The Greek Vlachodimos, the Spaniard Grimaldo and the Portuguese Florentino and Rafa are the only players in the current Benfica squad who were already crowned champions four years ago, in the last title before the ‘incarnates’.
After Benfica won its 38th title of Portuguese champions today, there are 24 players who had never won an I Liga title, a feat only achieved by seven of the players already used by coach Roger Schmidt.
In 2018/19, then under the management of Bruno Laje, who replaced Rui Vitória during the season, goalkeeper Vlachodimos, defender Grimaldo and striker Rafa were already part of the team’s hard core, with Florentino, then 20 years old, having less influence than it did this season.
As a Benfica player, Grimaldo was already one of the players with the most Portuguese titles, winning in 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2018/19, alongside the returning Gonçalo Guedes, champion in 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016 / 17, in addition to already having a French league with Paris Saint-Germain (2017/18).
Of the 2018/19 repeaters, Rafa Silva already had two championship medals (2016/17 and 2018/19) and Vlachodimos and Florentino only one, in what had been the last scepter of the ‘incarnates’.
Two more players had won I Liga titles, but through ‘rivals’ of Benfica, with João Mário winning the 2020/21 championship for Sporting, and world champion Otamendi winning three times for FC Porto (from 2010/11 to 2012 /13 ), also featuring two English leagues for Manchester City.
Among the players most used by Schmidt are several who have not yet won a national championship even in other countries, such as the Brazilian Gilberto and the Portuguese António Silva, Chiquinho and Gonçalo Ramos, as well as the young João Neves, several times in the starting lineup in recent meetings.
The less used Lucas Veríssimo, Morato, Cher Ndour, Tengstedt and Schjelderup had never won a national championship, as well as goalkeeper Samuel Soares, released today in the closing minutes of the victory over Santa Clara.
The Brazilian David Neres already had three national titles with Ajax, while the Norwegian Bah had once become champion in the Czech Republic, with Slavia Praga, with whom the Croatian Musa won the national title twice.
The currently injured German Draxler, one of two world champions in the ‘red’ squad, had won four French leagues with PSG along with Otamendi, while Serbian Ristic won the championship in his home country.
The Norwegian Aursnes, who already became champion in Norway, could celebrate twice this season, because before he celebrated the title for the ‘incarnates’ he already had Feyenoord, for whom he played two games before moving to Luz, champion of the Netherlands .
Several players left Benfica during the season, having already been used in the I Liga, so they are also entitled to championship medals, such as the case of Argentine Enzo Fernández, who left for Chelsea in January for €121 million and who adds the second national title, after winning in Argentina in 2021.
The Belgian Vertonghen already had two Dutch competitions for Ajax and the Ukrainian Yaremchuk had won ‘at home’ for Dynamo Kiev, with the German Weigl, the Portuguese Diogo Gonçalves and Henrique Araújo and the Brazilian Rodrigo Pinho becoming champions for the first time.
André Almeida, who could have won his sixth league title, resigned before playing a match, while Gil Dias, João Victor and Paulo Bernardo played for the main team in other leagues but left before playing in the I Liga.
Source: DN
