Sporting's Heroes

Filipe Reis · Jan 13, 2008

TOP 100
BETTER THAN THE BEST IN EUROPE!
by Andreia Alexandre and Jorge Vicente
Support: «Mundo Sporting» and Francisco Sá
Translated from www.sporting.pt

Sixteen, is the number of players that, since the foundation of Sporting Clube de Portugal, scored more than 100 goals in official games for the club.

From this group of unique players, with a pure sense of goalscoring, there are names and numbers that should be highlighted. If, on one side, in the decades of 30 and 40, there was a gentleman called Peyroteo - who scored more than 500 goals with the lion on his chest - there was also another top goal scorer, Yazalde, who was the first Sporting player to receive the European "Golden Boot" with a total of 46 goals, a score that still today is unbroken in our football, being also the third ever best in Europe.

In this top 100, let us recall the history of Peyroteo, Manuel Fernandes, Manuel Vasques, Manuel Soeiro, Rui Jordão, Adolfo Mourão, João Martins, Jesus Correia, Albano, João Cruz, Ernesto Figueiredo, João Lourenço, Hector Yazalde, Pedro Pireza, José Travassos and Liedson.

Filipe Reis · Jan 13, 2008

TOP 100
16th - LIEDSON
119 goals, since 2003/04

Liedson da Silva Muniz was transfered to Sporting at the start of the2003/04 season, having had his debut at Estádio das Antas, on 2 September 2003. His first coach at the club was Fernando Santos. Since he started playing for Sporting, "o levezinho" scored 119 goals and, from the very start, became a favourite of all sportinguistas. A fighter, fast, hard working and cold in the last moment before shooting, these are the trademarks of the Lions' forward. During the five seasons with the lion on his chest, Liedson became already twice the top scorer of the league - with 25 goals (2004/05) and 15 goals (2006/07). Due to his frail looks, he received the nickname of "levezinho" (the light one). In the current season, Liedson's goalscoring vein is still dormant, having only scored four goals so far in the league. Nevertheless it is certain that his story at the service of Sporting shows that, Liedson will still solve a lot during this season.

Liedson da Silva Muniz
*Date of Birth: 17 December 1977
*Birthplace: Cairú, Bahia (Brasil)
*Titles won until December 2007: 1 Portuguese Cup (2006/07); 1 Supercup (2007/08).
*Honours: Twice Top scorer of the Portuguese League: 2004/05 – 25 goals; 2006/07 – 15 goals.

Filipe Reis · Jan 19, 2008

TOP 100
15th - TRAVASSOS
122 goals, between 1946 and 1959

«Zé da Europa» was born at Quinta do Lumiar, very close to the current Estádio José Alvalade, and, during 13 years with the «green and white» jersey, became the athlete with more titles won at the service of the club, adding eight Portuguese Leagues and two Portuguese Cups.

With a vision of the game equalled by his physical, technical and tactical capacity, Travassos was - as an inside right, but functioning, mostly, as a number 10 linking with the forward line - the "motor" of the "Five Violins" who dominated the Portuguese football during the last half of the 40s and the first of the 50s.

Besides having been the first Portuguese player to be called to an European XI (in August 1955), José Travassos conquered, thanks to the very high level that he always manage to reach in his career, the distinction of being amongst the best ever players of our club.

He was immortalised - on the film «O Leão da Estrela» – with his "windmill kick" at FC Porto's ground, in one of the many historical moments in which he participated, having only missed a full international recognition due to the inexistence of European club competitions at the peak of his career.

José António Barreto Travassos
*Date of Birth: 22 February 1922
*Birthplace: Quinta do Lumiar, Lisbon
*Deceased: 12 February 2002
*Titles won: 8 Portuguese Leagues (1946/47, 1947/48, 1948/49, 1950/51, 1951/52, 1952/53, 1953/54 and 1957/58); 2 Portuguese Cups (1947/48 and 1953/54).
*35 International "A" caps.

Filipe Reis · Jan 19, 2008

TOP 100
14th - PIREZA
123 goals, between 1935 and 1944

Born at Barreiro, he played at Barreirense before and after his passage through Sporting, with his birthplace recognising his feats by naming a street after him.
Just like Adolfo Mourão - with whom he made one of the best ever attacking lines of Sporting, side by side with Manuel Soeiro, Fernando Peyroteo and João Cruz - was not a centre-forward, but more a support striker, mainly on the right wing, a place that was his for several years until he left it to Jesus Correia

Fast, he made of his individual skills his biggest "weapon" to dribble the opponent players and puzzle the goalkeepers that would appear between him and the goal line. He tricked them, on official matches with the sportinguista jersey, 123 times, and - just like the deceased «Zé da Europa» (122 goals) and «Chirola» (126) – is one of Sporting's legends that may, soon, lose a position in this table to Liedson, in the case that "O Levezinho" maintains his goalscoring rhythm.

Pedro Pireza
*Date of Birth: 30 September 1911
*Birthplace: Barreiro
*Titles won: 1 Portuguese League (1940/41); 1 Portuguese Cup (1940/41); 2 Portuguese Championships (1935/36 and 1937/38); 7 Lisbon Championships (1935/36, 1936/37, 1937/38, 1938/39, 1940/41, 1941/42 and 1942/43).
*2 International "A" caps.

