The 2012–13 season was Sport Lisboa e Benfica's 109th season in existence and the club's 79th consecutive season in the top flight of Portuguese football. It involved Benfica competing in the Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal, Taça da Liga and the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. Benfica qualified for the Champions League by coming second in the previous Primeira Liga.
Benfica could have enjoyed a treble in May if they could win the UEFA Europa League, maintain their lead in the Primeira Liga, and win the Taça de Portugal. In the league, they came second to Porto after conceding a 90th-minute goal; and despite a win in their last match, they could not prevent their rivals from winning the title. Afterwards, they lost the UEFA Europa League final to then European champions Chelsea (2–1) when Branislav Ivanović headed in an injury-time winner. In the Taça de Portugal, Benfica reached the final for the first time since 2004–05 Taça de Portugal but lost to Vitória de Guimarães, conceding two goals in two minutes. The Taça da Liga ended at the semi-finals, which prevented Benfica for winning their fifth league cup in a row.
In the UEFA Champions League, Benfica finished third in the group stage, with ten points, behind Barcelona and Celtic, and was relegated to the UEFA Europa League, where they reached the club's ninth European final and first since 1990.
Season summary Pre-season After two unsuccessful seasons without winning the league title, Benfica retained Jorge Jesus as manager for a fourth year. During the summer transfer window, starting midfielders Javi García and Axel Witsel were sold to Manchester City for €23 million and Zenit Saint Petersburg for €40 million, respectively, with García departing on the final day of the window. Striker Javier Saviola’s contract was mutually terminated, and he subsequently joined Málaga on a free transfer. Starting left-back Emerson was also sold, joining Turkish club Trabzonspor for €1.6 million. Other notable departures included left-back Joan Capdevila, who transferred to Espanyol for €500,000, the loan of long-serving midfielder Ruben Amorim to Braga, and the loan of striker Nélson Oliveira to Deportivo de La Coruña. In the winter transfer window, winger Nolito was loaned to Granada.
In terms of arrivals, right winger Eduardo Salvio returned from Atlético Madrid for €13.5 million, while Ola John, who had faced Benfica the previous season in UEFA Champions League qualifying, was signed for €9 million. Benfica also added striker Lima from Braga.
For squad depth, the club signed goalkeeper Paulo Lopes from Feirense, defender Luisinho from Paços de Ferreira, midfielder Michel from Braga, and forward Hugo Vieira from Gil Vicente, who was immediately loaned to Sporting de Gijón. Returning from loan spells were Lorenzo Melgarejo (Paços de Ferreira), Carlos Martins (Granada), Enzo Pérez (Estudiantes), and Alan Kardec (Santos).
The preseason featured a 2–0 win over Marseille, followed by victories against Hamm Benfica, Śląsk Wrocław, Real Madrid (5–2), and Gil Vicente, draws with Lille and Juventus, and a defeat to PSV Eindhoven.
After the departures of García and Witsel, Nemanja Matić and Enzo Pérez established themselves in the starting lineup, while Lima quickly secured a regular place alongside Óscar Cardozo, relegating Rodrigo to the bench.
August-November The official season began on 8 August with a 2–2 home draw against Braga, followed by victories over Nacional and Vitória de Setúbal, and a 0–0 away draw with Celtic in the Champions League. Benfica then drew 2–2 away with Académica and won 2–1 against F.C. Paços de Ferreira, finishing September level on points with Porto.
October opened with a 2–0 home defeat to FC Barcelona in the Champions League, followed by a league win over Beira-Mar, a Taça de Portugal victory over Freamunde, a 2–1 away loss to Spartak Moskva in the Champions League, and a 3–0 away win against Gil Vicente. In November, Benfica won all of their matches: 3–0 at home against Vitória de Guimarães, 2–0 at home against Spartak Moskva in the Champions League, 1–0 away against Rio Ave in the league, 2–0 away against Moreirense in the fourth round of the Taça de Portugal, 2–1 at home against Celtic in the Champions League, and 2–0 at home against Olhanense. They ended the month still level on points with Porto.
