Extraordinary Life and Times of Bela Guttmann: Part 4— Conquering Europe
We return to the life of Bela Guttmann in 1958, who ended his successful 18-month spell in Sao Paulo to move to Portugal. The club he joined in the 1958–59 season, FC Porto, had a solitary league title win in the last 20 years. With 8 (out of 26) matches already played and the club being 3 points off the top, a title challenge wouldn’t have been easy. To add to that, the first few matches under Guttmann didn’t go well, leading to concerns over his management.
But gradually, Guttmann’s tweaks started yielding results. The key changes included bringing some fresh names to the team and training them under his style of play. He especially spent time with his forward line to make them more direct and efficient. Porto started winning matches with big margins. On the final matchday, they were level on points with Benfica but ahead on goal difference of 4. At one point though, having nullified the advantage, Benfica led their game 6–1. Two late goals by Antonio Teixeira and Noe finally won Porto the title. The club was on cloud nine and everyone was chanting Gutmann’s praise, who now had two league title wins in a row. But the fans soon received some news that broke their hearts. The Hungarian had already decided to switch to rivals Benfica. Porto would have to wait two more decades for their next league title.
Guttmann’s reign in the Portuguese capital started with a mass overhaul, where he removed a lot of first-team Benfica regulars to make way for some promising young blood. Once again the focus was on playing attacking football. Players were coached in the quick one-two Brazilian passing style for opening defenses and creating shooting opportunities for the five forwards present in the W-M system. The results were devastatingly effective. Benfica became known for scoring early goals through high-tempo quick-paced attacks from the word go. They thwarted Sporting CP’s challenge to win the 1959–60 league title. For the one’s keeping count, Guttmann now had three in three. But his sight was set on the ultimate prize, the European Cup.
Despite being a domestic powerhouse, winning a European Cup (now known as the UEFA Champions League) still seemed like a pipe dream for Benfica. A key constraint was the club’s policy of signing players from Portugal and its colonies only (the policy was finally discontinued in 1979). But the club made the most of it by creating strong scouting networks across the former territories of Angola and Mozambique. Some of Benfica's best players came from these places, like attacker Jose Aguas, inside-right Joaquim Santana, and midfielder Mario Coluna.
Under Guttmann, Estádio da Luz had become an impregnable fortress for Benfica. Not only did they win all their home games in the 1960–61 season, but also did very well in the European fixtures. They first came up against Scottish Champions Heart in the preliminary round of the European Cup. After taking a 2–1 lead in the away leg, Benfica dominated the home game with a 3–0 scoreline. Awaiting them in the next round were Guttmann’s former side Ujpest. The Hungarian Champions were no pushovers and few could have predicted the battering they got in Lisbon. Benfica went all out from the beginning, raking up four goals within the first 20 minutes. The first leg eventually ended 6–2 and even a valiant Ujpest effort in the second leg couldn’t stop Benfica from proceeding. Interestingly, Guttmann was asked not to be with his team for the away leg considering his past escape from Communist Hungary.
This was already the best performance by a Portuguese club in the European Cup. But Guttmann’s boys were in for the long run. In the quarterfinals, they decimated Danish club AGF 7–2 on aggregate to set up an interesting tie with Rapid Wein. Once again, the travelling Austrians had no answer for Benfica’s onslaught and the Portuguese won the home leg 3–0. The opposite fixture was an intimidating affair with a fierce Vienna crowd, something Guttmann was used to from his playing days at Hakoah. His team did well to keep the scoreline 1–1 with just two minutes to go when fans started rioting and invading the pitch. The match was abandoned and Benfica was in the final.
Now came the final hurdle, the team that had knocked out 5-time Champions Real Madrid, their domestic rival FC Barcelona. The Catalonian giants had a formidable side consisting of Spanish and Hungarian stars like Ramallets, Luis Suarez, Kocsis, Czibor, and Kubala. They started the final strongly, creating multiple opportunities and taking the lead through a Kocsis header. For the first time in the tournament, the tide was against Benfica. But Guttmann had prepared his team mentally for every scenario. In quick succession, Benfica scored twice due to goalkeeping errors and led 2–1 at halftime. With both teams scoring one each in the second half, the match ended 3–2. Barcelona, who hit the post multiple times, could only blame their luck as the night belonged to The Eagles. Jose Aguas (11) and Jose Augusto (7) led the scoring charts. As for Guttmann, the 62-year-old had the world at his feet. And yes, Benfica also won the league.
