Eusebio da Silva Ferreira was born at Lourenco Marques, Mozambique, in 1942 and in 1961 joined Benfica as a 19 year old from his local club, for £7.500. In one of his first games for Benfica, in a Paris tournament, he scored a hat-trick against Pelè's Santos and became one of Europe's most lethal strikers. He scored twice in the 5-3 defeat of Real Madrid in the 1962 European Cup final and gained runners-up medals in 1963 and 1968.
Eusebio won the first of his 64 caps in 1961, but will best be remembered for his contribution to the 1966 World Cup. "The Black Pearl" gave brilliant displays and scored some outstanding goals. Nine goals made him the tournaments top scorer and he netted four in Portugal's remarkable fight-back against North Korea. He was the 1965 European Player Of The Year and in 1968 was the first winner of the Golden Boot Award, as Europe's leading scorer, a feat he repeated five years later. The Portuguese League's top scorer every year from 1964 to 1973, he helped Benfica to 10 league championships and 5 cup wins. Knee operations slowed him down and in 1975 he moved into the NASL. In 1976/77 he played for SC Beira Mar in Portugal and then had further spells in the USA and Mexico.
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