerusalem	4–2 (4–8 agg.)	Benfica	Jerusalem
19:00	Hamar  25' Sallói  27' (pen.) Shitrit  51' Ilan Bakhar  57' Abukasis  80'	Report	Nuno Gomes  17' (pen.) João Pinto  90'	Stadium: Teddy Stadium Attendance: 1,300 Referee: Ryszard Wójcik

Group stage

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Kaiserslautern	6	4	1	1	12	6	+6	13
Benfica	6	2	2	2	8	9	−1	8
PSV Eindhoven	6	2	1	3	10	11	−1	7
HJK Helsinki	6	1	2	3	8	12	−4	5

16 September 1998 1	Kaiserslautern	1–0	Benfica	Kaiserslautern
19:00	Wagner  41'	Report	Tahar El Khalej  87'	Stadium: Fritz-Walter-Stadion Attendance: 31,000 Referee: Pierluigi Collina (Italy)

30 September 1998 2	Benfica	2–1	PSV Eindhoven	Lisbon
19:00	Nuno Gomes  47' João Pinto  76'	Report	Rommedahl  72'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 45,000 Referee: Nikolai Levnikov (Russia)

21 October 1998 3	HJK Helsinki	2–0	Benfica	Helsinki
19:00	Lehkosuo  20' (pen.) Kottila  70'	Report		Stadium: Olympic Stadium Attendance: 25.126 Referee: Václav Krondl (Czech Republic)

4 November 1998 4	Benfica	2–2	HJK Helsinki	Lisbon
19:00	Nuno Gomes  78' Calado  81'	Report	Minto  5' (o.g.) Luiz Antônio  84'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Laszlo Vagner (Hungary)

25 November 1998 5	Benfica	2–1	Kaiserslautern	Lisbon
19:00	Nuno Gomes  30' João Pinto  70'	Report	Rische  90'	Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Paul Durkin (England)

9 December 1998 6	PSV Eindhoven	2–2	Benfica	Eindhoven
19:00	Khokhlov  41' van Nistelrooy  89'	Report	Nuno Gomes  47' (pen.), 65'	Stadium: Philips Stadion Attendance: 17,900 Referee: Karl-Erik Nilsson (Sweden)

Friendlies

1 August 1998 JD Sports Cup	Newcastle United	0–0 (3–4 p)	Benfica	Middlesbrough
				Stadium: Riverside Stadium Attendance: 5,430
	Penalties
	Watson Pearce Ketsbaia		Paulo Madeira Scott Minto Nandinho Kandaurov Luís Carlos

2 August 1998 JD Sports Cup	Benfica	1–1 (7–6 p)	Empoli F.C.	Middlesbrough
	Nuno Gomes  49' (pen.)	Report	Palumbo  55'	Stadium: Riverside Stadium

4 August 1998	Sheffield United	1–3	Benfica	Sheffield
				Stadium: Bramall Lane

7 August 1998[16]	Benfica	4–0	Lazio	Lisbon
	Nuno Gomes  7' Karel Poborský  22' Brian Deane  67' Hugo Porfírio  90'			Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Jorge Coroado

6 September 1998[17]	MetroStars	1–3	Benfica	East Rutherford, New Jersey
				Stadium: Giants Stadium

6 November 1998[17]	New England Revolution	1–2	Benfica	Greater Boston
				Stadium: Gillette Stadium

10 April 1999[18] Taça Amizade	Benfica	3–2	Club Brugge	Paris
				Stadium: Parc des Princes

Player statistics

The squad for the season consisted of the players listed in the tables below, as well as staff member Graeme Souness (manager), Phil Boersma (assistant manager) and Shéu (assistant and later manager).[19][15]

Note 1: Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Note 2: Players with squad numbers marked ‡ joined the club during the 1998-99 season via transfer, with more details in the following section.

