Full Name
Eusébio da Silva Ferreira
Position
Striker
Born
25 January 1942
Died
5 January 2014
Country
Portugal
Clubs
Sporting (Portugal)
Benfica (Portugal)
Rhode Island Oceaneers (USA)
Boston Minutemen (USA)
Monterrey (Mexico)
Beira-Mar (Portugal)
Toronto Metros-Croatia (USA)
Las Vegas Quicksilvers (USA)
New Jersey Americans (USA)
Uniao de Tomar (Portugal)
Professional Career
1957-1978
International Caps/Goals
64 caps/41 goals
Honours
11 Portuguese Primeira Liga title, 5 Portuguese Cup (Benfica)
2 European Cup (Benfica)
1965 European Footballer of the Year
1965 World Player of the Year
1968/1973 European Golden Boot
Before Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo, Portugal had the great Eusébio. Nicknamed the “Black Panther”, Eusébio was considered the greatest ever Portuguese player, and was also regarded as the first world class African-born player.
Spending 15 years at Benfica, Eusébio was the club’s all-time top scorer with an outrageous tally of 648 leagues goals in 614 games. Benfica’s total domination in Portugal also saw him won as many as 30 trophies at the club. Eusébio was also the top scorer for Portugal for three decades before Pauleta, and later Cristiano Ronaldo, overtook his record. His international peak came in 1966, where he was the top scorer in the World Cup with nine goals, leading Portugal to its best ever third position.
In 1978, Eusébio retired from football due to multiple injuries in his knees.
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