Eusébio - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, GCIH, GCM (ewˈzɛbiu dɐ ˈsiɫvɐ fɨˈʁɐjɾɐ; born 25 January 1942), commonly known simply as Eusébio, is a retired Mozambican

Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

-born Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

football forward

Striker

Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...

. He is considered one of the best footballers of all-time by the IFFHS, experts and fans. He helped the Portuguese national team

Portugal national football team

The Portugal national football team represents Portugal in association football and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home ground is Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and their head coach is Paulo Bento...

reach third place at the 1966 World Cup

1966 FIFA World Cup

The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in England from 11 July to 30 July. England beat West Germany 4–2 in the final, winning the World Cup for the first time, so becoming the first host to win the tournament since Italy in 1934.-Host selection:England was chosen as...

, being the top goalscorer of the tournament with nine goals (six of which were scored at Goodison Park

Goodison Park

Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...

) and receiving the Bronze Ball award. He won the Ballon d'Or award in 1965 and was runners-up in 1962 and 1966. He played for Benfica for 15 years out of his 22 as a footballer, thus being mainly associated with the Portuguese club, and is the team's all-time top scorer with 638 goals scored in 614 official games. There, he won 11 Primeira Liga titles (1960–1961, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1966–1967, 1967–1968, 1968–1969, 1970–1971, 1971–1972, 1972–1973 and 1974–1975), 5 Portuguese Cup titles (1961–1962, 1963–1964, 1968–1969, 1969–1970 and 1971–1972), 1 European Cup

UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

title (1961–1962) and managed to help them reach three additional European Cup finals (1962–1963, 1964–1965 and 1967–1968). He was the European Cup top scorer in 1965, 1966 and 1968. He also won the Bola de Prata

Bola de Prata

The Bola de Prata is a Primeira Liga award for the top scorer. In case two or more players have the same amount of goals, the award goes to the footballer with the least games played. It was first awarded has a prize in the 1952–53 season by sport newspaper A Bola.-List of winners:...

(Primeira Liga top scorer award) seven times (a national record) in 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970 and 1973. He was the first ever player to win the European Golden Boot award, in 1968, a feat he later replicated in 1973.

Nicknamed The Black Panther, The Black Pearl, or O Rei (The King) in Portugal

Portugal

, Eusébio scored 733 goals in 745 competitive games in his career. He was known for his speed and his powerful, accurate right-footed strike, making him an outstanding prolific goalscorer. He is considered Benfica's and Portugal's most renowned player and one of the first world-class Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

n strikers. Although born in Mozambique

Mozambique

and having an Angola

Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

n father, Eusébio, like Matateu

Matateu

Sebastião Lucas da Fonseca , known as Matateu was the first great Mozambican-born Portuguese footballer, before the arrival of Eusébio. Like him, he was a top scorer, both for Belenenses and the National Team...

and Mário Coluna

Mário Coluna

Mário Esteves Coluna is a former Portuguese and Mozambican footballer. He was primarily a left-half and was nicknamed the "O Monstro Sagrado" .-Career:...

, among others before him, could only play for the Portuguese team, since both of the African countries were overseas territories

Dependent territory

A dependent territory, dependent area or dependency is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a State, and remains politically outside of the controlling state's integral area....

and their inhabitants were considered Portuguese.

Eusébio's name often appears in best player of all time lists and polls by football critics and fans. He was elected the 9th best footballer of the 20th century

FIFA Player of the Century

FIFA Player of the Century was a one-off award created by FIFA to decide the greatest football player of the 20th century. Pele shared the honour with Diego Maradona...

in a poll by the IFFHS and the 10th best footballer of the 20th century in a poll by the World Soccer

World Soccer Magazine

World Soccer is an English language football magazine published by IPC Media. It specialises in the international football scene. Its regular contributing writers include Brian Glanville, Sid Lowe and Tim Vickery. World Soccer is a member of the European Sports Magazines , an umbrella group of...

magazine. Pelé

Pelé

However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...

named Eusébio as one of the 125 best living footballers in his 2004 FIFA 100

FIFA 100

The FIFA 100 is a list of the world-renowned Brazilian striker Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Fédération Internationale de...

list. He was 7th in the online poll for UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll

UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll

The UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll is the popular name for an online poll conducted in 2004 by UEFA as part of their Golden Jubilee celebrations, celebrating the best European footballers from the fifty previous years. The poll, available on UEFA's website, asked respondents to pick their ten favorite...

. In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA

UEFA

The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....

