Eusébio

Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "o Rei" ("the King"), was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time as well as Benfica's best player ever. He was known for his speed, technique, athleticism and right-footed shot, making him a prolific goalscorer, accumulating 733 goals in 745 matches.

Eusébio helped Portugal reach third place at the 1966 FIFA World Cup, being the top goalscorer of the tournament with nine goals. He won the Ballon d'Or in 1965 and was runner-up in 1962 and 1966. He is Benfica's all-time top scorer with 473 goals in 440 competitive matches. There, his honours include eleven Primeira Liga titles and a European Cup, also being integral in reaching additional European Cup finals in 1963, 1965 and 1968. He is the second-highest goalscorer, behind Alfredo Di Stéfano, in the pre-Champions League era of the European Cup with 47 goals. He was the European Cup top scorer in 1964–65, 1965–66 and 1967–68. He also won the Bola de Prata for the Primeira Liga top scorer a record seven times. He was the first ever player to win the European Golden Boot, in 1968, a feat he replicated in 1973.

From his retirement until his death, Eusébio was an ambassador of football and was one of the most recognizable faces of his generation. His name often appears in best player of all time lists and polls by football critics and fans. He was elected the ninth-best footballer of the 20th century in a poll by the IFFHS and the tenth-best footballer of the 20th century in a poll by the World Soccer magazine. Shortly after Eusébio's death, Di Stéfano stated: "For me Eusébio will always be the best player of all time".

Early life Eusébio was born in the Mafalala neighbourhood of Lourenço Marques (now Maputo), Portuguese Mozambique on 25 January 1942. His parents were Laurindo António da Silva Ferreira, a white railroad worker from Malanje, Portuguese Angola, and his wife Elisa Anissabeni, a black Mozambican woman. He was the fourth child of his parents out of five children (Jaime, Alberto, Adelino, Eusébio and Lucília). Elisa Anissabeni later had another three children from a second marriage (Gilberto, Inocência and Fernando). Growing up in an extremely poor neighbourhood, he used to skip school classes to play barefoot football with his friends (one of them was as José Manuel Alves Holbeche Bastos, whose father José Rodrigues Holbeche Bastos played professional football for Sporting Clube de Lourenço Marques) on improvised pitches and using stuffed socks as footballs. His father also played football in his youth and supported Lisbon's SL Benfica and its affiliate team in Portuguese Mozambique, Grupo Desportivo de Lourenço Marques. He died from tetanus when Eusébio was eight years old in 1950, so the widowed Elisa almost exclusively raised young Eusébio alone. Absorbed by football from an early age, Eusébio studied until the 4th grade (concluded through a final exam when he was already in mainland Portugal), the only among his brothers and sisters without post-primary education. Three of his siblings became engineers.

Club career

Early career Eusébio first started to play for a local amateur team that he and his friends formed called Os Brasileiros (The Brazilians), in honour of the great Brazil national team of the 1950s. They would play under the names of some of those superstars. The balls they used were made of socks stuffed with newspapers rolled into spheres.

Sporting Lourenço Marques With some friends, Eusébio tried to join Desportivo de Lourenço de Marques, his favourite team and a Benfica feeder team (also the team where Mário Coluna had played before his move to Benfica) but was rejected, without even being given a chance to prove his worth. He was also rejected by Ferroviário de Lourenço Marques. At 12, he then tried his luck with Sporting Clube de Lourenço Marques (branch number 6 of Sporting Lisbon), which accepted him as well as a group of his friends who lived in Eusébio's neighbourhood. There he had his first training sessions supervised by a coaching staff, received his first ever football equipment and played competitive football in an organized way at both youth level and the main senior team. At 15, according to him, he was spotted by a former Juventus goalkeeper turned scout: "When I was 15, Juventus of Italy, 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 his first two seasons with Sporting Lourenço Marques' youth team while he also made a few appearances in the senior team. Then he was promoted to the main squad and won the Campeonato Provincial de Moçambique and the Campeonato Distrital de Lourenço Marques in his last season with the club, in 1960. From 1957 to 1960, Eusébio scored 77 goals in 42 appearances for the main team of Sporting Lourenço Marques.

Benfica

The transfer On 15 December 1960, Eusébio arrived in Lisbon, when he was 18 years old. However, he only joined Benfica in May 1961, as a 19-year-old, after the transfer from his local club Sporting Lourenço Marques for 400,000 Portuguese escudos (equivalent to €193,219 in 2023) was finally unlocked. It was a lengthy process and the legality of the signing was disputed by Sporting CP, who also tried to sign him. In the first few weeks of 1961, the Portuguese Directorate-General for Sports ruled in favour of Sporting CP's interests; soon after, the Portuguese Football Federation ruled in favour of Benfica's arguments. Benfica discovered Eusébio through the efforts of Brazilian former player José Carlos Bauer, who saw him at Lourenço Marques in 1960. Guttman moved quickly and signed him.

