The Black Panther might have been the best
Mozambican footballer Eusebio da Silva Ferreira, better known as "the Black Panther" passed away from heart failure at the age of 71 on Sunday evening.
Even with the rise of Cristiano Ronaldo, he remained Portugal’s favourite son, the player who took them to the brink of the World Cup Final in 1966 and the man who gave a small nation belief in its ability to compete.
He is considered one of the greatest footballers of all time. During his professional career, he scored 733 goals in 745 matches.
Da Silva Ferreira started his football career in 1957 at the age of only 15 years at a club in Mozambique, Clube de Desportos do Maxaquene.
Three years later he joined Sport Lisboa e Benfica, a Portuguese multi-sport club based in Lisbon, Portugal.
He helped the Portuguese national team reach third place at the 1966 Soccer World Cup, 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 as third best player at FIFA World Cup.
He also contributed for Benfica to reach four European Cup finals, the last
in 1968 when they lost to Manchester United in extra-time at Wembley.
Benfica won the European trophy in 1961 and 1962.
Always referred to simply as Eusebio, this football legend was born in the Maputo suburb of Mafalala on January 25, 1942.
Portuguese clubs creamed off the best football talents from Mozambique, and it was Mozambican players who made Portugal a power to be reckoned with in the world of football in the ’60s.
In Portugal, his performances inspired Benfica to 11 domestic titles. He was the all-time top scorer at Benfica, with 638 goals in 614 matches. Athough he was not a European, he was crowned European footballer of the year in 1965.
After Mozambican independence, Eusebio opted to stay in Portugal, as a Portuguese citizen. Since at the time Mozambican legislation did not permit dual nationality, Eusebio automatically lost the right to Mozambican citizenship.
But when he visited Mozambique in 1985, President Samora Machel offered him a Mozambican diplomatic passport.
Eusebio went on record as saying that when he died, his coffin should be covered with the flags of Benfica, Mozambique and Portugal.