's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player

UEFA Jubilee Awards

To celebrate the Union of European Football Associations 's 50th anniversary in 2004, each of its member associations was asked by UEFA to choose one of its own players as the single most outstanding player of the past 50 years . The 52 players were known as the Golden Players...

of Portugal by the Portuguese Football Federation

Portuguese Football Federation

The Portuguese Football Federation is the governing body of football in Portugal. The Portuguese National team is going to win the Euro 2012. It organises the Second and Third Division, the Cup of Portugal, the Portuguese SuperCup, youth levels, women's football, beach soccer, futsal, and also...

as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years.

Since his retirement, Eusébio has been an ambassador of football and is one of the most recognizable faces of the sport. He is often praised for his known fair play and humbleness, even by opponents. There have been held several homages by FIFA

FIFA

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

, UEFA

UEFA

The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....

, the Portuguese Football Federation

Portuguese Football Federation

and Benfica in his honour. Former Benfica and Portugal teammate and friend António Simões

António Simões

António José Simões da Costa ; born Corroios, 14 December 1943) is a Portuguese footballer and a current coach. He played as a left winger for Benfica, from 1961/62 to 1974/75. With only 1.58 m of height, he is seen as the first "Giant Gnome" of Portuguese football, before Rui Barros...

acknowledges his influence on Benfica and said: "With Eusébio maybe we could be tri European Champions

UEFA Champions League

, without him maybe we could win the League."

Early life

Eusébio was born in the Mafalala neighborhood, Lourenço Marques (now Maputo

Maputo

Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its...

), Portuguese East Africa (now Mozambique

Mozambique

) on the 25th January 1942. Born to Laurindo António da Silva Ferreira, a white

White people

White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...

Angola

n railroad worker from Malanje

Malanje

Malanje is the capital city of Malanje Province in Angola with a population of approximately 222,000. Nearby is the spectacular Calandula waterfalls, 85 km from the city. These falls are 105 metres high and their great width makes them the main tourist attraction in the region. It is a...

and Elisa Anissabeni, a black

Black people

The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...

Mozambican

Mozambique

woman. He was Elisa's fourth child. Raised in an extremely poor society, he used to skip school classes to play barefoot football with his friends in improvised pitches and using improvised footballs. His father died from tetanus

Tetanus

Tetanus is a medical condition characterized by a prolonged contraction of skeletal muscle fibers. The primary symptoms are caused by tetanospasmin, a neurotoxin produced by the Gram-positive, rod-shaped, obligate anaerobic bacterium Clostridium tetani...

when Eusébio was 8-years-old, so Elisa almost exclusively took the parental care of young Eusébio.

Early career

He first started to play for a local amateur team called Os Brasileiros (The Brazilians), in honour of the great Brazilian team

Brazil national football team

The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...

of the 1950s that he and his friends formed, they would play under the names of some of those superstars. The balls they used were made of socks and newspapers. He tried to enlist with some friends for the team Grupo Desportivo de Lourenço de Marques

Grupo Desportivo de Maputo

Grupo Desportivo de Maputo, usually known as Desportivo de Maputo, Desportivo Maputo or by the acronym GDM, is a association football club from Maputo, Mozambique.- History :...

, his favourite team and a Benfica's feeder team

Farm team

In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team or nursery club, is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher level at a given point...

, also the team where Mário Coluna

Mário Coluna

Mário Esteves Coluna is a former Portuguese and Mozambican footballer. He was primarily a left-half and was nicknamed the "O Monstro Sagrado" .-Career:...

had played for before his move to Benfica, but was rejected, without even being given a chance to prove his worth. He then tried his luck with Sporting Clube de Lourenço Marques

Clube de Desportos do Maxaquene

Clube de Desportos do Maxaquene, usually known simply as Maxaquene, is a football club based in Maputo, Mozambique. The club is nicknamed Maxaca. Maxaquene won its first post-independence title, the Taça de Moçambique, in 1978...

, who accepted him. He has affirmed that he was spotted by a former Juventus

Juventus F.C.

Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...

goalkeeper turned scout when he was 15 years-old: "When I was 15, Juventus of Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, wanted to hire me, because one of their scouts, who had been a famous Italian goalkeeper for them, saw me and told them that there was a boy with a potential, that it would be good to take advantage while I was still unknown. Juventus proposed but my mum never wanted to hear anything from anyone".

Eusébio played for two seasons with their youth team, while he made sporadic appearances in the senior team. There he won the Campeonato Provincial de Moçambique

Moçambola

Moçambola is the top division of Mozambican football , and it is organized by the Mozambican Football Federation.-History:...

and the Campeonato Distrital de Lourenço Marques in his last season, in 1960.