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Primeira Divisão		Taça de Portugal		UEFA Champions League
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK		Michel Preud'homme	27	-31	21	-21	0	0	6	-10
2	DF		Tahar El Khalej	28	4	22	4	2	0	4	0
3^‡	DF		Gary Charles	4	1	4	1	0	0	0	0
5	DF		Paulo Madeira	36	2	28	2	2	0	6	0
6^‡	DF		Steve Harkness	9	0	9	0	0	0	0	0
7	MF		Karel Poborský	36	6	27	6	1	0	8	0
8	MF		João Pinto	36	7	28	4	1	0	7	3
9^‡	FW		Nandinho	4	1	4	1	0	0	0	0
10^‡	FW		Dean Saunders	19	5	17	5	2	0	0	0
11	FW		Martin Pringle	19	1	12	1	0	0	7	0
12	GK		Sergei Ovchinnikov	18	-18	14	-12	2	-3	2	-3
13	DF		Ronaldo Guiaro	40	2	30	2	2	0	8	0
14	DF		José Sousa	15	0	10	0	0	0	5	0
15^‡	MF		Mark Pembridge	28	3	19	1	1	0	8	2
16	DF		Scott Minto	17	0	10	0	1	0	6	0
17	MF		Serhiy Kandaurov	27	5	22	5	2	0	3	0
18	FW		Jorge Cadete	17	3	16	3	1	0	0	0
19^‡	DF		Bruno Basto	22	1	18	1	1	0	3	0
20	MF		Hugo Leal	35	3	27	3	2	0	6	0
21	FW		Nuno Gomes	43	34	34	24	2	3	7	7
22	MF		José Calado	33	3	24	0	2	1	7	2
23^‡	MF		Hugo Porfírio	6	0	3	0	0	0	3	0
24	GK		Paulo Lopes	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
26	MF		Luís Carlos	21	1	19	1	2	0	0	0
28	FW		Brian Deane	7	1	4	0	0	0	3	1
30^‡	MF		Luís Andrade	15	0	12	0	0	0	3	0
31	FW		Pepa	2	1	2	1	0	0	0	0
33^‡	MF		Michael Thomas	25	1	18	1	1	0	6	0

Transfers

In

Entry date	Position	Player	From club	Fee	Ref
1 July 1998	DM	Luís Andrade	Belenenses	Undisclosed	[20]
1 July 1998	RW	Nandinho	Salgueiros	Undisclosed	[21]
1 July 1998	DM	Marco Freitas	Vitória Guimarães	Free	[22]
1 July 1998	DM	Michael Thomas	Liverpool	Free	[23]
1 July 1998	LW	Mark Pembridge	Sheffield Wednesday	Free	[24]
1 July 1998	LW	Hugo Porfírio	Racing Santander	Undisclosed	[25]
8 December 1998	ST	Dean Saunders	Sheffield United	Undisclosed	[26]
16 December 1998	FW	Jorge Cadete	Celta de Vigo	Undisclosed	[27]
1 January 1999	LB	Bruno Basto	Alverca	Loan return	[28]
14 January 1999	RB	Gary Charles	Aston Villa	Undisclosed	[29]
9 March 1999	LB	Steve Harkness	Liverpool	Undisclosed	[30]

Out

Exit date	Position	Player	To club	Fee	Ref
1 July 1998	RW	Edgar Pacheco	Real Madrid	Free	[31]
1 July 1998	CB	Jorge Soares	Marítimo	Free	[32]
1 July 1998	LB	Abdelkrim El Hadrioui	AZ Alkmaar	Undisclosed	[33]
1 July 1998	DM	Tiago Pereira	Rayo Vallecano	Undisclosed	[34]
1 July 1998	AM	Basarab Panduru	Porto	Free	[35]
1 July 1998	AM	Deco	Salgueiros	Undisclosed	[36]
12 October 1998	ST	Brian Deane	Sheffield United	Undisclosed	[37]
1 January 1999	DM	Jamir Gomes	Alverca	Undisclosed	[38]
14 January 1999	LB	Scott Minto	West Ham United	Undisclosed	[39]
4 March 1999	ST	Martin Pringle	Charlton Athletic	Undisclosed	[40]

Out by loan

Exit date	Position	Player	To club	Return date	Ref
1 July 1998	CB	José Soares	Alverca	30 June 1999	[41]
1 July 1998	DM	Marco Freitas	Alverca	30 June 1999	[22]
1 July 1998	DM	Amaral	Corinthians	30 June 1999	[42]
1 July 1998	AM	Erwin Sánchez	Boavista	30 June 1999	[43]
1 January 1999	RW	Nandinho	Alverca	30 June 1999	[21]
8 January 1999	ST	Martin Pringle	Charlton Athletic	1 March 1999	[44]

