A fortnight of broken dreams: so near yet so far for Nuno Espírito Santo’s 2014 Rio Ave | OneFootball

On Sunday evening Rio Ave host Benfica in one of the standout Liga Portugal fixtures of the weekend. The modest northern team have established themselves as a staple in the top flight over recent decades, although a podium finish and silverware still eludes them.

PortuGOAL’s resident football historian Miguel Lourenço Pereira looks back at the season when they came closer than ever, reaching the final of both domestic cups only to be thwarted by Jorge Jesus’s all-conquering Benfica.

Elusive maiden trophy

Rio Ave might consider themselves one of the unluckiest teams ever to play in a cup final in Portuguese football. The small side from Vila do Conde have managed to reach three finals in their whole history, but, unlike other minnows who took home silverware, fate had it they were forced to play against the nation’s two biggest football institutions.

In 1984, the club coached by Mourinho Félix, José’s father, went all the way to the Jamor only to be beaten harshly by FC Porto in what was the legendary Dragons’ coach José Maria Pedroto’s final trophy, despite his absence from the bench due to his life-ending illness. Then, in 2013-14, they went one better and qualified not for one but two finals, the League Cup as well as the Portuguese Cup. Sadly, for them, they had to face the same rival, an over-performing Benfica under Jorge Jesus on their way to a historical treble.

Those two matches against the Eagles were heartbreaking for the humble supporters from the club of a fisherman’s town twenty minutes north of Porto, but it also allowed them to debut in European football, where they have played four times since.

The Benfica 1-0 Rio Ave League Cup final match report

Caxinas: of fishermen and footballers

Rio Ave was a football club almost unknown to many for the majority of the 20th century, but now any football supporter knows all about the Caxineiros. That legacy started to be built in the late 1970s, a time when the nearby rivals of Varzim were also experiencing their golden hour. Under the management of Mourinho Félix, a former international goalkeeper who had played mostly for Vitória FC and Belenenses, they were promoted to the first tier and became the talk of the town in the early eighties by playing offensive and attractive football at a time when their small dirt ground known as the Avenida, was packed full of enthusiastic local supporters. Most came from the fishermen’s neighbourhood of Caxinas, a humble but proud background that helped define the identity of the football club from an early age.

Caxinas, Vila do Conde and nearby Varzim have proved to be a hotbed of football talent, the region spawning talents such as Fábio Coentrão, Bruno Alves, Hélder Postiga, Luís Neto and André André, all of whom went on to become full Portugal internationals. Coentrão in particular is an interesting case study, the former left-back going into the fishing industry after a brilliant career shining for the likes of Benfica, Real Madrid, Sporting and Rio Ave, not to mention the Seleção.

The Mourinhos and Rio Ave

A young José Mourinho played at Rio Ave occasionally for a couple of seasons under the management of his father before embracing a different role that would take him to other heights. When his father left, Rio Ave went briefly downhill before getting back into the elite in the 1990s.

They have been a regular presence in Liga Portugal ever since, give or take the odd relegation season. In 2013 Rio Ave had been playing in the top flight for five consecutive seasons, a club record then, and in 2009 they even reached the Portuguese Cup semi-finals for the first time in twenty-five years. Once again, they felt the fate of destiny going against them as they were forced to play against Porto, and once again were left to swallow their tears.

Rio Ave player ratings in the 2014 Taça da Liga final, as per A Bola

The Mendes connection

Having finished sixth – three points shy of a European place and above Sporting – and reaching the League Cup semis for the first time, there were high hopes regarding the 2013-14 season. Nuno Espírito Santo, the man responsible for the previous season’s success, was still there as were many of their key players. The club had been known to be part of a network connected directly with football agent Jorge Mendes, who helped the Rioavistas sign key players for the project as well as opening a door for them outside of the Portuguese league.

Nuno Espírito Santo himself, in his days as a goalkeeper, had been the first client on Mendes’ books, right at the start of his transition from nightclub manager to one of the world’s most powerful football agents. The two have remained close ever since.

Having got so near to playing in the Europa League, local supporters started to picture a scenario where this project would convert the club into a regular contender for European spots. That would have been the case if it wasn’t for two extraordinary and unexpected over-performing seasons by Paulo Fonseca’s Paços de Ferreira, who finished third and qualified for a Champions League playoff, and Marco Silva’s Estoril, who finished a place above Nuno’s men. Three managerial names that became part of the elite of Portuguese coaches over the following decade.

Double date with Benfica booked

Things didn’t turn out quite as expected, though. Rio Ave finished the league in eleventh, far from Nacional who finished fifth, thus qualifying for Europe having managed thirteen points more than the Caxineiros. Yet not everything was bad news. While disappointing in league football, Rio Ave excelled in two cup runs. In the League Cup they bested the competition in the first group stage by overcoming Paços de Ferreira and Vitória Setúbal and then lashed out Sporting Braga in the semis, thanks to goals from Hassan and Braga. On 7 May they were due to play Benfica in the final at the Dr. Magalhães Pessoa stadium in Leiria.

By then they also knew the Eagles would be their opponents in Portuguese Cup final too, at the showpiece season-ending match played at the iconic Jamor stadium. They had beaten Esperança Lagos and Sertanense in the earlier rounds and then did the same against two historical sides with strong cup pedigree in the form as Vitória FC and Académica to find themselves once again in the semis of the competition. As in the League Cup, while Benfica faced FC Porto, they were to meet Braga and after a goalless draw away, a two-goal win at home confirmed their presence in the Cup final for only the second time in their history.