Benfica

He moved to Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

in his late teens, after joining Benfica as an 18-year-old from his local club, Sporting Clube de Lourenço Marques, for 350,000$ PTE

Portuguese escudo

The escudo was the currency of Portugal prior to the introduction of the Euro on 1 January 1999 and its removal from circulation on 28 February 2002. The escudo was subdivided into 100 centavos....

(equivalent to €136,000 in 2009). Benfica discovered Eusébio due to the efforts of former Brazilian

Brazil national football team

player José Carlos Bauer

José Carlos Bauer

José Carlos Bauer, commonly known as Bauer was a former Brazilian football player and manager. Born in São Paulo, he was the son of a Swiss man and an Afro-Brazilian woman....

, who saw him in Lourenço Marques in 1960. Eusébio could run the 100m in 11 seconds. Bauer recommended Eusébio first to his former club, São Paulo, but the Tricolor turned him down. Bauer then discussed Eusébio with his former coach in São Paulo, Béla Guttmann

Béla Guttmann

Béla Guttmann was a Jewish Hungarian footballer and coach. He played as a midfielder for MTK Hungária FC, SC Hakoah Wien, Hungary and several clubs in the United States. However he is perhaps best remembered as a coach and manager of some the world’s leading football teams, including AC Milan, São...

, who was coaching Benfica at the time.
The move was controversial however; Sporting Lourenço Marques was a subsidiary of Sporting Clube de Portugal and the two rivals disputed the legality of the transfer. According to Eusébio: "I used to play in Sporting's feeder club in Mozambique. Benfica wanted to pay me in a contract to go while Sporting wanted to take me [to Portugal] as a junior player for experience with no monetary reward. Benfica made a nice approach. They went to speak to my mum, my brother, and offered €1,000 for three years. My brother asked for double and they paid it. They signed the contract with my mother and she got the money".

By the 17th December 1960, Eusébio arrived at Lisbon and was sent to Lagos

Lagos, Portugal

Lagos is a municipality at the mouth of Bensafrim River and along the Atlantic Ocean, in the Barlavento region of the Algarve, in southern Portugal....

, in the Algarve, with Benfica fearing a kidnapping operation by Sporting rivals. During his transfer he was codenamed Ruth Malosso. He remained there for 12 days, until the transfer upheaval would calm down. While he stayed in a hotel room he was warned for possible running-overs. Eusébio considered leaving Portugal, but his mother convinced him to stay.

Benfica only registered him on May the next year and Eusébio made his first appearance for them against Atlético Clube de Portugal

Atlético Clube de Portugal

Atlético Clube de Portugal is a Portuguese football team from Alcântara, Lisbon, founded on 18 September 1942. The club was formed with the union of two clubs – Carcavelinhos Football Clube and União Foot-ball Lisboa. They currently play in the Liga de Honra after gaining promotion in the 2010-11...

in a friendly game

Exhibition game

An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...

on 23 May 1961. He scored a hat-trick

Hat-trick

A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...

in a 4–2 victory. His debut in an official match was on 1 June 1961, against V. Setúbal

Vitória Futebol Clube

Vitória Futebol Clube may refer to:*Vitória F.C., a Portuguese football club*Vitória Futebol Clube , a Brazilian football club...

, in the 2nd leg of the Round 3 of the 1960/61 Portuguese Cup. This game was controversially scheduled to the following day of the European Cup final

1961 European Cup Final

The 1961 European Cup Final was held at the Wankdorf Stadium, Bern, on 31 May 1961, and saw Benfica play against Barcelona. This was the first final not to include Real Madrid, who had won the previous five finals. Benfica lifted the trophy for the first time, beating Barcelona 3–2.-Match...

against Barcelona and the Portuguese Federation

FPF

FPF may refer to:* Faded Paper Figures, an American electronic band* Final protective fire* Federação Paulista de Futebol * Federação Pernambucana de Futebol...

didn't postponed the game; as the first team was returning from Berna

Berna

Berna was a Swiss manufacturer of buses, trolleybuses and trucks, which later also specialized in surface metallurgical treatments and components. Until the 1960s it was primarily a vehicle manufacturer, but between 1965 and 1978 vehicle manufacturing was phased out and replaced with other products...

