The late Eusebio da Silva Ferreira was born on 25 January 1942 in Maputo, The capital of Mozambique, and later became a Portuguese citizen. He is a former Portuguese professional footballer, playing as a striker, one of the legendary superstars in the world of football, winning the third place in the 1966 World Cup for Portugal, and the top scorer of the World Cup, known as "Black Panther" and "Black Pearl". In 1979, Eusebio announced his retirement. In 2004, he was named one of the 125 best stars by Pele.
On January 5, 2014, Eusebio died of heart failure in Lisbon, and Portugal declared three days of national mourning for his passing.
Mozambican descent The story of the pseudonym "Ruth" was remade into a movie
Eusebio was born in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, Africa, and has an uncompromising African pedigree. Mozambique was a Portuguese colony at the time, and Eusebio later acquired Portuguese citizenship. Eusebio had a very poor childhood, and his neighborhood of Mafarala was one of the poorest in Maputo, and his only toy was a football made of newspaper stuffed in his socks. Legend has it that Eusebio often missed school because he played football, and although he did not have professional training, he stood out in football at the age of 16. Eusebio's boyhood friend and famous Portuguese sports defender Hilario in the 1960s recalled that Eubisio appeared tall and tall from an early age, and was nicknamed "Pele" at the field.
Eusebio's father, Laurindo Antonio, was a Caucasian Angolan who worked in the railways and served as a centre forward in the Mozambique Railways amateur team, and his mother, Eliza Anissa Beni, was of pure black descent and the fourth child in the family. At the age of 8, his father died of tetanus, and his mother raised all the children alone. At the age of 12, Eusebio joined his hometown amateur team, the Brazilians, where he excelled in sport, with outstanding results in the 100, 200 and 400 meters. Eusebio's first professional club was a club in Mozambique, however, Eusebio did not pass the trial. In 1960, Carlos Paul, a former Brazilian player who worked as a scout, discovered Eusebio's talent and recommended him to São Paulo club in Brazil, but Sao Paulo refused.
The first regular football club of Eusebio's career was Athletic Lorenzo Marques. In 1960, in more than 40 games played at Atlético de Lorenzo Marques, Eusebio scored 77 goals and caught the attention of the big clubs. At that time, Portuguese sports, Juventus, Turin, Genoa and Sampdoria were all interested in bringing him in. Eusebio's mother did not want him to play in another country, so Sport of Portugal took the lead because the club that Eusebio played for at the time had a partnership with Sport of Portugal. Sporting Portugal tried to sign Eusebio, but Benfica went straight to Eusebio's mother, who accepted Benfica's terms. Later, under the operation of Benfica, 17-year-old Eusebio left Mozambique on December 16 as a Portuguese woman "Ruth Maloso" and traveled to Lisbon of his dreams to join Benfica. This history of darkness Chen Cang was later adapted and remade into a movie.
For this reason, Portuguese sports and Benfica clubs are in a fight. There are several stories and versions of the dispute, with Sport of Portugal reportedly trying to appeal, but Eusebio has been taken to a hotel in the Algarve and hidden for fear of being kidnapped by rivals until Benfica officials managed to reach a deal with their families. Due to the delay in the controversial signing, he was unable to represent Benfica in the Champions League final with Barcelona.
Eusebio recalled: "Benfica wanted to give me a professional contract, while Portugal Sport wanted me to gain experience as a junior player without any monetary reward. Benfica talked to my mom and my brother, and they offered the equivalent of a thousand euros for three years, and my brother offered to double the salary, and they accepted, so my mom signed the contract. ”
In the European Champions Cup on 31 May 1961, Benfica defeated Spain's Barcelona 3–2. At that time, the stadium with a capacity of 100,000 spectators came with less than 40,000 people, it rained in Barcelona for several days before the team set off, and the club was also in a financial crisis, with a deficit of millions of pesetas, and the $30,000 championship prize money was very attractive to Barca. You know, the game between Benfica and Barca is two different styles in the game, and the refined technical PK has an aggressive way of playing. In the end, Benfica had the last laugh in the confrontation.
Benfica's kings won the idol jersey better than the Champions Cup
On 1 June 1961, a day after the champions cup, Eusebio represented Benfica for the first time in the official tournament, the second leg of the Portuguese Cup Round of 16. Although Benfica won 3-1 against Victoria Setúbal in the first leg, Benfica had 15 main players out of the game, which was equivalent to Benfica sending Team B to play, resulting in a 1-4 defeat to Victoria Setúbal and was eventually eliminated. In the 64th minute, Eusebio scored the only goal of the team, and during the game he easily dribbled across the field, dribbling finely, and shooting powerfully and accurately.
After joining Benfica, Eusebio came off the bench in the team's match against Brazil's famous club Santos. In the first half of that game, Benfica fell behind 3-0; in the second half, the coach decisively used Eusebio, and the "Panther" from the African steppe lived up to expectations, and as soon as he came on the field, Santos felt defensive pressure, and then he scored three goals alone to equalize the score. Eusebio runs gracefully, like a leopard ready to tear its prey to pieces, he has extraordinary speed, enough to run 100 meters in 11 seconds, can shoot with both feet, especially the left foot shot is even more confusing, with Eusebio Benfica soaring to become one of the top teams in Portugal and even Europe.