Winning the European Cup made Guttmann a legend, but defending it would make him immortal. Not an easy task by any means. Before proceeding there, we need to talk about a key development. In 1960, Guttmann came across former Brazilian footballer Jose Carlos Bauer in a barber shop, who told him about a ‘black lad in Mozambique’ playing for Sporting CP’s local feeder club. That player, whom Guttmann shrewdly stole from his rivals, was Eusebio. With Antonio Simoes also brought in from the youth team, the world finally witnessed the mythical attacking quintet of Augusto, Eusebio, Aguas, Coluna, and Simoes.
Benfica’s title defense started in Vienna against Austria Wein, where Stark cancelled out Aguas’s first-half goal. But the home leg in Lisbon saw them gain a comfortable 5–1 victory courtesy of goals from Santana, Aguas, and Eusebio. Estádio da Luz, the home stadium, would once again play a key role in this campaign, even more so than last year. In the quarterfinal, The Eagles were reeling 1–3 against FC Nurnberg after the first leg in Germany. But it took them just 4 minutes to level the aggregate score in Lisbon, finally winning the match 6–0. Up next were English Champions Tottenham Hotspurs. The first leg in Portugal gave Benfica a 3–1 lead but the return fixture to White Hart Lane was going to be a test. An early Benfica goal managed to calm the nerves but Spurs pulled two back by the 48th minute. Benfica, now leading by a solitary goal, put on a tough defensive show to win the fixture. Guttmann’s side was just one step away. But standing in their path was, who else but, Real Madrid.
To face the five-time European Champions, a side that consisted of Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas, and Paco Gento, to name a few, Guttmann had to prepare his team mentally more than physically. His instructions were clear, that Real, for all its firepower, was an ageing team. Restrict them to a two-goal lead by half-time and victory could still be achieved. Almost prophetically, the Spaniards got a two-goal lead early on through Puskas. However, the Portuguese were up to the task, and goals by Aguas and Cavem brought the game back to level terms. Puskas completed his hattrick and Real were at a 3–2 advantage at half-time. But the defending champions remembered their coaches’ words. Brimming with confidence, they returned to the pitch with their sight set on the cup. Coluna pulled one back in the 50th minute. With the scores levelled, now came Eusebio’s turn to shine at the biggest stage. The Black Panther scored a second-half brace to give Benfica an iconic 5–3 win over Real Madrid. The Eagles had successfully defended their throne.
It’s fair to say this was the pinnacle of Guttmann’s managerial career. Between 1957 to 1962, he won 4 league titles and 2 European Cups. But success on the pitch had to be appropriately rewarded financially and the absence of it (at least as perceived by Guttmann himself) led to him leaving Benfica in 1962. Whether he cursed the club on his way out or not is something probably no one can confirm. His managerial journey would continue for another decade, albeit without the same degree of success. After spending his final years in Vienna, Guttmann left the world on 28th August 1981. To say he lived an eventful life would be an understatement.
I started this series with a basic question in mind. How did a Hungarian Jew manage a Portuguese side to the pinnacle of European football in the 60s? We now have the answer to it. Guttmann’s success can be attributed to multiple factors. He grew up in an ecosystem where Jimmy Hogan and Hugo Meisl were laying the foundation of modern football along with the wider Hungarian Jewish community. He was a part of teams like MTK and Hakoah Vienna, playing some of their time's best football. He managed clubs in various parts of the world from Hungary to Italy to Brazil and more, picking up new ideas everywhere he went. Most importantly though, it was his experiences (and sufferings) as an individual through different stages of his life that gave him the stubbornness and resilience to survive, succeed, and achieve the impossible.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you for reading the article. With this, we culminate the four-part series on Bela Guttmann. My heartiest gratitude to everyone who completed this mini journey with me.
This blog aims to talk about not just contemporary football but also reflect on its history. My endeavour remains to bring forth such stories about great individuals, great teams, and great matches. If this interests you, do consider following this account and subscribing to the email list.
Sources:
David Bolchover (2017), The Greatest Comeback: From Genocide To Football Glory
Jonathan Wilson (2019), The Names Heard Long Ago
