Benfica top scorers of all time
Benfica is a club with much more to brag about than just the stars it has produced in recent years. Read on to find out more about the Benfica top scorers of all time.
Sports Club is a Portuguese sports club located in Lisbon. The club is present in several sports, but owes most of its fame to its proud football team, which is the most successful football team in Portugal.
The club is one of the founders of the Portuguese Premier League and has never been relegated from the Premier League.
In the following, we will briefly review the history of Benfica Club, then we will provide a list of Benfica top scorers of all time, and then share the personal and professional backgrounds of each of these
highest goal scorers in Benfica of all time
.
Before we get into the list of top scorers in Benfica of all time, we will have a brief look at the history, foundation and honors of Benfica Club.
Benfica was founded on February 28, 1904 as "Sport Lisboa". It is one of the "three biggest clubs" in Portugal and is the most prestigious football club in this country.
Benfica has never been relegated and has always played in the Portuguese Premier League.
The club has two main titles: Águias means Eagles, which refers to the symbol above the club's crown; and the nickname Os Encarnados means Reds, which refers to the color of the team's uniform: red shirt, white short and red socks.
Benfica has an old rivalry with
Sporting FCand FC Porto. Together, these three clubs make up Portugal's "Big Three", none of which have been relegated since their inception.
Benfica is one of the "Big Three" clubs in Portugal, alongside Sporting CP and Porto, and the most decorated one of them. Benfica has won 37 Primeira Liga (Portuguese League) titles, 26 Portuguese Cups, 8 Portuguese Super Cups and7 Portuguese League Cups which make them the most successful and prestigious club in the country.
Moreover, Benfica won 2 consecutive European Champion Clubs' Cup in 1961 and 62- which is a record among Portuguese clubs- as well as being runner-up in 5 other European Cups and at the UEFA Cup/Europe League on 3 occasions.
By reaching 10 European finals, although they only won 2 of them, Benfica is the record holder of their country. Additionally they have also claimed the Latin Cup in 1950.
Surely, the club, also nicknamed "As Aguias" (The Eagles), has been helped by a large number of legendary players who brought today's glory to the club. Many of whom played in forward position, who not only has left unbelievable scoring records, but also played a vital role in Benfica's becoming the greatest club in Portugal by achieving numerous trophies and honors, both domestic and international.
Benfica top scorers of all time:
The following is a list of the top 10 Benfica top scorers of all time.
Nuno Gomes (166)
Full name: Nuno Miguel Soares Pereira Ribeiro
Date of birth: 5 July 1976 (age 45)
Place of birth: Amarante, Portugal
Height: 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position(s): Striker
Nuno Miguel Soares Pereira Ribeiro OIH, born 5 July 1976, known as Nuno Gomes, is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Nuno Gomez is regarded as one of the best Portuguese strikers in history, and stands 10th in the list of
Benfica top scorers of all time
. He spent a total of 12 seasons within 2 spells playing for the Eagles and has scored a total of 166 goals in 399 appearances for the Reds.
He started his career with
Boavistain1994, where he stayed for 3 years and won 1 Portuguese Cup, which is 1 of the 2 trophies he has ever claimed with a club beside Benfica. Gomez joined Benfica in 1997 to start his first spell with the club that lasted 3 years.
Although he could not win any titles with the club during 3 years, he was named as the Primeira Liga Player of the Year twice in 1999 and 2000, as well as being included in EURO 2000's team of the Tournament due to his astonishing performances.
Nuno transferred to the Italian club Fiorentina in 2000, where he managed to win the Coppa Italia in 2001. He returned to Benfica in 2002 and this time, he stayed at Estadiu da Luz for 9 glittering years.
Regarded as one of the highest goal scorers in Benfica of all time, Gomez helped the club achieve 2 Primeira Liga titles, 2 Portuguese Cups (Taca de Portugal), 3 Portuguese League Cups as well as 2 Portuguese Super Cups.