In 1962, Benfica met Real Madrid, a La Liga giants who had won five consecutive titles in the European Champions League. At that time, Real Madrid's squad was very strong, with stars such as Paco Hunto, Ferenc Puskas and Alfredo Di Stefano in the squad. Benfica, on the other hand, is led by the Hungarian Bela Gutmann, with Pereira, Germano, Cruz, Anglo, Kavim, Koluna, Simes, Eusebio and others. In the first half, Real Madrid took the lead and scored two goals, and then Benfica, led by Eusebio, began to score frequent points in the Jedi counterattack, and Eusebio scored the team's last two goals to help the team win 5-3 and win the European Champions Cup again, which also allowed the domineering Real Madrid to see Benfica's strength. Despite winning the most important trophy in European football, Eusebio revealed in an interview that he was happiest that day in exchange for Alfredo Di Stéfano's shirt, which he hid in his shorts and ran away. Eusebio said excitedly: "The championship doesn't mean anything to me, what matters is to have the jersey of Alfredo Di Stéfano. In fact, the two feel sorry for each other and are both rivals and friends on the field. For Eusebio, Di Stefano was his great icon; Di Stefano always claimed that Eusebio was the best athlete he had ever met.
Many European giants have tried to bring in Eusebio, but their offers have been rejected by Benfica. During his time at Benfica, Eusebio helped the team win two European Cups and finished runners-up in the European Cups in 1963, 1965 and 1968. In addition, Eusebio helped Benfica win 11 National League Titles, 5 National Cups and two UEFA Champions Cups (1961, 1962), 3 runners-up (1963, 1965, 1968), and he was the portuguese league's top scorer seven times.
In Eusebio's 22-year career, he has spent nearly 15 years with Benfica, scoring more than 600 goals, and he is the "king" of Benfica. At the time of Eusebio's death, the Benfica club posted a video on social media recalling the great man. Benfica's official website reads: "53 years ago, on December 27, 1965, Eusebio was awarded the Ballon d'Or, becoming the first Portuguese to receive the trophy. ”
The World Cup celebrates wearing the Golden Boot "European Pele" vs. Brazil Pele
Eusebio made his debut for the Portuguese national team at the 1962 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Chile on 8 October 1961, a few months after Benfica won the European Cup, but portugal lost 4-2 to Luxembourg. At the Josi Basel Stadium in Luxembourg City, some 6,000 spectators watched the victory of the first official match in the history of the Luxembourg national team. In this match, head coach Fernando Peroteo decided to put young striker Eusebio, who was only 19 years old, on the pitch, and he did not disappoint the coach's expectations, scoring a goal in the 82nd minute, but portugal were already 0-3 behind by that time. Later, portugal lost their last World Cup qualifier against England, and the Five Shields were missing the 1962 World Cup.
At the 1966 World Cup in England, Portugal had big names such as Hilario, Jose Augusto, Torres, Mario Coruna and Antonio Simes, and Eusebio's personal skills also reached its peak. On 13 July 1966, Eusebio made his World Cup debut in a 3-1 Hungarian match in the first round of the World Cup group stage. "13" is Eusebio's jersey number, which is also inextricably linked to Eusebio, who has won the league title in Benfica exactly 13 times. In the second round of the group stage, Portugal 3-0 Bulgaria, Eusebio scored a goal in the 38th minute of the match, but he received the first and only yellow card of his World Cup career.
In the third round of the 1966 FIFA World Cup group stage, Portugal defeated Pele-led Brazil 3-1. Eusebio scored twice in the 27th and 85th minutes, the first of which was a textbook of violent aesthetics, with a powerful volley from the right side of the penalty area. One factor in this game was that Pele was injured by Portuguese player Moles, and the rules at that time did not allow substitutions, so Pele's departure due to injury caused the Brazilian team to only play most of the game with 10 people. Although Pele was the greatest superstar of his time, the younger Eusebio did not lose the game when he competed with him. In the battle for the rematch, Portugal was beaten 3-0 by the North Korean team as soon as they came up. In the face of the severe situation, Eusebio, who has never been afraid of any opponent, calmed down, he constantly threaded the needle, coordinated the rhythm of attack and defense, staged a long-distance attack with the ball in the middle circle, even a number of North Korean players, were put down in the penalty area to get a penalty, Portugal quickly equalized the score, Eusebio personally completed the senior year, and finally Portugal won with a 5-3 score reversal, and this game became a classic game of the World Cup.
