IN
MEMORIUM
Eusébio
da Silva Ferreira, 25 January 1942 –
5 January 2014
Nicknamed The Black
Panther, The Black Pearl, or o Rei (the
King), he was known for his speed, technique, athleticism and his ferocious,
accurate right-footed shot, making him an outstandingly prolific goal-scorer
and one of the greatest free-kick takers in history. He is considered Benfica's
and Portugal's most renowned player and one of the first world-class African
strikers. Although born in Mozambique and having an Angolan father,
Eusébio, like Matateu
and Mário Coluna, among others before him, could
only play for the Portuguese team, since both of the African countries were overseas territories and their inhabitants were
considered Portuguese.
During his
professional career, he scored 733 goals
in 745 matches.
Eusébio's name
often appears in best player of all time lists and polls by football
critics and fans. He was elected the 9th best footballer of the 20th century
in a poll by the IFFHS
and the 10th best footballer of the 20th century
in a poll by the World Soccer magazine. Pelé
named Eusébio as one of the 125 best living footballers in his 2004 FIFA 100
list. He was 7th in the online poll for UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll. 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. Eusébio has been called
"Africa's First Great Footballer" and "Africa's Greatest-Ever Player".
Eusébio was the prototype of a complete 21st-century striker,
decades ahead of his time; a superb athlete (he ran the 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 the air and possessed a fearsome and highly accurate right foot.