After being released by the club in 2011, he played for
Bragaand the English Club
BlackBurn Roversbefore his retirement in 2013. Furthermore, having played in every youth level, Gomez has made 79 appearances for senior Portuguese national team and has scored 29 goals.
He has taken part in 2 World Cups and 3 EUROs, including Euro 2004 where Portugal hosted the tournament and finished as runner-up. Moreover, he was the EURO 2000's second top scorer with 4 goals, where Portugal stood in the 3rd place with him being named in the team of the tournament.
Additionally, Gomes was a part of the squad that won the UEFA European UNDER-18 Championship in 1994, and the team that finished 3rd finished the 1996 U-20 World Cup in 1995.
Oscar Cardozo (172)
Full name: Óscar René Cardozo Marín
Date of birth: 20 May 1983 (age 38)
Place of birth: Juan Eulogio Estigarribia, Paraguay
Height: 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Playing position(s): Striker
Oscar Rene Cardozo Marin, born 20 May 1983, is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Club Libertad and the
Paraguay national team.
Oscar Cardozo is the only non-Portuguese player in the list of top-10
Benfica highest goal scorers ever
. In other words, he is the Club's all –time foreign top scorer. The Paraguayan striker commenced his career playing for '3 de Febrero' and 'Nacional Asuncion' in his country.
He came into prominence while playing for the Argentinean club
Newell's Old Boys, which led to his transfer to Benfica in 2007. Cardozo stayed at Stadio de Luz for 7 years, and made a total of 292 appearances with the Reds' shirt.
Moreover, by scoring 172 goals, he was a key player in the club's achieving 8 major titles during his spell, including 5 Portuguese League Cups, 2 Primeira Liga titles and 1 Portuguese Cup.
Known as one of the top scorers in Benfica of all time, the brilliant striker finished the Primeira Liga as the league's top scorer on 2 occasions, as well as being the top scorer of the Portuguese cup three times, and the Europe League in 2010.
After Leaving Benfica in 2014, Cardozo went on to play for the Turkish club Trabzonspor for 2 years before joining
Olympiacos, where he won the Greek League in his only season. He has been playing for the Paraguayan club 'Liberated' since 2017, and helped them claim the Paraguay Cup in 2019.
Regarded as one of the benfica top scorers of all time, and one of the best Paraguayan players in history, he has made 54 appearances for Paraguayan national team so far, and has scored 12 goals.
Furthermore, he has represented his country in 2010 World Cup as well as 2 Coppa America tournaments. Cardozo has been named the Paraguayan Footballer of the Year on 2 occasions, in 2006 and 2009.
Jose Augusto (175)
Full name: José Pinto Carvalho Santos Águas
Date of birth: 9 November 1930
Place of birth: Luanda, Angola
Date of death: 10 December 2000 (aged 70)
Place of death: Lisbon, Portugal
Height: 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position(s): Striker
Jose Augusto Pinto de Almeida, born 13 April 1937, known as José Augusto, is a Portuguese retired footballer who played as a right winger, and a coach.
Augusto is widely considered as one of the greatest Portuguese strikers of his generation, and is the 8th player in Benfica all-time top scorers ranking. Augusto made his debut with the club
Barreirense, staying with them for 4 years, before moving to Benfica in 1959.
He spent the rest of his career with Benfica, until his retirement a decade later in 1969. He has achieved 8 Primeira Liga titles, 3 Portuguese Cups and 2 back-to-back European Champion Club's cups in 1961 and 62 with the Eagles.
Moreover, he played a pivotal role in reaching the Intercontinental Cup final twice, in 1961 and 62, although they could not secure the title either time. He has appeared in a total of 369 matches for Benfica and has scored 175 goals, which puts his name in the list of
Benfica top scorers of all time
.
Furthermore, the talented right winger has made 45 caps for Portuguese national team during 10 years, as well as scoring 9 goals.