After reaching the final four of the World Cup, Portugal met England led by Bobby Charlton. After the opening, Charlton scored two goals ahead, and in the second half, Eusebio took a penalty to pull back a point. At that time, all the England fans were desperately cheering for Charlton, cheering for the England team, and the host England took advantage of the favorable conditions. But Eusebio ignored the shouts of the England fans, running around the field like a leopard, deftly leading the ball, often before the defenders approached him, the ball was firmly glued to his feet. But Lady Luck patronized the host team and Portugal eventually lost 2-1 to England, missing out on the chance to compete for the title. At the end of the game, the image of Eusebio crying spread all over the world.
In the three or four finals, Portugal defeated the Soviet union led by the mythical leo Lev Yasin to set the best record in the history of the World Cup in Portugal, and Eusebio was named the top scorer of the World Cup with nine wonderful goals, and was also selected as the best team in the World Cup. However, due to the lack of championship, Eusebio lost to the British legend Bobby Charlton by one point in the "Golden Globe Award", but after the World Cup, Eusebio also became a world star on a par with Charlton. In 1962 and 1966, Eusebio was twice named the second best athlete in Europe and won the Silver Ball Award. In 1965, Eusebio was named the best athlete in Europe and won the Ballon d'Or, overpowered Italian Jacinto Fachetti and Spaniard Luis Suarez Miramontes. In 1968 and 1973, Eusebio was named Europe's best scorer and won the Golden Boot. In football, Eusebio is known as the "European Pele".
On 13 October 1973, Eusebio made his last appearance for the Portuguese national team at the Estadio Daluz, a match in which Portugal drew 2-2 with Bulgaria. In 1979, Eusebio announced his retirement.
Many times for C Ronaldo platform The idol of portugal's "golden generation"
Before the 1966 World Cup in England, Angelo Moratti's Inter had begun negotiations over Eusebio's move to Italy. In the spring of 1966, the two sides reached an agreement that Inter paid a total of 500 million lira, half to Benfica and half to Eusebio, and the agreement would come into force after the World Cup in England, but things turned out differently and the agreement reached was invalid due to the portuguese football association not allowing it.
Eusebio did not leave Benfica until 1975, when he played too often, often fouled by opponents and plagued by injuries. He has since played for seven clubs in the United States, Canada and Mexico, winning two titles. The first club he represented after leaving Benfica was the Boston Militia in the United States, where the Panther scored 2 goals in 8 appearances and helped the team win the title. While playing for Monterrey F.C. in Mexico, Eusebio scored just one goal.
At Canada's Toronto Metro, the Panther made 25 appearances and scored 18 goals, which was already the most goals he had since leaving Benfica. Before retiring, Eusebio returned to Portugal and chose to end his career in the Tomar League. After retiring from the army, he underwent seven surgeries on his knee due to injuries.
After hanging up his boots, 38-year-old Eusebio began coaching. In the beginning, he was responsible for training goalkeepers at Benfica. At that time, he was both an assistant to the first team and a coach of the youth team, working quietly to cultivate young football talents. In 2000, Eusebio, with his prestige in international football and his charisma, helped Portugal finally qualify to host the 2004 European Football Championship. The player from the African continent has become a symbol of Portuguese football.
Although the number of appearances and goals scored by the national team that Eusebio has created, as well as the number of Ballon d'Or wins, have long been surpassed by younger players, there is no doubt that he is still the first man in Portuguese football. Once, when the Portuguese superstar Figo was asked "who is better than Eusebio or C Ronaldo", Figo said that he did not want to answer the question, because comparing C Ronaldo showed a lack of respect for Eusebio. As we all know, when evaluating the historical position of football, the record and honor are a reference factor, but not an absolute factor. In the 1960s, Eusebio led Portuguese football to the World Cup stage, bringing infinite spiritual power to the global Portuguese population. Later in Portuguese football "Golden Generation", most of the players' idols were Eusebio.
In June 2012, Eusebio suffered a stroke. On January 5, 2014, just before he turned 72, a heart attack took him away forever. After Eusebio's death, the entire Portuguese country fell into pain, and the government declared three days of national mourning. The Washington Post wrote: "Hundreds of people mourn the passing away of the 'beloved giant of Portuguese football'. The New York Times wrote: "Legendary footballer Eusebio, the greatest symbol of Portuguese football, has passed away. In Asia, the South China Morning Post wrote: "The king is dead."
Eusebio was very concerned about the development of Portuguese players during his lifetime, and repeatedly stood for the young Cristiano Ronaldo at events. The Portuguese players also remember the 1966 World Cup in England at Wembley Stadium, the tearful "Panther" in a red and green sweatshirt. Half a century later, the Portuguese team led by C Ronaldo flew back to the country with the glory of the European championship, and they took a group photo in the special plane, standing in front of the dazzling Delaunay Cup in silence for Eusebio.
Today stands a bronze statue of Eusebio outside benfica's Stadium of Light, filled with flowers from Portugal and scarves from clubs of the world. Eusebio is a role model for a young man, the family's serious financial difficulties and his father's early death did not hinder his dreams, he did not fall into a situation of resignation and anxiety, his passion for football, his persistence in his dreams, let people always respect and remember him.