Eusebio da Silva Ferreira of Benfica Football Club in Lisbon, shown at London Airport, England on May 19, 1963, when he arrived with the team. On May 22, Benfica play Milan in the European Cup final at Wembley Stadium. Eusebio, ranked one of the best forwards in the world, says his ambition is to score a goal at Wembley. Benfica has won the European Cup two years running. (AP Photo/Victor Boyton)
Eusebio was a Mozambican-born Portuguese football forward. He is considered one of the greatest footballers of all time.
During his professional career, he scored 733 goals in 745 matches.
He helped the Portuguese national team reach third place at the 1966 World Cup in England, being the top goal scorer of the tournament with nine goals (including four in one match against North Korea and received the Bronze Ball award. He won the Balon d'Or award in 1965 and was runner-up in 1962 and 1966. He played for Benefica
for 15 out of his 22 years as a footballer, thus being mainly
associated with the Portuguese club, and is the team's all-time top
scorer with 638 goals scored in 614 official games. There, he won eleven Primeira Liga titles, five Taca de Portugal titles, a European Cup (1961-!962) and helped them reach three additional European Cup finals. He was the European Cup top scorer in 1965, 1966 and 1968. He also won the Bola de Prata (Primeira Liga top scorer award) a record seven times. He was the first ever player to win the European Golden Boot, in 1968, a feat he replicated in 1973. He died Sunday January 5, 2013. He was 71.
Captain of England's World Cup football team, Bobby Moore, left, holds
his BBC Sportsview Personality of the Year award as he chats with
Eusebio da Silva Ferreira, Portugal's inside forward who is holding a
special Individual International award, at the British Broadcasting
Corporation's Television Centre in London, England on Dec. 15, 1966. On
the table in front of them is the Jules Rimet Cup, held by England after
their World Soccer Championship series win. (AP Photo/Peter Kemp)
Eusebio da Silva Ferreira and his wife Sophie admire the special Individual International award presented to him at the British Broadcasting Corporation's Television Centre in London, England on Dec. 15, 1966. This was one of several annual awards made by the BBC's Sportsview Programme to sporting personalities, both for team and individual efforts. (AP Photo/Peter Kemp)
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