Eusebio

Daily Digest

Eusebio Eusbio da Silva Ferreira, GCIH, GCM (pron. IPA: (born January 25, 1942 in Mozambique - then an Overseas Province of Portugal), popularly known simply as Eusbio, is a Portuguese former football forward of Mozambican origin. He helped the Portugal national team reach third place at the 1966 World Cup, being the top goalscorer of the tournament with nine goals (six of which were scored at Goodison Park) and was elected the European Footballer of the Year in 1965. He played at the club Benfica for 15 years, and is the team’s all-time top scorer. Nicknamed ”The Black Panther”, or ”The Black Pearl”, Eusbio scored 727 goals in 715 games. He is also known for his speed and his powerful, accurate right-footed strike. He is considered Benfica’s and Portugal’s most renowned player and the first world-class African striker.[1] He was elected the 9th best footballer of the 20th century in a poll by the IFFHS.[2] Pel named Eusbio as one of the 125 best living footballers in his 2004 FIFA 100 list. 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.[3]

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