Nené

Born in Leça da Palmeira, Nené made his professional debuts with S.L. Benfica in 1968 and remained a key fixture with the club until his retirement almost twenty years later, at nearly 37. In the 1972–73 season, he was a star player for a side which became Primeira Liga champion without a single defeat (28 matches won – 23 consecutively – out of 30): the team scored 101 goals, breaking 100 for only the second time in its history. Nené was the Portuguese Footballer of the Year in 1971 and also runner-up in 1972, which was achieved whilst competing with teammate Eusébio. He ranked second in Benfica's scoring lists in European competitions with 28 goals in 75 appearances, and played in the 1982–83 UEFA Cup finals, in an aggregate loss to R.S.C. Anderlecht. As a player, Nené won 11 national championships with his only club. After ending his career, with overall totals of 577 games and 361 goals, he became a youth coach at the Estádio da Luz.

Nené earned 66 caps for Portugal, ranking joint-ninth (with Simão Sabrosa) in the goalscoring charts at 22. He was their record appearance maker until 1994, when it was broken by FC Porto's João Domingos Pinto. Nené made his debut on 21 April 1971, in a 2–0 home win against Scotland for the UEFA Euro 1972 qualifiers. He played for the 1972 Brazil Independence Cup, where Portugal reached the final, losing 0-1 to Brazil, in a competition where he scored two goals. Selected for the Euro 1984 tournament, he netted the game's only goal against Romania in the last group stage encounter, becoming the oldest player to score in the European championship finals at 34 years and 213 days; his effort led the national team to the semi-finals versus hosts France, where he played as a substitute but could not help avoid the 2–3 extra time defeat. Nené's record was only broken 24 years later, when Ivica Vastić scored for Austria at Euro 2008 against Poland.

International goals

Club

Benfica Primeira Divisão(10): 1968–69, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1983–84 Taça de Portugal (7): 1969–70, 1971–72, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1984–85, 1985–86 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 1980, 1985 Taça de Honra Lisbon FA (8)

Individual

Portuguese League: Top Scorer 1980–81, 1983–84 Portuguese Footballer of the Year: 1971