1992–93 S.L. Benfica season Eriksson left the club after three seasons, following a trophyless 1991–92 season. As his successor, Benfica brought in Croatian manager Tomislav Ivić, who had arrived in Portugal in 1987 to represent Porto and guided them to four trophies in one season. Ivić chose Shéu to be his assistant, instead of Toni, who had been Eriksson's assistant as well as Benfica's manager during Ivić's previous tenure at Porto. One of Ivić's first demands was to reduce the width of the Estádio da Luz pitch to simulate the smaller fields that the team would encounter in away games. Benfica started the season
2006–07 S.L. Benfica season from three losses and a draw before December. In Europe, the situation was similar; Benfica never recovered a five-point deficit to Celtic by day three, ending with seven points and demotion to the UEFA Cup. From December until April, Benfica regained lost ground in the Primeira Liga, climbing to second place—a point away from Porto, which was also advancing until the quarter-finals of UEFA Cup In April, Benfica had the opportunity to reach the league's top place if they won the Clássico with Porto; however, they only managed a 1–1 draw. It was the first of five winless games that