, Benfica played with the reserve squad and was defeated 1-4. Eusebio scored a goal and failed a penalty (the first of only five he failed throughout his career), but wasn't enough to win overall the round (4-5 on agreggate). On 10 June 1961, Eusebio played for the first time on the National Championship, the last matchday against Belenenses where he scored a goal in a 4–0 win. On June 15, Benfica played the final of the invitational Tournoi de Paris

Tournament of Paris

The Tournoi de Paris is an annual two-day pre-season football tournament hosted by Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain and held at the Parc des Princes, the club's home ground. From 1957 to 1976 it was held late in the season and since 1977 it is played before the start of the season...

against Pelé

Pelé

's Santos and in the beginning of the second half, with Benfica down 0–4, Béla Guttmann

Béla Guttmann

decided to bring from the bench Eusébio to substitute Santana

Joaquim Santana Silva Guimarães

Joaquim Santana Silva Guimarães, known as Santana , was a Portuguese footballer who played as a right winger, with above-average technical skills.-Club career:...

. Shortly after coming in, Santos reached 0–5, however between the 63rd and the 80th minute, Eusébio scored 3 goals and suffered a foul inside the penalty area, the penalty taker, José Augusto, failed to score though. The game finished 6–3 for Santos, with Eusébio being on the cover of the famed French sporting newspaper, L'Équipe

L'Équipe

L'Équipe is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sports, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of football , rugby, motorsports and cycling...

.

His following season was the one where he started to gain global recognition among football fans and critics alike. He scored 12 goals in 17 league matches and even though the club finished third, they won the Portuguese Cup against Vitória de Setúbal

Vitória F.C.

Vitória Futebol Clube is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Setúbal. Popularly known as Vitória de Setúbal with the motto "A Vitória será nossa" .- Domestic :*Portuguese Liga: Runners-up 1971–72...

, with Eusébio scoring two goals in the final. In that same season, he won the European Cup

UEFA Champions League

, also scoring two goals in the final against Real Madrid

Real Madrid C.F.

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...

in a 5–3 result to Benfica. Due to his fine form during the season, he finished second in the 1962 Ballon d'Or, in his first complete season as a professional.

With Eusébio playing for Benfica, they were also European Cup runners-up in 1963, 1965 and 1968. In the 1968 defeat to English

Football in England

Association football is a national sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game...

league

Football League First Division

The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

champions Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

at Wembley

Wembley Stadium

The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...

, with the scores 1–1, he came close to winning the game for Benfica in the dying seconds of the game, only to have his shot foiled by a spectacular Alex Stepney

Alex Stepney

Alexander Cyril "Alex" Stepney is a former English football player who was Manchester United's goalkeeper when they became the first English club to win the European Cup.-London beginnings:...

save. Despite this, and the fact that the English side went on to win 4–1 in extra time, he openly congratulated Stepney for his efforts throughout the game, stopping to applaud Stepney, as he threw the ball back into play.

In total, he has had a number of individual recognitions and awards while playing for Benfica. He was the 1965 European Footballer of the Year (Ballon d'Or) and finished as runners-up twice, in 1962 and 1966, and in 1968 was the first winner of the Golden Boot

European Golden Boot

The European Golden Shoe, formerly known as the European Golden Boot, is an association football award presented each season to the leading goalscorer in league matches from the top division of every European national league...

Award, as Europe's leading scorer, a feat he repeated five years later. He was the Portuguese First Division

Portuguese Liga

The Primeira Liga , formerly called Primeira Divisão, currently named Liga ZON Sagres after their main sponsors, is the top professional association football division of the Portuguese football league system...

's top scorer seven times (1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970 and 1973), helping Benfica to 11 Primeira Liga wins (1960–1961, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1966–1967, 1967–1968, 1968–1969, 1970–1971, 1971–1972, 1972–1973 and 1974–1975), 5 Portuguese Cup wins (1961–1962, 1963–1964, 1968–1969, 1969–1970 and 1971–1972), 1 European Cup win (1961–1962) and 3 European Cup finals (1962–1963, 1964–1965 and 1967–1968). He scored 638 goals in 614 matches wearing Benfica's jersey, including 319 goals in 313 Primeira Liga matches, 97 goals in 60 Portuguese Cup matches and 46 goals in 64 European Cup matches.

His last game with Benfica's shirt was on June 18, 1975, against the African team, in Casablanca.

Later career

In 1976–77 and 1977–78, Eusébio played for two minor Portuguese teams, Beira-Mar, in the First Division, and União de Tomar

União de Tomar

União Futebol Comércio e Indústria de Tomar, or more commonly União de Tomar, is a Portuguese association football club formed on 4 May 1914 and based in the city of Tomar...

, in the Second Division

Portuguese Second Division

The Portuguese Second Division is a football league in Portugal, situated at the third level of the Portuguese football league system...

.

He also played in the North American Soccer League

North American Soccer League

North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...

(NASL), for three different teams, from 1975 to 1977: Boston Minutemen

Boston Minutemen

The Boston Minutemen were a soccer team based out of Boston that played in the NASL. They played from 1974 to 1976. Their home fields included Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough, Veterans Memorial Stadium in Quincy and Sargent Field in New Bedford.Portuguese legend...