Two finals in eleven days

The League Cup was to be played on 7 May and the Cup final on the 18th of the same month. For a fortnight the Benfica versus Rio Ave story was all that mattered in Portuguese football. The Eagles had comfortably won the league for the first time in four seasons, in what was Jorge Jesus’s second championship title after having suffered a devastating blow against their rivals Porto on the dying seconds of the penultimate match the previous year at the Dragão. They were all in for a historic Treble. No side in Portugal had ever won the three domestic competitions in the same season.

The league champions had many talented stars in their ranks and Jesus played a starting eleven full of internationals such as Jan Oblak in goal – he who had played for Rio Ave the previous season – as well as Luisão, Maxi Pereira, Ezequiel Garay, Enzo Pérez, Nico Gaitán, Lazar Markovic, Lima, Rodrigo Moreno and Rúben Amorim. Nuno, on the other hand, went with Hugo Ventura in goal and Lionn, Alberto Rodriguez, Marcelo, Edimar, Felipe Augusto, Rúben Ribeiro, Ukra, Pedro Santos, Tarantino and Hassan up front. Surprisingly enough, both Braga and Ederson, the future Benfica goalkeeper once Oblak moved out to Madrid, were sitting on the bench for the Leiria match.

Benfica player ratings for the 2014 Taça da Liga final, as per A Bola

Ruthless Benfica make good on their favouritism

As expected, the Eagles pressed strongly right from the start and dominated proceedings, but they weren’t able to hurt Rio Ave up until the moment when a corner, with five minutes on the clock for the first half, was won down the left side of their attack. Gaitán crossed onto Amorim’s head as he assisted Rodrigo on the right who shot on goal. There was little Ventura could do to prevent it and Nuno’s helpless face said it all.

Rio Ave would concede more chances as the match resumed and Benfica never felt in real danger and with twenty minutes to go, they scored their second and final goal of the night. This time Ventura was to blame as he went for a long cross into the crowd from Peréz and was left wanting. Luisão had the simple task of heading the ball into the empty net as the Rio Ave players looked to their goalkeeper in disbelief, after he had been one of the best players on the night. For Benfica it was done. One down, one to go, while Rio Ave now looked upon Jamor to make amends hoping for a different outcome next time around.

Benfica completely dominated the first final

Ederson vs. Oblak between the sticks

For the Jamor showdown Nuno brought in Ederson in place of the unfortunate Ventura in goal and Braga replaced Hassan. Jesus, on the other hand, selected Salvio and André Almeida instead of Markovic and Siqueira. A sunny afternoon in Oeiras and a stadium almost entirely decked out in red, as to be expected, kicked-off in chaos as several supporters were unable to reach their seats and suffered from the chronic inability of the FPF’s organisation crew for the Cup Final, an issue repeated year after year that has as much to do with the architecture of the ground as with the lack of expertise of the organisers.

Jan Oblak would be replaced as Benfica goalkeeper by... Rio Ave’s Ederson. Two of the world's best goalkeepers of the 21st century played for both clubs

Ironically, this was supposed to have been a happy celebration of the 75th anniversary of the competition. Benfica supporters hoped for a different outcome than the inaugural edition when they were the losing side against Académica. The Eagles had not won the trophy in 10 years, their last win a curious affair as they defeated José Mourinho’s Porto who a couple of days later won the Champions League in Gelsenkirchen.

Benfica end 10-year drought

Once the ball started to roll, as in the previous match, Benfica controlled the run of play and scored as early as in the League Cup final. In the 20th minute Nicolás Gaitan shot from outside the box with his right foot, the culmination of a brilliant combination play between several Benfica players, as their opponents could only watch in dismay. As the stadium erupted in celebration, Jesus looked at the watch knowing that time was on his side and the only national trophy he was yet to win was there for the taking.

Differently to the League Cup final, not much happened afterwards. Benfica were happy to control the game and Rio Ave never showed the ability or knowhow to overcome a far superior rival in every sense. When Lionn was sent off in the dying minutes, the Caxinas side had already thrown in the towel, forced to celebrate coming second-best once again. It was a fortnight that could have ended in glory but finished in tears.

"Before the club hoped for something, now it fights for everything" - Rio Ave coach Nuno Espírito Santos in 2014

Still, for such a small club to play in two different cup finals in the course of the same season had never been heard of before, proving the merits of Nuno’s side. The coach eventually left the club for Valencia and although Rio Ave would then perform well enough in the league, and have made the Europa League on four occasions, they were never as near to winning a trophy as during those two weeks.

JJ’s Benfica make history

Benfica had concluded a historic Treble. Never again have any team won all three domestic competitions in the same season. The 2013/14 campaign marked the most memorable period of Jorge Jesus’ tenure at the helm of the club.

The domestic treble of the Primeira Liga championship, Portuguese Cup & League Cup has never been repeated

They would celebrate three more consecutive league titles, for a club record four in the row, but Jesus would only be there for the following season before he shook Portuguese football to the core by crossing the Segunda Circular and signing for Lisbon rivals Sporting. He would be back at Jamor with the Lions to suffer what was perhaps the most painful defeat of his career against a side from a town a few miles east of Vila do Conde. But that, as they say, is another story.