Eusebio

Born January 25, 1942 in Lorenzo Marques (Mozambique).
Country Portugal
. Position Striker
. Club: Benfica, Beira-Mar, Tomar (all Portugal), Rhode Island Oushners, Boston Minuteman, Las Vegas Quicksilver, New Jersey Amerikenz (all U.S.), Monterrey (Mexico), Toronto Metros-Kroatsiya (Canada).
. Over 373 club teams had the match, scored 342 goals
.
For Portugal had 64 matches and scored 41 goal.
Achievements: Cup Champions 1962. Bronze medalist in 1966 World Cup.
Individual Trophies: Winner of the Golden Ball as the best footballer in Europe in 1965.

Eusebio, the greatest in the history of Portuguese player was not Portuguese. He was born and raised in Mozambique, which at that time still left a Portuguese colony. Eusebio was the first African footballer who won world fame. Leading Portuguese clubs, . such, . as Benfica, . Sporting and Porto, . sponsored "child" team in Mozambique and Angola, . and the most talented and promising local players were taken to Portugal, . where they then shone not only in the strongest clubs, . but also in the national team,
. Ironically, the young Eusebio nurture not Benfica, and its longtime rival, Sporting Lisbon another strong club. But when in 1961, Sporting Eusebio led to a trial show in Lisbon, the leadership of Benfica "stole" a football player is literally the plane and hid it in a safe place until passions are raw and Sporting have not lost interest in him. While coaches Benfica was Bela Guttman, a veteran of the Hungarian Football. He was a very high opinion of the potential players from Angola and Mozambique. The core team, . by Guttman in the same year led to the victory over Barcelona in the European Cup, . it consisted of Africans: goalkeeper Costa Pireyra, . center forward and team captain Jose Agaush and two attackers Welterweight - Joaquim Santana and Mario Coluna,
. But the greatest among them was Eusebio. Guttman included it in the main team at the end of the season 1960/61 year. He was in reserve, when Benfica was losing 0:3. Guttmann had nothing to lose, and he released on the field Eusebio. Eusebio had made a hat-trick and eclipsed even the Pele. He was then 19 more years. After a year in Amsterdam, Eusebio scored 2 goals and thereby contributed to an impressive victory at Benfica over Real Madrid in the final of European Cup. For 13 seasons, held at Benfica, Eusebio, along with his club and became a 7-fold champion of the country and won the Cup twice.

In 1965 Eusebio recognized as the best European player. At the World Championships in 1966 he scored a total of nine goals and became the leading scorer in championship. Seven times he was leading scorer in the championship of Portugal. But at age 32, he was forced to stop playing due to serious knee injury. However, Eusebio could not imagine life without football. When still very young North American Soccer League (NASL) invited him to pursue a career in America, he immediately accepted the invitation and moved across the ocean. He first played for the Boston Minutemen "(with his fellow" Benfica Antonio Simoeshem), then - for the "Toronto Metros-Kroatsiya", then - "Las Vegas Kviksilver". Loyal fans Benfica suffered the most contradictory feelings about the self-imposed exile in North America Eusebio. But all grievances were soon forgotten when he returned to Lisbon, where he began working as a football commentator on television, the second coach and general became an honorary "face" Benfica. Fans around the world fell in love with Eusebio, not only for his outstanding game, but for the fact that he always played fair, did not afford even a hint of unsportsmanlike behavior on the field. In 1968 at Wembley Eusebio almost won for Benfica in the European Cup final match with Manchestnr United FC. At the last minute of normal time he could score the decisive goal, but Alex Stepney miraculously tore his attack, acting on intuition rather. And what was the reaction of Eusebio? He patted Stepney on the back, recognizing that played a worthy opponent. Wembley Stadium in general played an important role in establishing a career Eusebio. It was here in 1961 in the qualifying match for the World Cup - even if Portugal and lost to England - the strength and skill of the young soccer stunned even recognized meters Football. All their actions Eusebio argued and proved that it can rightly be considered not only a great gentleman on the field, but also recognized the King of football history.