Mário Coluna

Born in Inhaca, Portuguese Mozambique to a Portuguese father and a Mozambican mother, Coluna was spotted by S.L. Benfica while playing for Desportivo de Lourenço Marques, where he excelled at basketball and track and field. Signed by the Lisbon club in 1954, he started out as an inside forward, scoring a career-best 14 goals in 26 games in his first season in Portugal and winning the first of his Primeira Liga championships; subsequently, he was successfully reconverted as a central or attacking midfielder by manager Otto Glória, where he put to good use his stamina and strength, adding to this an accurate and powerful long-distance shot and technical skills. Coluna captained Benfica from 1963 to 1970, in 328 matches. Already at the service of Olympique Lyonnais, he was awarded a testimonial match by his main club on 8 December 1970, playing against a UEFA selection that featured the likes of Johan Cruyff, Dragan Džajić, Geoff Hurst, Bobby Moore, Uwe Seeler or Luis Suárez. He retired professionally aged 35 after one sole campaign with the French side, but spent one year with amateurs Sport Clube Estrela from Portalegre, acting as player-coach. Coluna scored in both European Cup finals won by Benfica. In 1961, he beat FC Barcelona's Antoni Ramallets from long range in a 3–2 win in Bern. The following year, against fellow Spaniards Real Madrid, he netted the 3–3 equaliser and subsequently was supposed to take the penalty that resulted in the 4–3 lead (eventual 5–3 victory),…

Coluna played 57 times for the Portugal national team, scoring eight goals. His first appearance was in a friendly with Scotland on 4 May 1955 (3–0 loss), and his last was on 11 December 1968 in a 4–2 defeat to Greece for the 1970 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Coluna captained the Magriços in all except one of the matches during the third-place campaign at the 1966 World Cup in England.

Coluna was noted for his leadership skills, calm demeanor and respectful conduct, as well as his vision and reading of the game, passing range and powerful long shots.

Benfica

Primeira Liga: 1954–55, 1956–57, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69 Taça de Portugal: 1954–55, 1956–57, 1958–59, 1961–62, 1963–64, 1968–69 European Cup: 1960–61, 1961–62 Intercontinental Cup runner-up: 1961, 1962 Portugal

FIFA World Cup third-place: 1966 Individual

World Soccer World XI: 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1966 World XI: 1967