Eusébio da Silva Ferreira

About Eusébio da Silva Ferreira

Few career paths read quite like that of Eusébio da Silva Ferreira. The Portuguese striker, born in 1942, started out at Sporting Lourenço Marques in 1956 and went on to represent 9 clubs across 5 countries. Now retired, Ferreira left the game having last played for New Jersey Americans in 1979.

Club by club, the full journey looks like this: Sporting Lourenço Marques (1956–1960), then Benfica (1960–1975), then Boston Minutemen (1975–1975), then Monterrey (1975–1976), then Toronto Metros-Croatia (1976–1976), then Beira-Mar (1976–1977), then Las Vegas Quicksilvers (1977–1977), then União de Tomar (1977–1978), then New Jersey Americans (1978–1979). Memorize routes like this one and your Daily Play scores will thank you.

If one badge defines the grid, it is Benfica — home for close to 15 years. A suitcase was packed in 1960: destination Benfica, Portugal. Count the flags: Mozambique, Portugal, United States, Mexico, Canada — each one a different league, a different footballing culture.

Written in the record books: 745 recorded appearances, 733 goals.

Some parts of the story do not fit in any stat column. When Benfica signed him in 1961, rival club Sporting disputed the deal so fiercely that Benfica hid him at a holiday home in the Algarve for twelve days while the transfer was finalized. He said he asked Portugal's dictator, António de Oliveira Salazar, in person on eight separate occasions for permission to join a foreign European club, and was refused every time despite lucrative offers. Following his death in 2014, he became the first footballer ever buried at Portugal's National Pantheon.

This profile doubles as a study guide: from Sporting Lourenço Marques in 1956 to New Jersey Americans, the timeline below is exactly what the riddle shows when Eusébio da Silva Ferreira is the mystery player.