Porto club approached the century. Twenty-first, but Benfica is still the king of “doubles”

With their victory in the Portuguese Cup last Sunday, FC Porto concluded the 26th “double” in Portuguese football and the ninth in its history. Benfica is the club that has won the championship and cup the most times in the same season, having achieved this feat on 11 occasions.

The Blues and Whites have a more favorable recent history, with six “doubles” in the new century, and from there they actually outperformed Sporting, who follows it six times over the course of history.

The first time this phenomenon occurred dates back to the 1940/41 season, when Josef Szabo was coach of Sporting. In the 1950s, an intriguing fact occurred, which included the three “double” Portuguese soccer greats in three consecutive seasons: Sporting (1953/54), Benfica (1954/55) and Porto (1955/56).)

Benfica and Porto share the lead in terms of the largest chain of ‘doubles’. Between 1956/57 and 1971/72, the Reds achieved the achievement four times, a record equal to Dragons in the New Century, between 2002/03 and 2010/11.

Despite the four “complications” achieved in the first two decades of the twentieth century. In the twenty-first century, the eighties still lead this phenomenon, which has been repeated on five occasions.

Otto Gloria remains the king of “doubles”, winning the awards three times in the same sports year (1954/55, 1956/57 and 1968/69). Next up is Joseph Szabo (1940/41 and 1953/54) and Sergio Conceicao (2019/20 and 2021/22), both with two.

The 26 “doubles” of Portuguese football:

1940/41: Sporting

1942/43: Benfica

1947/48: Sporting

1953/54: Sporting

1954/55: Benfica

1955/56: FC Porto

1956/57: Benfica

1963/64: Benfica

1968/69: Benfica

1971/72: Benfica

1973/74: Sporting

1980/81: Benfica

1981/82: Sporting

1982/83: Benfica

1986/87: Benfica

1987/88: FC Porto

1997/98: FC Porto

2001/2002: Sporting

2002/03: Porto

2005/06: FC Porto

2008/09: Porto

2010/11: Porto

2013/14: Benfica

2016/17: Benfica

2019/20: Porto

2021/22: Porto

Total by club: Benfica, 11 years old; Porto, 9; Sporting, 6.