Over 300 appearances for Benfica, the club side he was most affiliated with, scoring over 300 goals in his time there, he was done his career by the time I was born. Finishing up in America with the New Jersey Americans in the ASL and then the indoor soccer club Buffalo Stallions in the MISL.
For Portugal he appeared 64 times scoring 41 times including the highest scorer in the 1966 World Cup held in England. Ironically his four goals against North Korea in the Quarter Finals was commentated on for English Television by sportscaster David Coleman who, himself, passed away exactly two weeks ago today.
In his career he averaged a goal a game with a total appearance figure of 430 and a total goal scoring figure over the same period of 428. We are sure to see an out pouring of more qualified speakers of his skill than I over the coming hours and days and all well deserved. Paddy Crerand was soon on the phone to the BBC to talk about the man along with David Bernstein and George Graham. Current and former Portuguese wingers Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo both took to social media to share their memories. Of Eusebio Figo wrote 'The King! Great loss for all of us! The greatest!' while Ronaldo summed it up perfectly in fewer characters by simply saying 'Always eternal, Eusebio, rest in peace'. Those words, just like the man they are about, were simple, respectful but powerful and effective.
Jason is a Freelance Soccer Writer. You can follow him on Twitter @PACityboy and www.facebook.com/jasonbardwell1979
No comments:
Post a Comment