Notes

References

1. Tovar 2012, p. 556.
2. "Dezassete meses de Graeme Souness" [Seventeen months of Souness]. Record (in Portuguese). 21 April 1999. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
3. "Souness and the fortunate seven". In Bed with Maradona. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
4. "Football: Souness must tame monster of Benfica". The Independent. 7 December 1998. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
5. Tovar 2012, p. 563.
6. Tovar 2012, p. 564.
7. Tovar 2012, p. 569.
8. Tovar 2012, p. 565.
9. Tovar 2012, p. 566.
10. Tovar 2012, p. 568.
11. Tovar 2012, p. 567.
12. "Man of war". When Saturday Comes. July 1999. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
13. "Big balls and handkerchiefs: Souness at Benfica". 90s Football Parody. 1 December 2011.
14. "Souness vai ser despedido da Luz" [Souness will be sacked]. Record (in Portuguese). 3 July 1999. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
15. Tovar 2012, p. 570.
16. "alla Lazio saltano subito i nervi". Gazzeta dello Sport (in Italian). 8 August 1998. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
17. David Litterer (30 May 2008). "The Year in American Soccer, 1998". homepages.sover.net. Archived from the original on 5 November 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
18. Miguéns, Alberto (2005). 100 anos 100 troféus (in Portuguese). Prime Books. pp. 18–19. ISBN 972-8820-34-8.
19. "Sport Lisboa e Benfica Squad 1998-99". thefinalball.com.
20. "Andrade Profile". Worldfootball.
21. "Nandinho na Luz para se despedir" [Nandinho in Luz to say goodbye]. Record (in Portuguese). 11 July 1999. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
22. "Benfica chega acordo com V. Guimarães sobre o "caso" Marco Freitas" [Benfica reaches agreement with V. Guimarães over Marco Freitas]. Record (in Portuguese). 19 June 1999. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Marco Freitas had contract from the Minho-team. At the end of the previous season, when he contract ended, Benfica signed him on a free transfer
23. "Michael Thomas Profile". Soccerbase.
24. "Mark Pembridge Profile". Soccerbase.
25. "Porfírio pode ter nova oportunidade no Benfica" [Porfírio could have new opportunity at Benfica]. Record (in Portuguese). 1 July 1999. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Hired a year ago from Racing Santander
26. "Dean Saunders Profile". Soccerbase.
27. "Vale e Azevedo quer 650 mil por Jorge Cadete" [Vale e Azevedo wants 650 thousand for Jorge Cadete]. Record (in Portuguese). 8 February 2000. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. This price would mean that Benfica could sell Cadete for a higher price that it cost a year ago, when they signed him from Celta de Vigo for 400 thousand
28. "Bruno Basto Profile". World Football.
29. "Gary Charles Profile". Soccerbase.
30. "Steve Harkness Profile". Soccerbase.
31. "Edgar Profile". Worldfootball.
32. "Jorge Soares Profile". Worldfootball.
33. "Abdelkerim El-Hadrioui Profile". Worldfootball.
34. "Tiago Pereira Profile". Worldfootball.
35. "Nica Panduru Profile". Worldfootball.
36. "Toni descobriu Deco: "Erro histórico do Benfica"" [Toni, who discovered Deco: "Historical mistake from Benfica"]. Maisfutebol (in Portuguese). 26 August 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
37. "Brian Deane Profile". Soccerbase.
38. "Jamir, a prenda indesejada" [Jamir, the unwanted gift]. Público (in Portuguese). 27 December 1998. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
39. "Scott Minto Profile". Soccerbase.
40. "Martin Pringle Profile". Soccerbase.
41. "José Soares Profile". Worldfootball.
42. "Proposta para Amaral visa novo empréstimo" [Offer for Amaral is for a new loan]. Record (in Portuguese). 7 June 1999. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Connected with Benfica for two more seasons, the footballer was loaned last year to Corinthians
43. "Vale e Azevedo: "Cumpro esta promessa como todas as outras"" [Vale e Azevedo: "I always fulfil my promises, like every others I've done"]. Record (in Portuguese). 2 June 1999. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Vale e Azevedo announced that Sanchez, loaned to Boavista
44. "Charlton run into a spot of trouble on brink of the snake pit". The Guardian. 19 April 1999. Retrieved 18 February 2016.

Bibliography

• Tovar, Rui Miguel (2012). Almanaque do Benfica. Portugal: Lua de Papel. ISBN 978-989-23-2087-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)