OSATv TouchLine host, Anthony Totera, interviews Eusébio da Silva Ferreira -- retired Portuguese forward considered one of the best footballers of all-time, on his memories playing in Toronto as captain of 1976 Soccer Bowl Champions Metros-Croatia, his many years with Benfica, the outlook for Portugal in the upcoming FIFA World Cup in South Africa, and the importance of quality coaching in instilling the discipline and passion necessary to succeed in the sport.
Nicknamed "The Black Panther", or "The Black Pearl", Eusébio helped the Portuguese national team reach third place at the 1966 World Cup as top goalscorer of the tournament with nine goals and who was elected the European Footballer of the Year in 1965. He played for Benfica for 15 years, and is the team's all-time top scorer. He scored for Benfica 727 goals in 715 games. He is also known for his speed and his powerful, accurate right-footed strike. He is considered Benfica's and Portugal's most renowned player and the first world-class African striker. He was elected the 10th best footballer of the 20th century in a poll by the IFFHS. Pelé named Eusébio as one of the 125 best living footballers in his 2004 FIFA 100 list. In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player of Portugal by the Portuguese Football Federation as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years. In 1962, he won the European Cup with Benfica, scoring two goals in the final against Real Madrid. Benfica won 5--3. Benfica were also European Cup runners-up in 1963, 1965, and 1968. 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 First Division's top scorer seven times from 1964 to 1973, he helped Benfica to 11 league championships (1961, 1963--65, 1967--69, 1971--73, 1975) and five cup wins (1962, 1964, 1969, 1970, 1972). He scored 727 goals in 715 matches wearing Benfica's jersey, including 317 goals in 301 Portuguese league matches. In 1976--77 and 1977--78, Eusébio played for two minor Portuguese teams, Beira-Mar, in I Division, and União de Tomar, in the II Division. He also played in the North American Soccer League (NASL), for three different teams, from 1975 to 1977: Boston Minutemen (1975), Toronto Metros-Croatia (1976), and the Las Vegas Quicksilver (1977). His most successful season in the NASL was in 1976 with Toronto Metros-Croatia. He scored in their 3--0 victory at the 76 Soccer Bowl to win the NASL title. The same year, he played ten games for Monterrey in the Mexican league. The following season (1977), he signed for the Las Vegas Quicksilver. This was to be a very disappointing end to Eusébio's career. By this time, injuries had taken their toll on The Black Panther, and he was constantly receiving medical treatment whilst playing for the Quicksilver. During the season he only managed to score two goals. Although his knees robbed him of his ability to continue in the NASL, Eusébio wanted to continue to play soccer and he found a home in 1978 with the New Jersey Americans of the second-tier American Soccer League (ASL). Injuries forced his retirement for good at the end of the season.
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Hungary x Portugal 1966 WC (1.) - Eusébio vs. Flórián Albertby SnarlyGeezmo3,175 views
granda Eusebio
urbanoproductions 11 months ago
EUSEBIO!!
DiabosVermelhos1982 1 year ago