Eusébio – like all the truly great sportsmen of history, Eusébio da Silva Ferreira was instantly recognisable by his first name alone. Nicknamed the ‘Black Panther’ by the English press, in Portugal, he was known simply as ‘O Rei,’ The King, and his funeral on Monday was befitting football royalty. Indeed, it is difficult to recall a state and a people bidding farewell to a sporting hero in the manner that Portugal said goodbye to the man universally acknowledged as one of the greatest footballers of all time.
Eusébio was the star of the 1966 World Cup in England, when he was the top scorer and helped Portugal to third place. During 15 years with Lisbon club Benfica (1960-1975), he twice won Europe’s Golden Boot award for scoring the most goals in a season; was awarded the Ballon d’Or as Europe’s best player in 1965, also finishing as runner-up in 1962 and in 1966; and helped his club win the European Cup in 1962 and be runner-up three more times. As a professional, he scored 733 goals in 745 matches.
But the facts, figures, records and accolades tell only part of the story that is now part of football’s mythology. For Eusébio transcended his sport like no other footballer, not even, arguably, his great contemporary Pelé.
Born in Portugal’s colony of Mozambique, he was Africa’s first great footballer, if not its greatest, and even modern day Portuguese greats Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo recognise him as Portugal’s greatest. Acclaimed for his speed, power, athleticism, ball control, explosive finishing and goal scoring, Eusébio was also the embodiment of sportsmanship on and off the pitch. One of the most famous memories of Eusébio is actually of an incident when he did not score.
In the 1968 European Cup final against Manchester United, with the score 1-1 and time running out, Eusébio was denied a certain winner from 15 yards out only by the brilliance of goalkeeper Alex Stepney. As Stepney got to his feet, Eusébio patted him on the back, tapped him respectfully on the nape of his neck, stepped back to allow him to throw the ball out and then applauded him. This was sportsmanship of the highest order and a moment that embodied the essence of the man.
This was also the golden age of the beautiful game and Eusébio was one of its finest exponents and ambassadors, known throughout his career for riding the crudest of tackles, fair play and saluting the excellence of his opponents, especially goalkeepers. “I’m somebody who has always been a believer in fair play,” Eusébio reflected years later, as he appropriately fulfilled an ambassadorial role for Benfica and the Portuguese football federation with the same humility and integrity with which he played.
Even in the midst of colonial tensions between Portugal and Mozambique and the independence struggle waged by the latter, Eusébio’s stature in both countries remained undiminished. And even during the authoritarian rule of António de Oliveira Salazar, he was considered so important to Portugal’s morale and prestige that the dictator forbade him from leaving Benfica to join the Italian club, Inter-Milan. Sure, it was a restriction on free trade but Eusébio accepted his role as a national symbol uncomplainingly and graciously.
When Eusébio died on Sunday, the Portuguese government announced three days of national mourning and the president declared, “We have lost one of our most loved and admired sons.” Mozambique too mourned its most famous son, with former president and childhood friend Joaquim Chissano saying: “I have lost a friend. Portuguese football has lost one of its greatest idols. Football brought Mozambique and Portugal together, and everyone in Mozambique is proud of Eusébio.”
On Monday, Eusébio was given an emotional send-off by tens of thousands at Benfica’s Stadium of Light and on the streets of Lisbon. On Wednesday, the Portuguese Parliament approved a motion to transfer his body to the National Pantheon, where he will rest alongside the country’s national heroes.
Very few athletes in world sport have been accorded such an honour, which confirms Eusébio’s status of national treasure and the respect and love he commanded across ideology, class and race. In Guyana, where we do little to cherish and honour our heroes, whether in life or in death, we would do well to ponder this example.
