Lisbon, a familiar stomping ground for Koeman
Koeman is back in Lisbon, but this time as FC Barcelona coach, on what is likely to be a special night for the Dutchman. It's been 15 years since he was at the helm in Benfica, during a season of ups and downs in 2005/06.
Benfica finished third in the Portuguese league that season with 67 points, some distance behind FC Porto and Sporting Clube, who finished on 79 and 72 points respectively. They exited the domestic cup early at the quarter-final stage, but put on a stronger showing in the Champions League, classifying from a group containing Manchester United, Lille, and Villarreal, before eliminating Liverpool in the round of 16. The quarter final saw them drawn against Barça.
After a 0-0 in Lisbon, Barça won 2-0 in the Camp Nou, before going on to win their second Champions League title.
Familiar faces
Ronald Koeman's Benfica squad contained two ex-Barça players in Simão Sabrosa and Geovanni Deiberson, as well as other well-known players, such as Nuno Gomes and Georgios Karagounis.