 The pre @-@ season began on 9 July with a week of training before the club travelled to Switzerland on the 13th , where they played their first two games of the pre @-@ season , against Étoile Carouge and Auxerre . After a game in Palermo with Inter Milan on 21 July , Benfica returned to Portugal the next day , meeting up with Sporting in the Superbola Trophy on the 28th . With three more matches in early August , including one in the Guadiana Trophy , Benfica closed its season preparation with a match against European champions Real Madrid on 17 August , a week before the first official game . 
