Eusébio
Portuguese footballer (1942–2014)
Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (European Portuguese: [ewˈzɛβju ðɐ ˈsilvɐ fɨˈʁɐjɾɐ]; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "o Rei" ("the King"), was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time as well as Benfica's best player ever. He was known for his speed, technique, athleticism and right-footed shot, making him a prolific goalscorer, accumulating 733 goals in 745 matches. Eusébio was the first ever player to win European Golden Boot, World Cup Golden Boot and UCL Golden Boot. In the UEFA Champions League, he ranks second for the all-time Portuguese top goalscorers, scoring 47 goals.
Eusébio helped Portugal reach third place at the 1966 FIFA World Cup, being the top goalscorer of the tournament with nine goals. He won the Ballon d'Or in 1965 and was runner-up in 1962 and 1966. He is Benfica's all-time top scorer with 473 goals in 440 competitive matches. There, his honours include eleven Primeira Liga titles and a European Cup, also being integral in reaching additional European Cup finals in 1963, 1965 and 1968. He is the second-highest goalscorer, behind Alfredo Di Stéfano, in the pre-Champions League era of the European Cup with 47 goals.
The public source identifies “Eusébio” as portuguese footballer (1942–2014). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Eusébio, Portuguese and footballer.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Eusébio”, the useful work is to connect “portuguese footballer (1942–2014)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q162043. VIAF identifies the subject as 2985300. The Library of Congress control number is n94058773. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1942, 2014, 1966 and 1965.
Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Eusébio” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.