Football may be a universal sport but its followers tend to be parochial at times. The bias is more pronounced during debates on great players. Arriving at a consensus is never easy. But there was unanimity among disparate sections when Eusebio died on Sunday aged 71. Tributes paid to the Portuguese legend from every corner of the world were heart-felt. That the Black Panther was originally from Portugal’s former colony — Mozambique —made his story particularly resonant.
To Portugal, Eusebio was more than a footballer. The emergence of Cristiano Ronaldo may have made Portugal cool in the new millennium but the Iberian country lacked a superstar in any sport before Eusebio burst on to the scene. He carved an identity for his adoptive nation.
Eusebio, a complete footballer, shone for both his club and country. He was the most dominant individual of the 1966 World Cup. Not only was he the top scorer with nine goals, he came tantalisingly close to making the tournament his own. When Portugal trailed North Korea 0-3 in the quarterfinal, Eusebio hauled his team back with a scintillating individual performance. If you don’t recall any of his teammates from the class of 1966, blame his brilliance that eclipsed the work of 10 others. It’s no coincidence that it took 20 years for Portugal to qualify for another World Cup.
Eusebio’s star was in the ascendant just as the great Real Madrid team of Alfredo di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas had been getting long in the tooth and short in performance. Eusebio made Benfica a fearsome club in Europe in the 60s through his singular achievements. Let’s not forget that Inter were the team to beat in that period along with British representatives, Manchester United and Celtic, not far behind.
The unfashionable Portuguese league gained prominence on the back of a powerful forward who was also whippet-quick. It was a pity that he only had a solitary European Cup to show for his incredible productivity in front of goal. But losing three finals in the European Cup was no shame for a team lacking star players.
The story that Eusebio was to have played for Sporting Lisbon instead of their archrivals Benfica is part of Portuguese football folklore.
The European Footballer of the Year in 1965 was so good in his prime that he could have made an average team into a winning unit. He had the talent as well as the hunger. European nights at Benfica’s imposing home, Estadio da Luz, will be poorer without the presence of the irrepressible Eusebio.