Additionally, he was a part of the squad that finished the 1966 World Cup in the 3rd place, the tournament in which he had scored 3 goals, all through headers. Furthermore, Augosto was named in World XI of the Year by the World Soccer magazine 2 times, in 1964 and 1965.
Julinho (205)
Full name: Júlio Correia da Silva
Date of birth: 1 December 1919
Place of birth: Ramalde, Portugal
Date of death: 18 March 2010 (aged 90)
Place of death: Lisbon, Portugal
Playing position(s): Forward
Júlio Correia da Silva (1 December 1919 – 18 March 2010), known as Julinho, was a Portuguese footballer who played as a forward.
Julinho is widely considered as one of the most prolific goal scorers in the history of the club. He has scored 205 goals in 200 matches, an Average of more than 1 goal per match. Julinho, known as one of Benfica top goal scorers ever, made his debut for the Eagles in 1942 and went on to play for the club for 11 years until he hung his boots in 1953.
He had played for Boavista and Academico before joining Benfica. By scoring 154 goals in 144 League appearances for Benfica, he played a pivotal role in securing 3 Portuguese League trophies during his spell.
Moreover, Julinho has also won 2 Taca de Portugal titles (Portuguese Cup) and 1 less-major trophy, the Latin Cup, in 1950. He scored the winning goal in the Latin Cup final against the French club Girondin de Bordeaux.
The intelligent forward is the 7th-highest goal scorer in the list of all-time top goal scorers in Benfica history, and has been the Primeira Liga's top scorer on 2 occasions. Furthermore, he finished the 1943-44 Portuguese Cup as the top scorer as well, a cup which was finally claimed by the Reds.
Rogerio Pipi (210)
Full name: Rogério Lantres de Carvalho
Date of birth: 7 December 1922
Place of birth: Lisbon, Portugal
Date of death: 8 December 2019 (aged 97)
Playing position(s): Left winger, forward
Rogerio Lantres de Carvalho (7 December 1922 – 8 December 2019), known as Rogério Pipi, was a Portuguese footballer who played mainly as a forward.
Standing 6th in the ranking of
Benfica top scorers of all time
, Rogerio Carvalho known as "Pipi" is regarded as one of the best strikers in the history of the Eagles. After making his professional debut with his local club Chelas, he joined Benfica in 1942.
A short spell at the Brazilian club Botafogo in 1947 interrupted his 12-season stay with Benfica, since most players demanded to keep their job outside of football and that caused some conflicts. Pipi has won 3 Primeira Liga titles, 6 Taca de Portugal trophies and the Latin Cup in 1950 with Benfica.
He was the top scorer of the Portuguese Cup tournaments for 2 consecutive seasons in 1950-51 and 1951-52, both titles were achieved by the club. Moreover, he holds the record of scoring the most goals in Portuguese Cup (Taca de Portugal) final matches with 15 goals.
Furthermore, by scoring 210 goals in 310 appearances, Rogerio Pipi remains as one of the highest goal scorers in Benfica of all time, and one of the most memorable players in the fans' minds.
Arsenio (220)
Full name: Arsénio Trindade Duarte
Date of birth: 16 October 1925
Place of birth: Barreiro, Portugal
Date of death: 11 February 1986 (aged 60)
Height: 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position(s): Forward
Arsenio Trindade Duarte (16 October 1925 – 11 February 1986), simply known as Arsénio, was a Portuguese footballer who played as a forward.
Arsenio started his career at his local club Barreirense and won the Segunda Liga (Liga Portugal 2) with them in 1943 before signing with Benfica in the very same year. He spent the majority of his career with the Lisbon-based club, winning 3 Portuguese League titles, 6 Portuguese Cups and 1 Latin Cup. Moreover, he finished the 1957-58 Primeira Liga as the leading goal scorer by netting the ball 23 times.
Similar to some other players, he left the club in 1955, because he wanted to keep his job as an industrial worker. Arseio went on to play for 4 other clubs until the end of his career, but never could reach as near as the pinnacle he had reached with Benfica.
