Portugal faired no better: Sporting (Lisbon) made a double. It was more an example of the sharp decline of Benfica than anything. The most memorable feature of Sporting was the Argentine striker Hector Yazalde – he scored 46 goals and got the Golden Boot. And because of that was included in the Argentine squad for the World Cup. Well, Portugal failed to qualify, but at least had a representative at the finals. Only one.

Double winners, thanks to Argentine feet.Hector Yazalde, the great scorer, descending the stairs… may be prophetically: neither Sporting, nor Argentina impressed in 1974. Portuguese football was in a crisis, which was to last until the 1980s. Doomed to failure after failure, of which Sporting is perhaps the best example – the ‘people’s’ club lost its second-best position in Portugal during the 70s. And never recovered it.