Eusebio – Black Panther

Born in Lorenzo Marquez, Mozambique, ‘Eusebio’ was the first major player from the African continent. Eusébio began his career playing on the Sporting Clube de Lourenço Marques in what was then the Portuguese territory of Mozambique. The Lisbon based club Benfica signed Eusebio upon his arrival in Portugal in 1960.

The 1961 European Cup Final was held at the Wankdorf Stadium, Bern on 31 May 1961, and contested by Portuguese side Benfica against Spanish side Barcelona. This was the first final not to include Real Madrid, who had won the previous five finals. Benfica lifted the trophy for the first time, beating Barcelona 3–2. Benfica also became the first club apart from Real Madrid to win the European Cup.

In an exhibition match against Santos FC, a sensational second half hattrick by Eusebio for Benfica made headlines. Although, Benfica lost 6-3, Eusebio’s performance confirmed the young talent as a rising star. In his following season, 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, Benfica faced Real Madrid in the European Cup final. Real Madrid had phenomenal players like Di Stefano and Puskas. Benfica became the first club to defeat Real Madrid in the finals by a score of 5-3, in which Eusebio scored 2 goals.

With Eusebio’s scoring ability, Benfica won consecutive league titles between 1963 and 65. Eusebio was also named the European Footballer of the year in 1965.

The 1963 European Cup Final was a football match between Milan and Benfica, held at Wembley Stadium, London, on 22 May 1963. Milan won the match 2–1, winning the European Cup for the first time.

The 1965 European Cup Final was the final match of the 1964–65 European Cup, the tenth season of Europe’s premier club football tournament organized by UEFA. It was played at the San Siro in Milan, Italy, between Italian side Inter Milan and Portuguese side Benfica. Inter Milan won the match by a score of 1-0.

In the 1966 World Cup in England, Portugal had a tough experience but managed to beat Hungary 3-1, Defending Champions Brazil 3-1, where Eusebio scored 2 goals and Bulgaria 3-0 to finish first in their group. In the Quarter-final match against North Korea, Portugal went 3-0 down, but a brilliant hattrick and a penalty from Eusebio helped Portugal in a 5-3 comeback and advance to the Semi-finals.

In the semi-finals, Portugal faced England. Nobby Styles was tasked to mark Eusebio, which reduced the chances of a Portuguese offence. 2 goals from Bobby Charlton gave England the lead. Eusebio scored a penalty, but the World Cup journey was over for Portugal. Portugal finished at third position in the tournament. Eusebio finished as the tournament’s top scorer with 9 goals and put Portugal on world football map.

In club football, Eusebio continued scoring and was instrumental in Benfica’s success.  In 1962 and 1966, and in 1968 was the winner of the Golden Boot Award, as Europe’s leading scorer, a feat he repeated five years later.

The 1968 European Cup Final was the final match of the 1967–68 European Cup, the premier club football competition in Europe. It was played at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on 29 May 1968, and contested by Benfica of Portugal and Manchester United of England in front of a crowd of 92,225. Manchester United won the match 1-4.

After 15 years with Benfica, Eusebio went to North America. He had instant success playing in Boston. He then moved to Canada, where he captained Toronto Metros-Croatia in 1976 to win the  North American Soccer League (NASL) Title. He retired in 1978 due to a long term knee injury.

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.

He helped Benfica to win 11 Primeira Liga, 5 Portuguese Cup wins, 1 European Cup win and 3 European Cup finals. For Portuguese National team, Eusébio scored  41 goals in 64 matches.

Eusébio died at his home on 5 January 2014 of heart failure, aged 71.