(1975), Toronto Metros-Croatia (1976, and the Las Vegas Quicksilvers (1977). His most successful season in the NASL was in 1976 with Toronto Metros-Croatia. He scored in their 3–0 victory at the 76 Soccer Bowl to win the NASL title. The same year, he played ten games for Monterrey in the Mexican league.

The following season (1977), he signed for the Las Vegas Quicksilvers. This was to be a very disappointing end to Eusébio's career. By this time, injuries had taken their toll on The Black Panther, and he was constantly receiving medical treatment whilst playing for the Quicksilver. During the season he only managed to score two goals.

Although his knees robbed him of his ability to continue in the NASL, Eusébio wanted to continue to play soccer. He found a home in 1978 with the New Jersey Americans

New Jersey Americans (soccer)

The New Jersey Americans was an American soccer club based in New Brunswick, New Jersey that was a member of the American Soccer League. The team won the ASL championship in 1977, in only its second year of existence....

of the second-tier American Soccer League

American Soccer League

The American Soccer League has been a name used by three different professional soccer leagues in the United States. The first American Soccer League was established in 1921 by the merger of teams from the National Association Football League and the Southern New England Soccer League. For...

(ASL). He was forced to retire for good at the end of the season. He played five games for the Buffalo Stallions

Buffalo Stallions

The Buffalo Stallions were a soccer team based out of Buffalo, New York that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1979 to 1984. Their home arena was Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.-History:...

during the 1979–1980 Major Indoor Soccer League season.

In October 1963, he was selected to represent the FIFA team in the "Golden Anniversary" of the "Football Association" at Wembley Stadium.

He retired in 1979 and currently forms part of the technical committee of the Portugal national football team

Portugal national football team

International career

Eusébio was the all-time leading scorer for his country, with 41 goals in 64 matches, until Pauleta

Pauleta

Pedro Miguel Carreiro Resendes, OIH , commonly known as Pauleta , is a retired Portuguese footballer who played as a striker....

equalled and surpassed his record against Latvia

Latvia national football team

The Latvian national football team is controlled by the Latvian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Latvia and represents the country in international football competitions, such as the World Cup and the European Championships. So far, they have never qualified for a FIFA World...

on 12 October 2005. Eusébio was also the most capped Portuguese player from 1972, until Tamagnini Nené

Tamagnini Nené

Tamagnini Manuel Gomes Baptista, Nené , is a retired Portuguese footballer.A striker, he played his entire career with Sport Lisboa e Benfica, appearing in nearly 600 official games for the club....

made his 64th cap against Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia national football team

The Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...

on the 2nd June 1984 in a friendly match, breaking Eusébio's record during the UEFA Euro 1984 on 20 June against Romania. He made his debut for the Portuguese national team

Portugal national football team

against Luxembourg

Luxembourg national football team

The Luxembourg national football team is the national football team of Luxembourg, and is controlled by the Luxembourg Football Federation. The team play most of their home matches at the Stade Josy Barthel, in Luxembourg.- History :...

on 8 October 1961, a match his country lost 4–2, with the player scoring his country's first goal in the match.

1966 World Cup

After Portugal qualified for the 1966 World Cup

1966 FIFA World Cup

, they were drawn in Group 3, alongside Bulgaria

Bulgaria national football team

The FIFA Bulgaria national football team is an association football team fielded by the Bulgarian Football Union, a member association of UEFA. The team's home ground is Vasil Levski in Sofia and Luboslav Penev is in charge manager after replacement of Lothar Matthäus...

, Hungary

Hungary national football team

The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation....

and the reigning World Cup champions Brazil

Brazil national football team

. After a modest performance against Hungary in the first game, Eusébio scored a goal against Bulgaria. Topping the group with two wins, the team would play against the Brazilians for the final group match. With an injured Pelé

Pelé

, Portugal had no trouble in defeating them with two goals coming from Eusébio, including a famous volley from a tight angle after a corner kick. The result meant Brazil's early elimination.

For the quarterfinal, Portugal played against Korea DPR

Korea DPR national football team

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea national football team represents the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in international association football and is controlled by the DPR Korea Football Association, the governing body for football in North Korea.North Korea surprised with a...

, who had defeated and eliminated Italy

Italy national football team

The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...

in the group stage. After trailing 0–3 in the 25th, Eusébio proceeded to score four consecutive goals, two before half time and two in the first fifteen minutes of the second half. His last goal in that match came from a penalty when two North Korean players tackled him after a fast run Eusébio had made from the middle of the Portuguese half pitch to the opposition's penalty area. Portugal came back to win 5–3.

