IN CONTENTION
By the time the final comes around in May, the curse of Bela Guttmann will be almost 60 years old. The last man to lead Benfica to a European trophy famously declared: “Not in a hundred years from now will Benfica ever be European champions again,” and so far he has been right. No side has lost more European finals, most recently in backto-back Europa League finals against Chelsea in 2013 and Sevilla in 2014.
The man in charge of those defeats was Jorge Jesus, who returned to the club in August having won the Copa Libertadores with Flamengo. After a busy summer, he may well be optimistic of ending the curse. Outstanding young centre-back Ruben Dias has been replaced by experienced duo Nicolas Otamendi and Jan Vertonghen, with forwards Luca Waldschmidt, Darwin Nunez and Everton also arriving to give Benfica a squad of both knowhow and talent.
How Leicester City approach the competition will be intriguing. Premier League sides often struggle to strike a balance between the Europa League and their domestic commitments, yet Brendan Rodgers has built a squad of genuine depth. Playing in Europe for the first time since reaching the Champions League quarter-finals in 2016-17, the Foxes must be considered contenders.
Bayer Leverkusen and Roma will also expect to reach the latter stages, although whether their reconfigured attacks can take them all the way remains to be seen. The Germans have signed Patrik Schick to replace last season’s top scorers, Kai Havertz and Kevin Volland, while the Italian side have added a wealth of experience in the form of Pedro (Chelsea) and Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Arsenal).