| Eusébio Cup | |
| Organiser: | Benfica |
| Founded: | 2008 |
| Number Of Teams: | 2 |
| Current Champions: | Benfica (5th title) |
| Most Successful Club: | Benfica (5 titles) |
| Broadcasters: | BTV |
The Eusébio Cup is a pre-season friendly football match hosted by Portuguese club S.L. Benfica since 2008. It has been played mostly at their home stadium, Estádio da Luz, with the two exceptions being the 2015 and 2018 editions (played at Estadio BBVA and Estádio Algarve, respectively).
The two-team competition is named after former Benfica player and Portugal international Eusébio,[1] [2] who presented the trophy to the winning team until 2013, before his death in January 2014. There were plans to extend the number of participants to four,[3] a move that Eusébio himself was in favor of,[4] but no changes were ever made in that regard.
The cup's first edition was won by Inter Milan, with the other winners being Benfica (2009, 2011, 2012, 2022, 2024), Tottenham (2010), São Paulo (2013), Ajax (2014), Monterrey (2015), Torino (2016) – in a match that also served to honour the memory of the Grande Torino team who died in the Superga air disaster[5] – and Lyon (2018). No invited team, also including runners-up AC Milan, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Newcastle United and Feyenoord, has participated in more than one edition.
The invitational match has been played in late July and early August, and it was played annually and without interruption until 2016.[6] Despite two tries,[7] [8] there was no edition in 2017. A year later, the Eusébio Cup returned as part of the 2018 International Champions Cup.[6] The competition was revived after a three-year hiatus, in 2022.[9] The match was not played in 2023 and returned once again the following year.[10]
The Eusébio Cup trophy is made out of glass and bears the name of the match and its winners. Moreover, it features a figure of Eusébio, on the top, performing his trademark shooting technique. The figure is similar to Eusébio's statue outside Estádio da Luz. The trophy is symbolic because it is dedicated to Eusébio, who is considered one of the greatest footballers of all time, and Benfica's greatest.
The following is a list of television channels who broadcast the matches for Portugal.
| Year | Broadcaster | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–2009 | SIC | ||
| 2010 | Benfica TV | ||
| 2011 | TVI | [11] | |
| 2012 | RTP | [12] | |
| 2013–2016 | Benfica TV | ||
| 2018 | Sport TV | ||
| 2022, 2024 | Benfica TV |
| Team | Winners | Runners-up | Year(s) won | Year(s) runners-up | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benfica | 5 | 7 | 2009, 2011, 2012, 2022, 2024 | 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018 | |
| Inter Milan | 1 | — | 2008 | — | |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 1 | — | 2010 | — | |
| São Paulo | 1 | — | 2013 | — | |
| Ajax | 1 | — | 2014 | — | |
| Monterrey | 1 | — | 2015 | — | |
| Torino | 1 | — | 2016 | — | |
| Lyon | 1 | — | 2018 | — | |
| Milan | — | 1 | — | 2009 | |
| Arsenal | — | 1 | — | 2011 | |
| Real Madrid | — | 1 | — | 2012 | |
| Newcastle United | — | 1 | — | 2022 | |
| Feyenoord | — | 1 | — | 2024 |