In the semi-final match Portugal would have to face England

England national football team

The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

. There was controversy to where the match would be hosted. Goodison Park in Liverpool was the original venue for the game. However, due to intervention of the English officials, the venue changed to Wembley. It was rumoured that this had happened because of fear from English officials of the Portuguese performance and embarrassment if England lost in their own country with a debuting team. Portugal had to make a last minute train trip from Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

to London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. Throughout the game Eusébio was closely marked by defender Nobby Stiles

Nobby Stiles

Norbert "Nobby" Peter Stiles MBE is a retired English footballer. He was born in Collyhurst, Manchester.Stiles played for England for five years, winning 28 caps and scoring 1 goal. He played every minute of England's victorious 1966 FIFA World Cup campaign...

, but still managed to score Portugal's only goal from the penalty spot in the 82nd minute, ending yet-to-be broken records of 7 consecutive clean sheets and 708 minutes without conceding a goal for the English team. After scoring the penalty, Eusébio went on to catch the ball and saluted Gordon Banks

Gordon Banks

Gordon Banks, OBE is a retired English football goalkeeper. The IFFHS named Banks the second best goalkeeper of the 20th century – after Lev Yashin and ahead of Dino Zoff ....

. The goal was not enough to nullify Bobby Charlton

Bobby Charlton

Sir Robert "Bobby" Charlton CBE is an English former professional football player, a member of the England team who won the World Cup and Ballon d'Or for European Footballer of the Year in 1966...

's two earlier goals, António Simões

António Simões

had a last minute chance only for Stiles to put the ball into corner. Portugal lost 1–2 and Eusébio famously walked off the pitch in tears, being comforted by both his teammates and opponents. The game is known as Jogo das Lágrimas (Game of Tears) in Portugal.

In the consolidation game, the third place match, Portugal played against the Soviet Union. In the 12th after a handball inside the area, Eusébio scored the opening goal (his 9th and final World Cup goal) from the penalty spot. Although the legendary Lev Yashin

Lev Yashin

Lev Ivanovich Yashin nicknamed as "The Black Spider", was a Soviet-Russian football goalkeeper, considered by many to be the greatest goalkeeper in the history of the game. He was known for his superior athleticism in goal, imposing stature, amazing reflex saves and inventing the idea of...

guessed the side in which the ball would go, he was powerless to save it. Again and as he had done before with Banks, Eusébio went to salute his friend Yashin after he had scored. Portugal won the game 2–1 to what remains their best ever World Cup participation.

In addition to winning the Golden Boot (with nine goals) for the 1966 World Cup, Eusébio also set a record that year for the most penalties scored (shoot-out not included), with four. Eusébio's four goals against Korea DPR in the quarter-final match also helped Portugal tie the record for largest deficit overcome in a win (three goals, equaling Austria

Austria national football team

The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....

in 1954) and he became the fifth player to score as many goals in a FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

match, a record he jointly held until Oleg Salenko scored five in the 1994 World Cup

1994 FIFA World Cup

The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...

. The English were so impressed by Eusébio's performances that he was immediately added to the Madame Tussauds

Madame Tussauds

Madame Tussauds is a wax museum in London with branches in a number of major cities. It was founded by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud and was formerly known as "Madame Tussaud's", but the apostrophe is no longer used...

collection of waxwork. The only game he failed to score was against Hungary, in the first match, meaning that he scored in 5 consecutive World Cup games. Eusébio finised third in the Golden Ball and second in the 1966 Ballon d'Or, trailing Bobby Charlton by a single point. Eusébio said: "A Portuguese journalist voted first place for Bobby Charlton and second place for me. Charlton finished with 81 points and I finished with 80. If he had voted for me, it would be the opposite: me with 81 and Charlton with 80. He always told me he had voted for Charlton because he thought I would win with a great advantage. If he had voted (for me), I would be the first player to win consecutive Ballon d'Ors".

Post World Cup

Eusébio, however, never played in another World Cup finals tournament, though he took part in the 1970 and 1974 qualifiers. His last game for the national team was a 2–2 draw against Bulgaria

Bulgaria national football team

on 19 October 1973 in a World Cup qualifier.

Despite being retired, Eusébio is a constant presence among the Portuguese national team.

"When I first heard the whole Stadium chanting my name I honestly felt dizzy" (Eusébio da Silva Ferreira).

