The 2007–08 European football season was the 104th of S.L. Benfica's existence and the club's 74th consecutive season in the top flight of Portuguese football. The season ran from 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2008, and Benfica competed domestically in the Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal and Taça da Liga. The club also participated in the UEFA Champions League after finishing third in the Primeira Liga the previous season.
Fernando Santos remained for a second season, which saw significant financial investment. To counter-weight the loss of influential players such as Simão, Miccoli, Giorgos Karagounis and Manuel Fernandes, Benfica signed Óscar Cardozo, David Luiz, Ángel Di María, Maxi Pereira, Cristian Rodríguez and more than ten others.
Santos remained for only two games: a UEFA Champions League qualifying match against Copenhagen and the Primeira Liga opener against Leixões. He was sacked and replaced by José Antonio Camacho, who affirmed the club's presence in top European competition and guided them to second place. In October and November, Benfica was eliminated from the Taça da Liga and the Champions League respectively, securing a UEFA Cup berth by finishing third in the latter. Over the next three months, Camacho's team became increasingly erratic, qualifying for the Portuguese Cup semi-finals but losing crucial points in the league race.
In early March, Camacho resigned after three consecutive league draws, citing his inability to motivate the club. His assistant Fernando Chalana then took over, but Benfica continued to disappoint; they were eliminated in the UEFA Cup and mired in second place in mid-March. In April, the situation deteriorated further; Benfica matched their worst league defeat in 60 years, slipped to fourth place, and was knocked out of the Portuguese Cup by Sporting CP. An away draw in May's opening game left the club dangerously close to finishing fourth. One week later, fans had the bitter-sweet experience of celebrating Rui Costa's final match and seeing Benfica finish fourth, their worst finish since 2001–02.
Season summary
Pre-season During Benfica's season-ending North American tour after the last game of 2006–07, Fernando Santos spoke to the media about his plans for the upcoming season. As promised by club president Luís Filipe Vieira, the club would spend more on new players to build a team capable of winning the title. Simão was crucial; according to Santos, "I cannot see myself without Simão". In addition, he wanted to keep Fabrizio Miccoli and sign a new striker who could be a target man. The club's first addition was winger Fábio Coentrão in March, followed by defenders Marco Zoro and David Luiz in May; the latter signed a five-year contract after performing well on loan. In June, Benfica began their promised investments, spending over €9 million on Óscar Cardozo from Newell's Old Boys and a reported €2.5 million on Gonzalo Bergessio. Both added options to an offence composed solely of Nuno Gomes and Mantorras, since Fabrizio Miccoli and Derlei did not renew their loan agreements. Breaking with tradition, Benfica did not tour abroad; they remained at the club's new training center, Benfica Campus. Santos also decided not to participate in the Teresa Herrera Trophy, since the tournament was too close to Benfica's first league match.
On 2 July, the club began their pre-season preparations, with medical tests in the morning followed by an afternoon training session attended by 3,000 supporters. From the beginning, Santos lost players who had been the backbone of the previous season's team; Giorgos Karagounis departed first and Anderson pressed for a transfer, deliberately missing a pre-season match. On the pitch, Benfica played RM Hamm Benfica on 8 July and CFR Cluj on the 21st. Santos experienced a major loss with the transfer of Simão to Atlético Madrid on 26 July. The 28-year-old winger had been with the club for six seasons and the top scorer for four; according to Santos, the prospect of losing him was a "horrible nightmare". To replace him, Benfica signed the 19-year-old Argentine Ángel Di María from Rosario Central. Before playing in the Guadiana Trophy on 3 and 5 August, Benfica lost 2–1 to Al Ahly in Egypt. At the Guadiana Trophy, Benfica drew with Real Betis and defeated Lisbon rivals Sporting CP, ending their pre-season preparations four days later with a match against Estrela da Amadora.