Eusébio during his time at Benfica. He is the club's record goalscorer, with 473 goals in 440 competitive matches.

Sporting Lourenço Marques was an affiliate team of Sporting CP, and the Portuguese club disputed the legality of his transfer to Benfica. Eusébio once said: "I used to play for Sporting's feeder club in Mozambique. Benfica wanted to pay me in a contract to go [to Portugal] while Sporting wanted to take me as a junior player for the 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. [...] Sporting tried to spread the story that I'd stitched them up, but it was the other way round, because they tried to take me for free while Benfica were willing to pay." Moreover, fearing a "kidnapping" attempt by Sporting CP, Benfica moved Eusébio on 8 April 1961 to a holiday home owned by Domingos Claudino, former president of Benfica, and a hotel near the Meia Praia beach, in Lagos, Algarve region, where he would remain for twelve days until the transfer upheaval calmed down (Eusébio was awarded his 4th grade diploma while he was hidden in the Algarve). His debut in an official match was on 1 June 1961, against Vitória de Setúbal, in the third round second leg of the 1960–61 Taça de Portugal. The game was controversially scheduled for the day after the European Cup final against Barcelona and the Portuguese Football Federation did not postpone it. As the first team was returning from Bern, Benfica played with the reserve squad and was defeated 1–4. Eusébio scored a goal and missed a penalty (the first of only five he missed throughout his career), but this was not enough to win the round (4–5 on aggregate). On 10 June 1961, Eusébio played for the first time in the Primeira Divisão, the last match day against Belenenses, where he scored a goal in a 4–0 win. On 15 June, Benfica played the final of the invitational Tournoi de Paris against Pelé's Santos, and in the beginning of the second half, with Benfica down 0–4, Béla Guttmann decided to bring Eusébio from the bench to substitute Santana. 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.

Eusébio strikes against Real Madrid during the 1962 European Cup Final. 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 Taça de Portugal against Vitória de Setúbal, with Eusébio scoring two goals in the final. In that same season, he won the European Cup, also scoring two goals in the final against Real Madrid 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. In October 1963, he was selected to represent the FIFA team in the "Golden Anniversary" of The Football Association at Wembley Stadium.

Benfica were also European Cup runners-up in 1963, 1965 and 1968. In the 1968 defeat to the English league champions Manchester United at Wembley Stadium, 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 saved by Alex Stepney. 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.

He received a number of individual accolades and awards while playing for Benfica. He was the 1965 European Footballer of the Year (Ballon d'Or) and finished as runner-up twice, in 1962 and 1966, and in 1968 was the first winner of the Golden Boot Award, as Europe's leading scorer, a feat he repeated five years later. He was the Portuguese First Division's top scorer seven times (1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970 and 1973), helping Benfica to win 11 Primeira Liga (1960–61, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73 and 1974–75), 5 Portuguese Cup wins (1961–62, 1963–64, 1968–69, 1969–70 and 1971–72), 1 European Cup win (1961–62) and 3 European Cup finals (1962–63, 1964–65 and 1967–68).

Eusébio scored 473 goals in 440 official matches for Benfica, including 317 goals in 301 Primeira Liga matches, and 59 goals in 78 matches of UEFA club competitions. Overall, he scored 727 goals in 715 matches wearing Benfica's jersey.

Later career

In 1976–77 and 1977–78, Eusébio played for two smaller Portuguese clubs, Beira-Mar, in the first division, and União de Tomar, in the Second Division.

He also played in the North American Soccer League (NASL), for three different teams, from 1975 to 1977: Boston Minutemen (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 the winning goal in their 3–0 victory at the Soccer Bowl '76 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. By this time, injuries had taken their toll on the Black Panther, and he was constantly receiving medical treatment whilst playing for the Quicksilvers. 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 of the second-tier American Soccer League (ASL). He went on to play five games for the Buffalo Stallions during the 1979–80 Major Indoor Soccer League season. He retired in 1979 and formed part of the technical committee of the Portugal national football team.

International career

Eusébio was the leading scorer for his country, with 41 goals in 64 matches, until Pauleta equalled and surpassed his record

In the semi-final match Portugal faced England; taking a last-minute train trip from Liverpool to London. Throughout the game Eusébio was closely marked by England's defensive midfielder Nobby Stiles, but still managed to score Portugal's only goal from the penalty spot in the 82nd minute, ending yet-to-be broken records of seven 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. The goal was not enough to nullify Bobby Charlton's two earlier goals. António Simões had a last-minute chance only for Stiles to make it into a 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 the Jogo das Lágrimas (Game of Tears) in Portugal.