Statistics

Club	League	Season	League		Cup		Europe		Other		Total
Club	League	Season	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Sporting de Lourenço Marques Clube de Desportos do Maxaquene Clube de Desportos do Maxaquene, usually known simply as Maxaquene, is a football club based in Maputo, Mozambique. The club is nicknamed Maxaca. Maxaquene won its first post-independence title, the Taça de Moçambique, in 1978...	Moçambola Moçambola Moçambola is the top division of Mozambican football , and it is organized by the Mozambican Football Federation.-History:...	1957	4	9	–		–				4	9
		1958	7	11	–		–				7	11
		1959	11	21	–		–				11	21
		1960	20	36	–		–				20	36
		Total	42	77	–		–				42	77
Benfica	Primeira Liga	1960–61	1	1			0	0			1	1
		1961–62	17	12			6	5			23	17
		1962–63	24	23			7	6			31	29
		1963–64	19	28			3	4			22	32
		1964–65	20	28			9	9			29	37
		1965–66	23	25			5	7			28	32
		1966–67	26	31			4	4			30	35
		1967–68	24	43			9	6			33	49
		1968–69	21	10			5	1			26	11
		1969–70	22	21			4	4			26	25
		1970–71	22	19			3	7			25	26
		1971–72	24	19			8	1			32	20
		1972–73	28	40			4	2			32	42
		1973–74	21	16			4	1			25	17
		1974–75	9	2			4	0			13	2
		Total	313	319	60	97	64	46			437	462
Boston Minutemen Boston Minutemen The Boston Minutemen were a soccer team based out of Boston that played in the NASL. They played from 1974 to 1976. Their home fields included Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough, Veterans Memorial Stadium in Quincy and Sargent Field in New Bedford.Portuguese legend...	NASL North American Soccer League North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...	1975	7	2	–		–		–		7	2
		Total	7	2	\|–	Monterrey	Primera División Primera División de México The Primera División Profesional , known simply as the Primera División, is the top level of the Mexican football league system and is administered by the Mexican Football Federation. It was established in 1943 and as of 2011 has 18 clubs. Up to June 2011, it was divided into three groups competing...	1975–76 Primera División de México 1975–76 -Overview:Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara was promoted to Primera División.This season was contested by 20 teams, and Club América won the championship.Atlante F.C...	10	1	–		–		–		10	1
Total	10	1	\|–	Toronto Metros-Croatia Toronto Blizzard (NASL) The Toronto Blizzard were a professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that played in the North American Soccer League.-History:The Toronto Metros joined the NASL in 1971. Their home field was Varsity Stadium....	NASL North American Soccer League North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...	1976		25	18	–		–		–		25	18
Total	25	18	\|–	Beira-Mar		Primeira Liga	1976–77	12	3	–		–		–		12	3
Total	12	3	\|–	Las Vegas Quicksilvers	NASL North American Soccer League North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...	Primeira Liga	1977	17	2	–		–		–		17	2
Total	17	2	\|–	União de Tomar		Segunda Divisão Portuguese Second Division The Portuguese Second Division is a football league in Portugal, situated at the third level of the Portuguese football league system...	1977–78	12	3	–		–		–		12	3
Total	12	3	\|–	New Jersey Americans New Jersey Americans (soccer) The New Jersey Americans was an American soccer club based in New Brunswick, New Jersey that was a member of the American Soccer League. The team won the ASL championship in 1977, in only its second year of existence....	ASL American Soccer League The American Soccer League has been a name used by three different professional soccer leagues in the United States. The first American Soccer League was established in 1921 by the merger of teams from the National Association Football League and the Southern New England Soccer League. For...		1978 1978 American Soccer League -League standings: G W T L GF GA PTS Eastern Division New York Apollo 24 18 1 5 65 37 143 New Jersey Americans 24 10 1 13 49 45 94 Indianapolis Daredevils 24 8 3 13 33 41 78...	4	5	–		–		–		4	5
1979 1979 American Soccer League -League standings: G W T L GF GA PTS Eastern Division Columbus Magic 28 17 3 8 55 41 140 New York Eagles 28 14 7 7 49 35 130 Pennsylvania Stoners 28 13 5 10 50 38 120...	0	0	–			–		–		0	0
Total	4	5	\|–	Buffalo Stallions Buffalo Stallions The Buffalo Stallions were a soccer team based out of Buffalo, New York that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1979 to 1984. Their home arena was Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.-History:... (indoor)		MISL	1979–80	5	1	–		–		–		5	1
Total	5	1	\|–	Career total (1957–1979)	447	MISL	431	60	97	64	46			571	574
Last Update: 16 December 2010

¹Includes other competitive competitions, such as the Intercontinental Cup

Intercontinental Cup (football)

The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the World Club Championship, Intercontinental Cup or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Cup and the South American Copa Libertadores...