With the 220 goals Arsenio scored within 298 appearances, he is the 5th among Benfica highest goal scorers of all time. One of the most memorable of his career was when he scored 5 goals against the Rivals
F.C. Portoin the inauguration of the Porto's new stadium, Estadio das Antas, in 1952.
Arsenio has appeared in 313 Portuguese League matches in total, and with 211 goals (152 of which for Benica), eternizing his name both as one of the
top scorers in Benfica of all time
, and one of the most prolific scorers in the history of Primeira Liga.
Jose Torres (226)
Full name: José Augusto Costa Sénica Torres
Date of birth: 8 September 1938
Place of birth: Torres Novas, Portugal
Date of death: 3 September 2010 (aged 71)
Place of death: Lisbon, Portugal
Height: 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position(s): Centre forward
José Augusto Costa Sénica Torres OM (8 September 1938 – 3 September 2010) was a Portuguese football center forward and coach.
Jose Torres was a brilliant forward, who was regarded as one of the greatest Portuguese strikers of his generation and currently occupies the 4th place in the list of Benfica top scorers of all time with 226 goals in 259 appearances.
Torres made his professional debut for a club of his town, Torres Novas, where he also stayed at for 2 years before his astonishing performances caught Benfica authorities' eyes in 1959. Although he was not given enough opportunities in his first 3 years, he gradually showed his capabilities.
The 1962-63Season was his big breakthrough, as he finished the Primeira Liga as the top scorer with the 26 goals he scored in only 21 matches, playing a vital role in the club's winning the title.
Regarded as one of the
Benfica top goal scorers ever
, Torres helped the club to the conquest of 9 Majestic championships in Primeira Liga, as well as 4 Taca de Portugual titles and reaching the final of European Cup on 3 occasions, even though none of them were secured by the Eagles.
Moreover, he was the 1964-65 European Cup leading goal scorer, which was a bittersweet success as they lost the final match to Internazional. Torres left Benfica after 12 years of glory, to continue his scoring with the clubs
Vitoria de Setubaland
Estroil.
Furthermore, he has won 33 caps with Portuguese national team, scoring 14 goals. He took part in 1966 World Cup, where by netting the ball 3 times, he was a key factor in Portugal finishing the tournament in the 3rd place.
His memory will always be cherished by the club fans, as he is one of the
Benfica all-time top scorers
, as well as being a highly decorated player in the history book of the Reds.
Nene (361)
Full name: Tamagnini Manuel Gomes Batista
Date of birth: 20 November 1949 (age 70)
Place of birth: Leça da Palmeira, Portugal
Height: 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position(s): Striker
Tamagnini Manuel Gomes Batista, born 20 November 1949, known as Nené, is a retired Portuguese professional footballer. A prolific striker, he played his entire career with Benfica, appearing in nearly 600 official games for the club and winning 19 titles, a record for several years.
Nene was a one-club man who spent the entirety of his 18-year career with Benfica. Not only is Nene the 3rd-highest goal scorer among top scorers in Benfica of all time, he is also one of the most decorated players in the history of the club by claiming 19 major trophies; 10 Portuguese League titles, 7 Portuguese Cups and 2 Portuguese Super Cups.
Furthermore, he was a Part of the Benfica team that became the first club to win all Portuguese trophies (League- Cup- Super Cup) in one season in 1980-81. Moreover, he was a key player in reaching the 1982-83 European Cup final, where they lost to the Belgian club
Anderlecht.
He made his debut with Benfica's shirt in 1968, and went on to appear in 577 matches, as well as scoring 361 goals until he hung his boots in 1986, thus being regarded as one of the
all-time top goal scorers in Benfica history
.
The innate-gifted striker has finished the Primeira Liga as the top scorer twice. Moreover, he was named the Portuguese Footballer of the Year in 1971.
