A Tribute

Eusebio da Silva Ferreira

(25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014)

Eusebio, who has died aged 71, is considered to be the greatest African Footballer in the history of the game. He moved from his native Mozambique to the Portuguese club Benfica in 1961, blazing from a trail from poverty to stardom that scores of young African footballers would follow, though none since has played with such grace or reached the benchmark he set.

He was the prototype of a complete 21^st century striker, decades ahead of his time, a superb athlete (he ran 100 meters in 11 seconds at the age of 16) with explosive acceleration who could leave defenders trailing in his wake. He could also dribble, was good in air and possessed a fearsome and highly accurate right foot and his scoring record was astonishing. He was known for his fair play and humility and was often praised by his opponents.

·         During his Professional career, Eusebio scored 733 goals in 745 matches

·         He scored a hat-trick on his Benfica debut in June 1961.

·         In 15 years at Benfica, he scored an incredible 473 goals in 440 competitive games.

·         He was the top scorer seven times in the Portuguese league.

·         He was the First player ever to win the olden Boot Award, in 1968, a feat he replicated in 1973.

·         In His only appearance in the world cup finals, in England in 1966, he won the Golden boot for top scorer of the tournament with nine goals in six games and helped his national team finish third in the Competition.

·         He won the Ballon d’Or award in 1965 and was the runner up in 1962 and 1966.

·         He was named as the 9^th best football of the Century in a poll by the IFFHS and the 10^th best footballer of the 20^th Century in a poll by the World Soccer Magazine. He was also placed 7^th in the online poll for UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll.

He lived in Portugal for the rest of his life (although he frequently returned to Mozambique, where he was hero-worshipped), acting as a football ambassador for both Portugal and Benfica where he is immortalized in a statue at the club’s stadium, the Estadio da Luz.