Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – The South African Football Association (SAFA) has joined the international football community in mourning the passing away of Mozambican-born and Portugal international football legend Eusebio da Silva Ferreira.
The former Benfica star suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 71 on Sunday.
“This is a massive loss for the game in the whole world. His exploits reverberated across the universe, especially after his 1966 showing where he helped Portugal to reach the semi-finals,” said SAFA president Danny Jordaan.
SAFA has written to CAF requesting that players in Saturday’s opening African Nations Championship’s game between South Africa and Mozambique be made to wear black armbands and observe a minute of silence.
“That is a small way of remembering what this star did for the game,” he added.
The striker scored 473 goals in 440 matches for Portuguese giants Benfica and won the European Cup with the club in 1962.
He also scored 41 goals in 64 appearances for Portugal, which finished third in the 1966 World Cup in England – finishing the tournament as leading scorer with nine goals.
Photo: Cellardoorfam
