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Eusebio
(Portugal)
Eusebio da Silva
Ferreira was born at Lourenco Marques, Mozambique, in
1942 and in 1961 joined Benfica as a 19 year old from
his local club, for £7.500. In one of his first games
for Benfica, in a Paris tournament, he scored a
hat-trick against Pelè's Santos and became one of
Europe's most lethal strikers. He scored twice in the
5-3 defeat of Real Madrid in the 1962 European Cup
final and gained runners-up medals in 1963 and 1968.
Eusebio won the first of his 77 caps in 1961, but will
best be remembered for his contribution to the 1966
World Cup. "The Black Pearl" gave brilliant
displays and scored some outstanding goals. Nine goals
made him the tournaments top scorer and he netted four
in Portugal's remarkable fight-back against North
Korea. He was the 1965 European Player Of The Year and
in 1968 was the first winner of the Golden Boot Award,
as Europe's leading scorer, a feat he repeated five
years later. The Portuguese League's top scorer every
year from 1964 to 1973, he helped Benfica to 10 league
championships and 5 cup wins. Knee operations slowed
him down and in 1975 he moved into the NASL. In
1976/77 he played for SC Beira Mar in Portugal and
then had further spells in the USA and Mexico
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