1997: Graeme Souness And Benfica's British Invasion

Welcome back to the 1990s sports blog. In this piece we're going to take a look back at Graeme Souness' short time in charge of Portuguese giants Benfica and the band of British players he took with him to the Estadio da Luz. 

It might have come as a surprise to many in the football fraternity in the late autumn of 1997 when Graeme Souness was unveiled as manager of Benfica. While he had won almost every honour possible during his stellar playing career with Liverpool and Rangers, his CV in management left a little bit to be desired. Despite being at the beginning of the David Murray-bankrolled era and re-establishing Rangers as a force to be reckoned with in Scotland, his spell as Liverpool manager ended in disaster while a short reign at Galatasaray is probably best remembered for his flag-planting antics that almost sparked a riot while the less said about his time at Southampton and Ali Dia the better. 

Despite his legendary status as a Liverpool player, Graeme Souness was one of a long line of managers who failed to bring the glory days back to Anfield

By the time of Souness' appointment in November 1997, Benfica were in somewhat of a barren phase of their own. They hadn't won the Primera Liga title since 1994 with their most recent honour coming in the shape of the Taca de Portugal in 1996 while you had to go as far back as 1962 for the last time they got their hands on a European honour after the great side containing the likes of the legendary Eusebio and Jaime Graca had retained the European Cup. 

Under a new club president, Benfica had turned to Souness in order to bring glory back to Estadio Da Luz and the former Scotland international immediately got to work in the transfer market bringing in Sheffield United striker Brian Deane and British-based Czech midfielder Karel Poborsky from Manchester United to join ex-Chelsea left back Scott Minto who had joined the club in the summer of 1997. 

The impact of Souness' appointment and the new signings as well as the emergence of talented players such as young striker Nuno Gomes helped the club recover from their third place finish the previous year to improve to second place and make a return to the Champions League for the 1998-99 season while Souness was rewarded by being retained for the following season. 

In a summer that saw further new faces arrive in Lisbon, two more British players made the jump from England to Portugal. Souness utilised his Liverpool connections to bring former England midfielder Michael Thomas to the club and he was joined by Welsh left winger Mark Pembridge who swapped Sheffield Wednesday for Portugal's sunnier climes. 

Michael Thomas, a First Division champion with Arsenal in 1989, made the move to Benfica under Souness in July 1998. 

In the December of 1998 following the departure of Brian Deane to Midlesbrough, Pembridge's Wales international team-mate, Dean Saunders signed for the club allowing him to link up with Souness for the third time in his career after playing under him at Liverpool and Galatasaray and after Christmas he was joined by two further British imports. After first-choice transfer target Oleg Luzhny decided to join Arsenal, Souness and Benfica turned to Aston Villa right-back Gary Charles while former Liverpool left-back Steve Harkness (who had been given his Reds first-team debut by Souness in 1992) also joined the cause. 

Despite starting the season well, Souness and his imports soon faded behind eventual champions FC Porto and second placed Boavista and only just managed to secure third place after being as low as fifth and in danger of missing out on European football at one stage. The club didn't fare much better in the Champions League, winning just two matches on their way to being eliminated in the group stage while they also suffered an early exit from the Taca de Portugal. With pressure mounting and results on the slide, Souness was eventually sacked in May 1999. 

In the aftermath of Souness' departure, Benfica made former Bayern Munich and Real Madrid boss Jupp Heyneckes their new manager and the German made sweeping changes to the playing staff which precipitated the departure of the British players. 

Dean Saunders' time at Benfica failed to prove prolific as the veteran Welsh striker found the net just five times

After just 19 appearances (and some Champions League experience) Mark Pembridge was the first to leave during Heyneckes' cull when he left to join Everton in an £800,000 deal while a return of five goals from 17 games wasn't enough to keep Dean Saunders at the club and he swiftly joined Premier League new boys Bradford City. Gary Charles' time in Portugal was plagued by the same injury problems that had blighted his career and he returned to England, joining his boyhood club West Ham. 

Just after the season had begun, Steve Harkness was the next of Souness' imports to leave, after just five months and nine appearances the former Liverpool man (who had elected to wear 'Steve' on his shirt as opposed to his surname during his time in Lisbon) joined recently relegated Blackburn's quest to get back into the Premier League. Michael Thomas was in fact the last of the British players to leave Benfica when he joined Wimbledon at the end of the 1999-2000 season after spending the majority of the campaign in the reserve team. 

We may never see another exodus of British players to one foreign club again but for many connected to Benfica, the period remains an interesting chapter in the club's history. 

Thanks for taking a look at this article. If you enjoyed it why not get in touch on Twitter @DanBarkerGray.