Great player and a gentleman. Portugal were great in the 1966 world cup and on another day may have won the semi-final. 2 years later he again lost out to Bobby Charlton in the European Cup final.
Unbelievable player. Scored 473 goals in 440 games for Benfica. Best player in the 1996 Cup Finals by a country mile. (Well, not better than Pele but Pele had no chance in the finals after being kicked all over the place).
Cadiz - fat Finger Syndrome on your date there, 1966.
Always played with a smile on his face, very sporting even to the point of congratulating Gordon Banks who had just saved one of his fierce shots. (Or maybe that was Alex Stepney in the Euro Cup Final, probably even both!)
Benfica in the 60's were a superb side, taking over the mantle from a fading Real Madrid. They had fine players, Augusto, Coluna, Simoes, Torres etc. Above all of these was one man...Eusebio...a dynamic striker from Mozambique. He was the real deal. God knows what he would have been worth today. He did his level best to take Portugal to World Cup glory in 1966. 3-0 down in the quarters v N.Korea, they were all but dead and buried. Only one man was capable of turning it round. He scored 4 goals as they came back to win 5-3. The semi-final v England was a glorious game of football and Bobby Charlton had the game of his life. Eusebio scored but it wasn't enough. The abiding memory was the great man reduced to tears at the end.
In 1968 at Wembley, he had the chance to put the record straight in the European Cup Final v Man.Utd. At 1-1, with seconds left, he burst through with Stepney to beat. He smashed it like a rocket but just too close to the keeper. He generously congratulated Stepney on the save but like a certain Scottish player in 1983, he should have scored. United blew them away in extra time and his nemesis Bobby Charlton got one over him again.
He was quick, strong and direct. An awesome finisher. Up there with the best of all time.
Back in '66 he was the one player who we feared stood in our way to the final - almost a one man team he was that good. Wonderful ball control and fantastic positional sense.
Happy memories. RIP.
I remember reading in Gordon Banks' autobiography, Banks of England, about that semi-final. Portugal were awarded a penalty. Banks had studied Eusebio's penalty taking and knew that he always put the ball to the keeper's right. Banks, though, chose to follow his teammates' instructions. They were all pointing to his left and he took their advice. Eusebio duly stuck the ball in the other corner, giving England a very nervous last half hour or whatever it was. Brilliant player - I remember the BBC did a repeat of all the 1966 games, and he clearly stood out. Hurst never really made that much of an impact until the final. The other player who really stood out was the Soviet Union's goalkeeper, Lev Yashin.
A gentleman footballer from a different era.
When players generally played with a smile on their faces and looked like they enjoyed the job they were doing.
Had he been Brazilian he would no doubt have been rated higher than Pele.
Eusabio,Di Stefano,Charlton,Best and Pele.
What would you see the five of them in the same team?