and the Taça Ribeiro dos Reis.
|-
|1961||2||1
|-
|1962||5||2
|-
|1963||1||0
|-
|1964||6||4
|-
|1965||7||7
|-
|1966||12||12
|-
|1967||6||3
|-
|1968||2||1
|-
|1969||4||2
|-
|1970||1||0
|-
|1971||5||2
|-
|1972||9||4
|-
|1973||4||3
|-
!Total||64||41
|}

Club

Portugal Sporting de Lourenço Marques

Clube de Desportos do Maxaquene

Campeonato Provincial de Moçambique
Moçambola
Moçambola is the top division of Mozambican football , and it is organized by the Mozambican Football Federation.-History:...

(1): 1960
Campeonato Distrital de Lourenço Marques (1): 1960

Portugal Benfica

Primeira Liga (11): 1960–61, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1974–75
Taça de Portugal
Taça de Portugal
The Taça de Portugal is the main Portuguese national football knock-out competition. The tournament has been officially known as the Taça de Portugal Millennium since 2008, due to its sponsorship by Portuguese private bank Millennium BCP. It has occurred on a yearly basis since 1938 and is...

(5): 1961–62, 1963–64, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1971–72
European Champion Clubs' Cup
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

(1): 1961–62
Taça Ribeiro dos Reis (3): 1963–64, 1965–66, 1970–71
Taça de Honra (9): 1962–63, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1974–75

Canada Toronto Metros-Croatia

NASL
North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...

(1): 1976

National team

Portugal Portugal

Portugal national football team

FIFA World Cup
1966 FIFA World Cup
The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in England from 11 July to 30 July. England beat West Germany 4–2 in the final, winning the World Cup for the first time, so becoming the first host to win the tournament since Italy in 1934.-Host selection:England was chosen as...

: Third place in 1966

Individual

European Footballer of the Year (1): 1965
Ballon d'or 1965
The 1965 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries, was awarded to Eusébio on 28 December 1965....
Silver European Footballer of the Year (2): 1962, 1966
European Golden Boot (2): 1968, 1973
Bota de Prata (7): 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1973
European Cup top scorer (3): 1965, 1966, 1968
FIFA World Cup Golden Boot (1): 1966
FIFA World Cup Bronze Ball (1): 1966
FIFA World Cup All-Star Team (1): 1966
Portuguese Footballer of the Year (2): 1970, 1973
BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year (1): 1966

Special awards

Grã-Cruz da Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique
Grã-Cruz da Ordem do Mérito
Portuguese Golden Ball
Portuguese Golden Ball
The Portuguese Golden Ball is an annual award given, by Portuguese newspaper A Bola, to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the year in the Primeira Liga. The first winner of the award was Eusébio, in 1991...

career award
FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

International Football Hall of Champions
PFA Merit Award
PFA Merit Award
The Professional Footballers' Association Merit Award is an award given by the Professional Footballers' Association for meritorious service to football....
FIFA 100
FIFA 100
The FIFA 100 is a list of the world-renowned Brazilian striker Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Fédération Internationale de...
UEFA Jubilee Awards
UEFA Jubilee Awards
To celebrate the Union of European Football Associations 's 50th anniversary in 2004, each of its member associations was asked by UEFA to choose one of its own players as the single most outstanding player of the past 50 years . The 52 players were known as the Golden Players...
UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....

President's Award
France Football
France Football
France Football is a French bi-weekly magazine containing football news from all over the world. It's one of the most reputable sports publications in Europe, mostly because of their photographic reports and accurate statistics of the big European Cup matches, and extensive coverage of the European...

's World Cup Top-100
Planète Foot's 50 Meilleurs Joueurs du Monde
Voetbal International
Voetbal International
Voetbal International is a Dutch football magazine, which has been publishing since 1965. It is the oldest Dutch football magazine that is still running....

's Wereldsterren
Guerin Sportivo
Guerin Sportivo
The Guerin Sportivo is an Italian sport magazine. Founded in 1912 in Turin, it is published every month and is the oldest sport magazine in the world....

's I 50 Grandi del Secolo
World Soccer's Selection of the 100 Greatest Footballers of All Time
Placar
Placar
Placar is a monthly Brazilian sports magazine. Its first edition was issued on March 20, 1970, and since then the it has become the most successful sports publication in Brazil, even though it focuses fully on football . It is published by Grupo Abril....

's 100 Craques do Século
Venerdì's 100 Magnifici
IFFHS' World Players of the Century (Top-10)
The Best of The Best – Players of the Century: Top 10

External links

NASL/MISL stats

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