In the third place match, Portugal played against the Soviet Union. In the 12th minute after a handball inside the area, Eusébio scored the opening goal (his ninth and final World Cup goal) from the penalty spot. Although Lev Yashin 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 in what remains their best ever World Cup participation, and the best performance by a team on its debut since Italy's victory in 1934.

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 North Korea in the quarter-final match also helped Portugal tie the record for largest deficit overcome in a win (three goals, equaling Austria in 1954) and he became the fifth player to score as many goals in a FIFA World Cup match, a record he jointly held until Oleg Salenko scored five in the 1994 World Cup. The English were so impressed by Eusébio's performances that his waxwork was immediately added to the Madame Tussauds in London. They had two daughters together, Carla Elisa Bruheim da Silva Ferreira (born 1968) and Sandra Judite Bruheim da Silva Ferreira (born 1969).

Eusébio said he went to the Portuguese Parliament eight times to talk to António de Oliveira Salazar who ruled the country from 1932 to 1968 as the virtual dictator of the Estado Novo regime. Eusébio had invitations from big clubs in Europe, and was interested in signing for them, but could not because the "godfather", as he recalled Salazar, would not let him go. just like his brother and late father. Many well-known people from the football world expressed their condolences and praise, including his contemporaries Franz Beckenbauer and Bobby Charlton. The Portuguese Football Federation made a statement and said that a moment of silence was to be observed in Portuguese football matches. There were tributes from Cristiano Ronaldo, José Mourinho, Carlos Queiroz, FIFA President Sepp Blatter Greg Dyke, and former President of Mozambique and childhood friend Joaquim Chissano.

Following Eusébio's death, the Portuguese government declared three days of national mourning. Hundreds of thousands paid tribute to him. On 6 January 2014, a mass was held at the Igreja do Seminário do Largo da Luz. On 9 January, one of his wishes was granted as his coffin was transported around the field of the Estádio da Luz. Three days later, his statue (inaugurated on his 50th birthday) at the Praça Centenarium was transformed into a memorial. Hours later, the name "Eusébio" was on the back of every Benfica players' shirts during "O Clássico".

Precisely one year after his death, the avenue in front of the Estádio da Luz was renamed Avenida Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, becoming its new address. On 3 July, his remains were moved to the National Pantheon, where notable Portuguese personalities are buried. Parliament voted unanimously for him to be interred there. Eusébio was the first footballer to be buried at the Pantheon.

In September 2019, Eusébio was, along with Maria Mutola, referred by Pope Francis as an example of perseverance, during the latter's visit to Mozambique. Eusébio has been called "Africa's first great footballer"

Division

1957

1958

1959

1960

1960–61

1961–62

1962–63

1963–64

1964–65

1965–66

1966–67

1967–68

1968–69

1969–70

1970–71

1971–72

1972–73

1973–74

1974–75

301!!317!!61!!97!!75!!57!!3!!2!!440!!473 Boston Minutemen 1975 NASL

Monterrey 1975–76 Mexican Primera División

Toronto Metros-Croatia 1976 NASL

Beira-Mar 1976–77

Honours

Sporting de Lourenço Marques Campeonato Provincial de Moçambique: 1960

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 (5): 1961–62, 1963–64, 1968–69, 1969–1970, 1971–1972 Taça de Honra de Lisboa (9): 1962–63, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1974–75 Taça Ribeiro dos Reis (3): 1963–64, 1965–66, 1970–71 1962

Toronto Metros-Croatia NASL: 1976 Independence Cup runner-up: 1972

Individual

Ballon d'Or: 1965 runner-up:1962 1966; nominated: 1961, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973 FIFA XI: 1963, 1967 World Soccer World XI: 1965 FUWO European Team of the Year: 1965, 1966, 1967 European Golden Shoe (2): 1968 (first winner), 1973 Bola de Prata (7): 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1973 European Cup top scorer (2): 1966, 1968 FIFA World Cup Bronze Ball: 1966 Portuguese Footballer of the Year (2): 1970, 1973 FIFA 100 FIFA International Football Hall of Champions IFFHS Legends UEFA Jubilee Awards – Golden Player Portugal Portuguese Golden Ball career award: 1991 France Football's World Cup Top-100 Planète Foot's 50 Meilleurs Joueurs du Monde Voetbal International's Wereldsterren Guerin Sportivo's I 50 Grandi del Secolo World Soccer's Selection of the 100 Greatest Footballers of All Time Placar's 100 Craques do Século Venerdì's 100 Magnifici Golden Foot Legends Award: 2003 IFFHS World's Best Player of the Century (9th place) BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year: 1966 FIFA Order of Merit: 1994 UEFA President's Award: 2009 PFA Merit Award: 1993 Scottish PFA Merit Award: 2007

Orders