August–September Benfica's first competitive match hosted Copenhagen on 14 August in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. Santos was confident in a win due to his familiarity with Copenhagen's style, since Benfica had played them twice in the past tournament. In the match, Rui Costa scored two long-range goals for a 2–1 win. Santos was pleased, despite Copenhagen's goal disconcerting his team. The next day, Benfica accepted an offer for Manuel Fernandes from Everton. His departure troubled Santos, since Fernandes had been a growing influence on the team during the pre-season. On 18 August, Benfica began their Primeira Liga campaign against Leixões. Without the injured Luisão or Ángel Di María, the club lost their first points in a 1–1 draw after a 94th-minute equaliser. The slip had an immediate impact, with Luís Filipe Vieira sacking Santos two games into the season. Santos, caught off guard, said, "I am not hurt, maybe just surprised". Benfica immediately signed José Antonio Camacho, who had managed the team from 2002 to 2004, to replace him. Camacho was happy to return, acknowledging that his friendship with Vieira played an important role in his quick hiring. In his first game, Camacho could not lead Benfica past Vitória de Guimarães, who earned a scoreless draw at Estádio da Luz. Benfica signed more players: Uruguayans Maxi Pereira and Cristian Rodríguez first, followed by Brazilian centre-back Edcarlos. In the last match of August, Benfica confirmed their place in the group stage of the Champions League with an away win in Parken Stadium. The next day, the club was drawn into group D alongside Milan, Celtic and Shakhtar Donetsk.
On 2 September, Benfica played Nacional at the Estádio da Choupana. They scored their first goal in the 17th minute, adding two more in the second half for their first league win. A delighted Camacho said, "I liked the second half a lot. We were much better altogether." After a two-week international break, Benfica resumed competition against Naval on the 15th. Cristian Rodríguez scored the opener in the 22nd minute, followed by Rui Costa a few minutes later. In the second half, Nuno Gomes scored the third and final goal. Although Camacho was pleased with the win, he was concerned about his team's early performance. Three days later, Benfica visited the San Siro to play Milan. Their opening game in the group stage did not go as planned; they conceded an early goal by Andrea Pirlo, who scored again with an assist by Filippo Inzaghi. Nuno Gomes scored in the 92nd minute of the 2–1 loss. Camacho was philosophical: "You pay for every mistake you make against a side like Milan. I don't blame our lack of experience because we were facing the best team in Europe." On 23 September, Benfica played Braga at the Municipal de Braga; both teams failed to convert several goal opportunities for a scoreless draw. Camacho was unconcerned with the result, since the league race had many matches remaining. Benfica played Estrela da Amadora at the Estádio da Reboleira in the third round of the new League Cup the following Wednesday, winning on penalty kicks and advancing to the next round. September ended with the Lisbon derby against Sporting CP. For the second time in a week, Benfica could not break their opponent's defence, conceding their fourth draw of the season. Camacho attributed the result to wasted opportunities: "We only failed in scoring. We had many shots; many were good, but football is like this."
October–November October began with the club hosting Shakhtar Donetsk in a 1–0 loss to Mircea Lucescu's team on a goal by Jádson. After the game Camacho said, "We played some decent football and although at times we had five, six, seven men in the area, the ball refused to go in." On 7 October, Benfica visited the Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa to play União de Leiria. Despite conceding an early goal, the partnership of Cardozo and Nuno Gomes was successful; Gomes scored twice to give Benfica the three points. After a two-week break for international matches, Benfica's season resumed on 20 October with a League Cup match against Vitória de Setúbal. Camacho made many changes in the starting eleven, which nearly cost him the game. A 12th-minute Setúbal goal was not matched until the 94th minute, by Freddy Adu. Despite the near-loss, Camacho said, "I am satisfied with our performance. The players worked well and he had many chances to score." The following Wednesday, Benfica hosted Celtic for matchday three of the Champions League. They continued struggling to convert goal opportunities, hitting the goal post twice in quick succession before finally breaking Celtic's defence with an 87th-minute winning goal by Cardozo. Camacho praised his players for not giving up and staying calm under pressure. On 28 October, Benfica hosted Marítimo for the Primeira Liga. Although Kanú scored first for Marítimo in the eighth minute, Cardozo evened the score ten minutes later. Marítimo had an opportunity to regain the lead when Quim incurred a penalty and was sent off but his replacement, Hans-Jörg Butt, stopped the penalty kick. In the second half, Adu scored the winning goal for ten-men Benfica in the 87th minute. Camacho said about teams like Marítimo, "We have to change our mentality and never relax, because for teams like Marítimo or Vitória de Setúbal, their 'Champions League' is facing Benfica." On the last day of October, Benfica visited the Estádio do Bonfim for their second game against Vitória de Setúbal, and the remodelled team led at half-time. During the second half Setúbal, pushing hard, scored twice to knock Benfica out of the League Cup. Camacho said, "We were eliminated because they were better. It was a fair loss."