Nene is deservedly one of the most popular persons among the fans, due to his astounding performances on the pitch, his expertise in scoring and the titles he has achieved with the club.
Jose Aguas (379)
Full name: José Pinto Carvalho Santos Águas
Date of birth: 9 November 1930
Place of birth: Luanda, Angola
Date of death: 10 December 2000 (aged 70)
Place of death: Lisbon, Portugal
Height: 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position(s): Striker
José Pinto de Carvalho Santos Águas (9 November 1930 – 10 December 2000) was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker.
Aguas spent 13 years of his career with the Reds, and became a legend in the history of the club by scoring numerous goals, that has stood him in the 2nd place in the list of Benfica top scorers of all time. He commenced his career with a local team called Lusitano Lobito, before moving to Benfica in 1950.
During 13 years, Aguas helped the club win 5 Primeira Liga titles, 7 Portuguese Cups and 2 consecutive European Champion Clubs' Cups in 1961 and 1962. He was the captain of the team in both of the European Cups, and was the top scorer of the tournament in the former one.
The eagles reached the final match for the 3rd time in-a-row in 1963, but they could not win the final match without having Aguas in the line-up. Moreover, he was known for his stunning goal scoring abilities especially by headers.
To clarify the point, Aguas has been Primeira Liga's top scorer on 5 occasions, as well as finishing the Taca de Portugal (Portuguese Cup) as the top scorer 4 times, which clearly describes the extent to which he was a scoring adept.
Considered as one of the unquestionable all-time top goal scorers in Benfica history, both in terms of the number of goals and the percentage of success in his attempts, he has scored 379 goals in only 384 matches for Benfica, an average of nearly one goal per match, which is an incredible and scarce record. Moreover, Aguas has won 25 caps with Portuguese national team, scoring 11 goals.
Eusebio (473)
Full name: Eusébio da Silva Ferreira
Date of birth: 25 January 1942
Place of birth: Lourenço Marques, Mozambique
Date of death: 5 January 2014 (aged 71)
Place of death: Lisbon, Portugal
Height: 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position(s): Striker
Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014) was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker.
Eusebio is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, one of the best Portuguese players in history, the greatest African-born player ever and the best player in Benfica history. He spent 14 years-from 1961 to 1975- with Benfica, helping them dominating the country's football.
He has won 11 Primeira Liga titles, 5 Portuguese Cups and 1 European Champion Clubs' Cup, as well as playing the key role in reaching 3 more European finals with the Reds. He also was a part of the squads that finished 2 back-to-back Intercontinental cups in 1961 and 62 as runner-up.
Moreover, Eusebio holds the record of the most Portuguese League top scorer awards won by a player, by finishing the League as the leading scorer 7 times. Additionally, he was the European Cup top scorer on 3 occasions. By Scoring 473 goals in only 440 matches for Benfica, he has put his name above every other name in the list of Benfica highest goal scorers ever.
In 1968, he became the first player to have ever won the European Golden Boot, as the top scorer of the season in European counties' domestic leagues, an award which was replicated by him in 1973. Besides, with 48 goals, Eusebio is the 8th-highest goal scorer in European Cup history.
Furthermore, Eusebio has made 64 appearances for Portuguese national team, representing them in 1966 World Cup, a tournament in which he was the top scorer with 9 goals, won the Bronze Ball and played the most pivotal role in Portugal finishing 3rd.
He won the Ballon d'Or in 1965, as the European Footballer of the year, and was runner-up in 1962 and 1966. Moreover, the legendary striker was named in FIFA XI twice.
Regarded as not only the unrivaled leader in the list of highest goal scorers in Benfica of all time, but he is also considered as one of the greatest goal scorers in the history of football by scoring the amazing number of 733 goals in 745 appearances.
The prolific Portuguese genius was renowned for his pace, powerful shots and technique with the ball. These characteristics alongside his outstanding intelligence and wide vision have gained him the nickname "Black Panther".
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