He was a member of the team that won the gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics, in which he was the top scorer of the tournament with 12 goals in just 5 matches.

Bene made his senior league debut for Dózsa in a fixture against Somogyszob in June 1959 at the tender age of only 14,5 years, scoring once.

[5] Bene was then recruited by Kaposvár Kinizsi, a team from the third division, where he scored 16 goals in 16 matches, including 4 against Mazai Banyasz (4–0) and 6 against Szekszardi Petöfi (7–1).

[5] In total, he scored 303 goals in 418 matches, thus being one of the main architects behind the team's dominance in the 1970s, as Dózsa won 8 Nemzeti Bajnokság I between 1969 and 1977-78, and also three Magyar Kupa in 1969, 1970, and 1974-75.

[1] Bene was also crucial in helping Dózsa reach the semi-finals of the 1973–74 European Cup, which they lost to Gerd Müller's Bayern Munich.

[5][6] Bene made his debut for the Hungary national team against Yugoslavia on 14 October 1962, at the age of 17 years 9 months 27 days.

[1][4] He is one of only four players who have scored two hat-tricks in Olympic football matches, the others being Vilhelm Wolfhagen, Antonín Janda, and Domingo Tarasconi.

[1][4] On 1 May 1972, he was invited to play a match for a Europe XI against Hamburger SV, organized as a farewell game for Uwe Seeler, and Bene scored once in a 7–3 win.