TURIN- After winning his second European Championship with Benfica, manager Bèla Guttmann went to the clubs board to ask for a bonus and was denied. So hacked off was poor Bèla, that he issued a curse condemning Benfica to a 100 years without a European Trophy, or so the story goes.

 Football fans are known to be a fairly suspicious bunch, but the idea of a 100 year curse is farfetched even for them. That said, Benfica are enduring a European dry spell that would make Morrisey blush. Benfica had beaten Manchester United and Juventus on their way to the final.

 They faced on Wednesday a Seville side who had qualified for the tournament on a technicality, after Malaga had been forbidden from participating in the competition for failing to adhere to new financial fair play rules. In spite of controlling the play, having the lion’s share of the chances, and having a good shout for a penalty turned down, the game finished 0-0 after 90 minutes plus extra time.

  Seville stole the glory on penalties 4-3, after Cardozo and Rodrigo fluffed their lines for Benfica in the shootout. The victory made Seville the only team ever to win the tournament on penalties. It was the third time they have lifted the trophy in 10 years, whereas this was Benfica’s eighth final defeat in a row, and the second in two years. “The best team did not win” decried Benfica manager Jorge Jesus after the final whistle. The curse lives on.

  Almost 40,000 fans had descended on Turin and the city was more than grateful to show them what it had to offer, as parks and piazzas slowly filled up with red and white. The atmosphere was convivial, and the police only made four arrests on the day, with only two fans from each side being arrested.

  Disappointingly for Turin, which will be European capital of sport next year, UEFA have launched an official investigation after 6,000 seats which were left unfilled inside the stadium. The seats had been on general sale to residents of the city of Turin but were inexplicably left empty during the game.

 After the game fans celebrated or drowned their sorrows in the city, exchanging scarves and taking photos. “It was heavy.” Said João, a Benfica fan sipping a post-match beer: “Maybe next year.” Not if Guttmann gets his way.