For the next two weeks, ESPN FC is counting down the 20 greatest World Cup players of all time, with two unveiled per day until the final five. The identity of the No. 1 player will be announced on April 18.
Name: Eusebio da Silva Ferreira
Nationality: Portugal
Position: Striker
Clubs: Sporting de Lourenco Marques (1957-60); Benfica (1960-75); Boston Minutemen (1975); Monterrey (1975); Toronto Metros-Croatia (1975-76); Beira-Mar (1976); Las Vegas Quicksilvers (1976-77); Uniao de Tomar (1977-78)
International career: 64 matches, 41 goals.
World Cup participation: 1966 - played 6, scored 9
Finest World Cup moment: Four goals in one game in quarterfinal against North Korea
Roll of honour: Third place, 1966
Long before Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal had a true World Cup hero. So far, Ronaldo has come nowhere near matching the heroics Eusebio supplied in 1966, even with the 2006 semifinal appearance.
The Benfica legend’s nine goals powered his country to the semis, and third place, in the first finals tournament it had ever reached. An extraordinary athlete, from Portuguese colony Mozambique, he was perhaps the first African to truly star at a World Cup.
“Eusebio was a great player, one of the best ever,” Antonio Simoes, Eusebio’s teammate for 15 years at Benfica and on Portugal’s 1966 team, tells ESPN FC. “The combination of power, speed and game intelligence, the way he was reading the game and the technique of his passing was special. His finishing, his shooting on goal were fantastic.”
Portugal will never forget the favourite son, whose death in January led to its government declaring three days of mourning. At a time when the country was the poorest in Western Europe and under the harsh rule of dictator Antonio Salazar, Eusebio provided a beacon of hope.
“Eusebio is more than a player for Portuguese people,” said Joao Nunes, a journalist with Portuguese national broadcaster RTP. “He played at a time when Portugal had a lot of difficulties. Eusebio was the man who represented our country to the world. Football was the thing that made us smile, and Eusebio made us smile the most.”
He was also fiercely ambitious. When Portugal drew Brazil in the first-round group stage, Eusebio was determined to show he belonged on the same field as the great Pele.
“For the first time, he was in competition with Pele,” Simoes said. “He wanted to be better than Pele in this game. People already knew Eusebio’s name in European football, but the World Cup was the consecration, it would be forever.
“We were roommates. He said, ‘Simoes, I am going to score two goals tomorrow.’ He did. The conviction of this guy. It was a combination of wish and conviction.”
While the coming force scored twice in a 3-1 win for Portugal, Pele was treated to some fierce tackling from Portuguese defenders that left him hobbling off the field. Brazil exited the tournament, and Portugal posed a danger to any opponent.
Portugal’s reliance on Eusebio was revealed by his contribution to their quarterfinal with North Korea at Goodison Park. The Koreans, who had already stunned the world in their 1-0 defeat of Italy, stormed to a 3-0 lead. It took Eusebio at his finest to haul Portugal back. He scored four goals in an eventual 5-3 victory; it is remembered as his finest performance for the national team.
“That game against North Korea was an affirmation of our country,” Nunes said. “And it’s still the best result we have achieved in a World Cup. Eusebio was the face of that.
Added Simoes: “That was one of the best games he ever played. He talked about that game all the time. He had an incredible memory of that game.”
The venue of the semifinal with England remained a bugbear of Eusebio until his death. Tournament rules suggested that the match should have been played in Liverpool, as Portugal had gained more points in the group stage. London was chosen as the venue, instead of the city that had formed a close bond with Eusebio and his teammates.
Perhaps worn out by previous efforts, Portugal lost 2-1 at Wembley to England, with Eusebio grabbing only a consolation penalty. Nevertheless, he departed the tournament remembered not just for his goals, but a unique brand of sportsmanship.
“He was not a very cultured man,” Simoes said. “His culture was football culture. He understood from a very young age that he had to respect the opponent. He got kicked all over the place all his life, but he never responded. He understood he was better than others, they could not play like him. He had a good heart, he was a good human being.”
Said Nunes: “It’s not easy to find a great football player who is a good person, too. His personality gave him a special place in the world of football.”
Playing during a time of just 16 finalists, Eusebio never returned to the World Cup finals, though the memories of 1966 are more than sufficient.
“Nowadays you have a television in every place you go,” Nunes says. “So you are always watching football, and always watching Cristiano, but nobody will ever be as important to Portuguese football as Eusebio.”