Eusébio da Silva Ferreira

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Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, known by the playing name of Eusébio, (born January 25, 1942 in Lourenço Marques [now Maputo], Mozambique) nicknamed The Black Pearl and The Black Panther, is a Portuguese football icon. He is considered to be one of the best of his time and is unarguably one of the great all-time players. His trademarks were his speed (he was the under-19 Portuguese champion of 400, 200 and 100 m races), quick dribble and a fierce, tremendously accurate right-footed strike.

In 1961, Eusébio joined Benfica as a 19 year old from his local club, Sporting Club of Lourenço Marques, for £7500, and immediately became a crucial element on the team. He made his debut for the Portuguese national team that year as well, against Luxembourg. In 1962, he won the European Champions Cup - he scored two goals in the final, played against Puskás' and Di Stéfano's Real Madrid CF. Benfica won by 5-3.

He was the leading scorer in the 1966 World Cup where he scored nine goals, including four against North Korea. He was the 1965 European Footballer 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. He scored an outrageous 727 goals in 715 matches wearing Benfica's jersey. Eusébio was the all-time leading scorer for his country, with 41 goals (in 64 matches), until Pauleta outnumbered this record against Latvia, on 12nd October 2005.

In 1975 and 1976, Eusébio played for two minor Portuguese teams, Beira-Mar and União de Tomar. He scored a total of 733 goals in the Portuguese League. He also played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1977, for three different teams.

Despite being retired, Eusébio is often found among the Portuguese national team where the players see him as a sort of inspiration and source of moral support.

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Honours

1961: Portuguese Championship, World Club Cup runner-up
1962: European Cup, Portuguese Cup, World Club Cup runner-up
1963: Portuguese Championship, European Cup runner-up
1964: Portuguese Championship, Portuguese Cup
1965: Portuguese Championship, European Cup runner-up, European Footballer of the Year
1966: World Cup 3rd place
1967: Portuguese Championship
1968: Portuguese Championship
1969: Portuguese Championship and Cup
1970: Portuguese Cup
1971: Portuguese Championship
1972: Portuguese Championship, Portuguese Cup
1973: Portuguese Championship
1974: Portuguese Championship
1976: NASL Championship