December-January December began with a 0–0 draw at Camp Nou against Barcelona in the Champions League, a result that eliminated Benfica from the group stage and sent them into the UEFA Europa League, followed by a 3–1 league win over Sporting at the Estádio José Alvalade, featuring a hat-trick from Cardozo. Benfica then recorded a 4–1 home win over Marítimo, a 2–1 away win against Olhanense and a 1–1 draw with Moreirense, both in the Taça da Liga.
The new year began with a 6–0 win over C.D. Aves in the Taça de Portugal, followed by a 3–1 away win against Estoril and a 4–0 away victory over Académica in the Taça da Liga, which qualified Benfica for the semi-finals. On 13 January, Benfica hosted Porto in the league, drawing 2–2. They then defeated Académica 4–0 in the Taça de Portugal quarter-finals, Moreirense 2–0 in the league, Braga 2–1 away, and Paços de Ferreira 2–0 in the first leg of the Taça de Portugal semi-finals, ending the month level on points with Porto.
February-April In February, Benfica recorded league wins over Vitória de Setúbal, Académica, and Paços de Ferreira, and drew away against Nacional. In Europe, they eliminated Bayer Leverkusen 3–1 on aggregate in the Europa League round of 32 (1–0 away, 2–1 home). The month concluded with elimination from the Taça da Liga after a penalty shootout loss to Braga in the semi-finals.
March saw Benfica win all of their matches: 1–0 against Beira-Mar in the league, 1–0 at home and 3–2 away against Bordeaux in the Europa League round of 16, 5–0 against Gil Vicente, 4–0 away against Vitória de Guimarães, and 6–1 at home against Rio Ave, finishing the month four points clear of Porto. The next month opened with a 3–1 home win against Newcastle United in the Europa League quarter-finals, followed by a 2–2 draw away to progress to the semi-finals. In the league, Benfica defeated Olhanense, Sporting at home, and Marítimo away, while also drawing 1–1 with Paços de Ferreira in the second leg of the Taça de Portugal semi-final to advance 3–1 on aggregate. The month ended with a 1–0 away defeat to Fenerbahçe in the first leg of the Europa League semi-finals.
May May opened with a 3–1 home win over Fenerbahçe, with two goals from Cardozo, which qualified Benfica for their first European final in 23 years. Shortly after, Benfica drew 1–1 at home against Estoril, reducing their league lead to two points, before visiting the Estádio do Dragão. Ahead of the decisive league match, both Benfica and Porto remained unbeaten. Benfica took the lead in the 19th minute through Lima, but a stoppage-time goal gave Porto victory and put them in control of the title race.
On 15 May, Benfica faced Chelsea in the 2013 UEFA Europa League final at the Amsterdam Arena, losing 2–1 after a stoppage-time header from Ivanović. It was the club's sixth consecutive defeat in a European final. Four days later, Benfica met Vitória de Guimarães in the Taça de Portugal final at the Jamor. Nicolás Gaitán opened the scoring for Benfica, but two second-half goals secured victory for Vitória, leaving Benfica without a trophy despite competing for three major titles.
Competitions
Pre-season
Primeira Liga
League table
Results summary
Results by round
Matches
Taça de Portugal
Taça da Liga
Group stage +Group DTeamBenfica321064+27Moreirense30303303Académica302145–12Olhanense302112–12
Knockout phase
UEFA Champions League
Group stage
+Group G Team Barcelona6411115+613 Celtic631298+110 Benfica62225508 Spartak Moscow6105714−73
UEFA Europa League
Knockout phase
Round of 32
Round of 16
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
Overall record
Competition First match Last match RecordGWDLGFGAGDWin %Source Primeira Liga 18 August 2012 19 May 2013 Taça de Portugal 18 October 2012 26 May 2013 Taça da Liga 19 December 2012 27 February 2013 Taça da Liga results UEFA Champions League 19 September 2012 5 December 2012 UEFA Europa League 14 February 2013 15 May 2013 Total
Players
Statistics
! colspan="15" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| Goalkeepers
! colspan="15" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| Defenders
! colspan="15" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| Midfielders
! colspan="15" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| Strikers
! colspan="15" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| No longer at club
1.Players who were in the squad at the time of the first competitive fixture. 2.Also includes 2012–13 UEFA Champions League and 2012–13 UEFA Europa League.
