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Eusébio: A Legend of Football

Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, GCIH, GCM, (January 25, 1942 – January 5, 2014) is considered to be Portugal’s most renowned player and one of the first world-class strikers. He scored a total of nine goals while leading Portugal to a third-place finish in the 1966 World Cup.

EusébioEusébio kicking the ball in 1065

Eusébio was born in Mozambique, which was at the time was a Portuguese colony. As a teenager, Eusébio joined Portugal’s Benfica Club and helped the team win 11 league titles and the 1962 European Cup. He was even honored by Benfica as one of the 20th century’s top players, making him a statue and created an annual Eusébio Cup. He became an ambassador for football after his retirement until his death. On January 5, 2014, the soccer legend died of heart failure at the age of 71.

Greatest Sporting Achievements

Eusébio is the Portuguese club’s all-time top scorer with 638 goals scored in 614 official games, won 11 Primeira Liga titles, 5 Taca de Portugal titles, the eighth highest goal scorer in European Cup history and the second highest behind Alfredo DI Stefano in pre-Champions League era with 48 goals.



Eusébio is in the ninth spot in the International Federation of Football History and Statistics’ poll of the 20th century’s top player.

He was given the UEFA President’s Award, PFA Merit Award and many others. Eusébio is part of the FIFA International Football Hall of Champions, received FIFA Order of Merit and Ballon d’OR.

Why Was He So Good?

Eusébio is the most famous name in the history of Portuguese football. As a legendary center-forward and a world-class striker, he was blessed exceptional acceleration, skills, performance, athleticism and vicious right-footed shots, making him a prolific goal scorer.

What You May Not Know

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Football (some call it soccer) is the world's most popular sport. There are many major football tournaments, the pinnacle is the FIFA World Cup. See a calendar of what is coming up. There have been many legends of the game, particularly winners of the Ballon d'Or. For players, there are articles about Football Fitness and Fitness Testing.

Profiles Extra

There are profiles of past athlete champions from a large range of sports. See also profiles of Olympic athletes and pages about sporting heroes.

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