THE PLAYER THEY CALLED “THE BLACK PANTHER”

The nickname the British press gave him had a lot to do with his blinding speed and his “killer instinct.” Echoing Kenny Dalglish’s “He could play a bit” comment about Pele, so, too could Eusebio. He certainly could “run a bit”, and by heavens could he “score goals a bit.”
Let’s give the Portuguese marvel his full name — Eusebio da Silva Ferreira. The name Eusebio runs trippingly off the tongue, as the saying goes. You pronounce it as follows: Yew-say-be-oh, though I remember a well known commentator saying on the radio in 1966,
“Here’s a name for the future… remember it, because you’ll be hearing it again and again: Ees-a-by-o!”
The name Eusebio, incidentally, is of Greek origin, and its meaning is “devout”.
I only once had the privilege of being in the Black Panther’s company, and then it was a formal occasion — the celebration of Manchester United’s 25th anniversary of winning the European Cup. On formal occasions you don’t get much opportunity to sit down and have informal chats.
But the impressions I got of this phenomenal footballer (the greatest Portuguese soccer player of all time, and the greatest African player in history) were of his warmth and humility.
He was born in what was then Martinique, and his father, a railway worker, died from tetanus when Eusebio was only 8. His mother was left to bring up her four children in abject poverty.
He joined Benfica on his arrival in Portugal in 1960, and in his very first game for the club (a friendly) he scored a hat trick. In 715 games for Benfica he would go on to score 727 goals!
When Benfica beat Real Madrid 5-3 in the 1962 European Cup Final, Eusebio scored two goals. Little wonder that they erected a statue in his honour.
He played in 64 internationals, scoring 41 times.
European Footballer of the Year in 1965, during the 1966 World Cup in England he led Portugal to a third-place finish, and was the competition’s top scorer with 9 goals. Two of them were against Brazil.
To meet this average-sized striker with his twinkling eyes, ready smile, sunny personality, and unparalleled scoring record — he was celebrated worldwide for his long runs through defenders and his astonishing scoring touch) was an honour I still savour.
When he died the Portuguese government declared a 3-day mourning period.