Former great in charge – for now – as Luís Filipe Vieira steps aside amid inquiry into alleged tax fraud and money laundering
Rui Costa’s first assignment as Benfica’s president wasn’t exactly what he might have expected. Two days after the elegant midfielder who won 94 caps for Portugal replaced Luís Filipe Vieira, arrested last week as part of the Operation Red Card investigation into alleged tax fraud and money laundering, Costa watched the club’s women’s roller hockey team clinch the double by thrashing Infante Sagres 7-0 in the cup final on Sunday.
“We wanted to give him his first title as president,” said the forward Maria Sofia Silva. “We’ve been working all year for this – it’s the DNA of Benfica.”