A defensive midfielder with tackling ability and workrate as his main assets,[2] he played for two of the major three teams in his country, amassing Primeira Liga totals of 284 matches and 16 goals over 11 seasons, and also spent four years in Spain.

Born in Lisbon, Bento played professionally in his homeland for Estrela Amadora, Vitória Guimarães and Benfica, and had a four-year abroad spell with Real Oviedo,[3] helping the Spanish club always retain its La Liga status before moving to Sporting CP, where he finished his career as a player.

[4] With the latter, he was part of the star-studded team that achieved the double in 2002 under the direction of Laszlo Bölöni,[5] contributing 31 games and one goal in the Primeira Liga and playing alongside Mário Jardel and João Vieira Pinto among others.

[6] Bento earned 35 caps for the Portugal national team,[7] his first game coming on 15 January 1992 in a 0–0 draw with Spain and his last being the 0–1 loss to South Korea on 14 June 2002 in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

[12] His side had a turbulent pre-season in preparation for 2007–08, with defense mainstays Rodrigo Tello and Marco Caneira leaving the club while Portuguese international goalkeeper Ricardo was sold to Real Betis.

After a very irregular season, Bento managed to lead the team to an unprecedented third consecutive qualification for the Champions League, with another second-place finish in spite of spending most of the year below third, pipping Guimarães and Benfica in the final matchday.

[14] Bento's team broke a number of long-standing club records, including the first season without home defeats since 1987, the first capture of back-to-back Portuguese cups since 1974 and the first time since 1962 that Sporting finished three consecutive campaigns in the top two league positions.

[21] Already the second-most successful coach in the history of the club in terms of trophies won, only surpassed by József Szabó, Bento gained the nickname "Cup-Eater" as a consequence of the four pieces of silverware added to the Estádio José Alvalade cabinet under his command.

Supported by the winning candidate José Eduardo Bettencourt, he signed a two-year contract extension; in spite of maintaining the same base squad and adding the talent of Felipe Caicedo or Matías Fernández, Sporting was unable to start the new campaign brightly: knocked out in the Champions League playoff round by Fiorentina on away goals,[27] the side's form slumped quickly and after nine matches they found themselves mired in seventh place, 12 points behind leaders Braga.

[35] On 9 April 2014, he extended his contract until after Euro 2016,[36] but the national team exited in the World Cup's group stage in spite of a 2–1 win against Ghana in the last match, with the United States progressing on goal difference instead.

[54] Having qualified for the round of 16 for the first time in 12 years with a 2–1 victory over his native Portugal, he lost 4–1 to Brazil, and left his post shortly after, stating he wanted to take a break and that the decision was made in September;[55] he added he was proud of the team's accomplishments, and felt the squad was one of the best groups he had worked with.