Transfers
In
No.Pos.NameAgeMoving fromTypeTransfer WindowContract endsTransfer feeSources13 GK Paulo Lopes 34 Gil Vicente TransferSummer 2014 Free5 DF Luisinho 27 Paços de Ferreira TransferSummer 2016 €1,000,00025 DF Lorenzo Melgarejo 21 Paços de Ferreira Loan returnSummer 2016 -17 MF Carlos Martins 30 Granada Loan returnSummer 2016 -15 MF Ola John 21 Twente TransferSummer 2018 €9,150,00018 MF Eduardo Salvio 22 Atlético Madrid TransferSummer 2018 €14,550,00035 MF Enzo Pérez 27 Estudiantes Loan returnSummer 2016 -31 FW Alan Kardec 23 Santos Loan returnSummer 2015 -40 FW Michel 25 Paços de Ferreira TransferSummer 2017 €1,000,00070 FW Hugo Vieira 23 Gil Vicente TransferSummer 2016 €155,850 11 FW Lima 29 Braga TransferSummer 2016 €4,840,0003 DF Roderick 21 Deportivo La Coruña Loan return Winter 2018 -
Out
No.Pos.NameAgeMoving toTypeTransfer WindowTransfer feeSources- DF Emerson 27 Trabzonspor Transfer Summer €1,600,000- DF Daniel Wass 23 Evian TransferSummer €1,000,000 - MF Fellipe Bastos 23 Vasco da Gama TransferSummer €300,000- MF Javi García 25 Manchester City TransferSummer €20,000,000 + €3,000,000 in add-ons- MF Axel Witsel 23 Zenit Saint Petersburg TransferSummer €40,000,000- MF Ishmael Yartey 22 Sochaux TransferSummer €1,500,000 - FW Éder Luís 27 Vasco da Gama TransferSummer €3,000,000- FW Joan Capdevila 34 Espanyol Transfer Summer €500,000 - FW Hélio Vaz 23 União de Leiria TransferSummer Free- FW Javier Saviola 30 Málaga TransferSummer Free-GK Jan Oblak 19 Rio Ave Loan Summer -- DF Roderick 20 Deportivo La Coruña Loan Summer -- DF Léo Kanu 24 Ponte Preta Loan Summer -- MF Airton 24 Flamengo Loan Summer -- MF Ruben Amorim 26 Braga Loan Winter-- MF Felipe Menezes 24 Sport Recife Loan Summer -- MF Diego Lopes 18 Rio Ave Loan Summer -- MF David Simão 23 Marítimo Loan Summer -- MF Nuno Coelho 24 Aris Loan Summer -- FW Nélson Oliveira 21 Deportivo La Coruña Loan Summer -- FW Franco Jara 24 San Lorenzo Loan Summer -- FW Rodrigo Mora 25 River Plate Loan Summer -- FW Hugo Vieira 24 Sporting de Gijón Loan Summer -- FW Yannick Djaló 26 Toulouse LoanSummer -- FW José Luis Fernández 26 Olhanense LoanSummer -- FW Michel 26 Braga LoanSummer --GK Eduardo 30 Genoa Loan returnSummer - - FW José Luis Fernández 26 Godoy Cruz LoanWinter -- DF Léo Kanu 25 Grêmio Osasco Loan Winter -8 MF Bruno César 24 Al-Ahli Transfer Winter €5,000,000- FW Hugo Vieira 24 Gil Vicente Loan Winter -- FW Nolito 26 Granada Loan Winter €600,000- MF Airton 24 Internacional Loan Winter -- DF Fábio Faria 24 -Career termination--
References