Filipe Reis · Jan 19, 2008

TOP 100
13th - YAZALDE
126 goals, between 1971 and 1975

Héctor Yazalde was one of the forwards that marked forever Sporting's history. The Argentinian, that on his first year at the service of the Lions did not manage to conquer Sporting's fans, won two seasons afterwards a place in the history of Portuguese and European football and, mostly, in the memory of the "green and white" supporters and sócios.

Yazalde or «Chirola» – his nickname – became an idol for all sportinguistas in the 1973/74 season, when he became European top scorer, with 46 goals, a record that still remains today. He was the first Sporting player to win the title of top scorer in Europe.

Beyond the features he held as a player - a complete athlete - Yazalde stayed in the memory of all due to his human qualities. The forward received a Toyota for having won the trophy of top scorer in Europe. As for him his prize was due to the labour of all his team mates, he sold the car and divided the money with all of them.

At the end of the 1974/75 season, Yazalde left Sporting to Marseille, but he was not happy in this new phase of his career and left to Argentina, where he became a football agent. He died at 51, victim of a stroke and heart failure. The star that gave light to all the stages where Sporting passed through between 1971 and 1975 stopped shining.

Héctor Casimiro Yazalde
*Date of Birth: 29 May 1946
*Birthplace: Buenos Aires (Argentina)
*Deceased: 19 June 1997
*Titles won: 1 Portuguese League (1973/74); 1 Portuguese Cup (1972/73).
*Honours: 1 European Golden Shoe (1973/74 - 46 goals); Twice top scorer of the Portuguese League (1973/74 - 46 goals) and (1974/75 - 30 goals).
*29 International "A" caps for Argentina.

Filipe Reis · Jan 19, 2008

TOP 100
12th - LOURENÇO
145 goals, between 1964 and 1972

João Lourenço had his debut match, in the first team of Sporting, on 6 December 1964, against Lusitano de Évora (1-1), when the manager was Juca. During the eight seasons he was at the service of the club he scored 145 goals.

Although he had a very successful career, the game that marked the most all sportinguistas was the one when Lourenço scored four goals against Benfica. In the game at Luz, on 17 December 1965, the Lions beat the eternal rivals, 4-2.

Lourenço joined Sporting one season after Sporting won the Cup Winner's Cup. He formed an attacking pair with Figueiredo, the famous "Altafini de Cernache".

He stood out by the subtlety and elegance with which he led the attack and constructed his team's game. Although he never became an "A" international, the goalscoring credits of Lourenço did not go unnoticed to those responsible for our National Team, when he was called to the squad of the 1966 World Cup in England.

At the service of Sporting, Lourenço won two leagues and one Taça de Portugal. He ended his career as a footballer at Sporting, in the 1971/72 season.

João Matos Moura Lourenço
*Date of Birth: 8 April 1942
*Titles won: 2 Portuguese Leagues (1965/66 and 1969/70); 1 Portuguese Cup (1970/71).

Filipe Reis · Jan 20, 2008

TOP 100
11th - FIGUEIREDO
147 goals, between 1960 and 1968

He became known as «Altafini de Cernache», on a reference to the goalscorer of Milan who scored twice against Benfica in the final of the European Cup, in 1963. A feat that Ernesto Figueiredo repeated one week later, on a game for the semi-finals of the Portuguese Cup.

He joined Sporting on 1960/61 and had his debut on the first team on 17 September 1960, at Alvalade against Lusitano de Évora, a game won by the Lions 4-2, who were managed then by the Argentinian Alfredo González.

His name will be always linked with the conquest of the Cup Winner's Cup (1963/64), for having scored twice, in the final against MTK Budapest. In the 1965/66 season, he became top scorer of the Portuguese league, with 25 goals. After eight years at the service of the club he finished his career.

Ernesto Figueiredo
*Date of Birth: 6 July 1937
*Birthplace: Tomar
*Titles won: 1 UEFA Cup Winner's Cup (1963/64); 2 Portuguese Leagues (1961/62 and 1965/66); 1 Portuguese Cup (1962/63).
*Honours: Top scorer of the Portuguese League (1965/66 - 25 goals)
*6 International "A" caps.

Filipe Reis · Jan 20, 2008

TOP 100
10th - JOÃO CRUZ
149 goals, between 1936 and 1947

João Cruz played with Sporting's jersey for 11 years. He was considered as one of the most brilliant left-wingers of Portuguese football, owner of a fabulous dribble and lethal shot, which allowed him to be part of the select list of players that scored more than 100 goals at the service of Sporting.

João Cruz played side by side with Adolfo Mourão, Manuel Soeiro, Peyroteo and Pedro Pireza. At the service of the Lions, he won 14 titles - three Portuguese leagues, two Cups, one Portuguese championship (the predecessor of the Cup) and eight Lisbon championships. He was 10 times capped for Portugal's first team.

His debut on Sporting's first squad happened on 11 November 1936, in a game against Carcavelinhos (2-2). His first coach at the club was the legendary Joszef Szábo. João Cruz won everything there was to be won, but his golden season was the one of 1942/43, when he scored 29 times in 30 games. In that same season, on a match against Benfica, Azevedo got injured and João Cruz replaced him on goal. He kept a clean sheet during the 38 minutes as a keeper.

João Pedro da Cruz
*Date of Birth: 31 October 1915
*Birthplace: Évora
*Deceased: 7 July 1981
*Titles won: 2 Portuguese Leagues (1940/41, 1943/44 and 1946/47); 2 Portuguese Cups (1940/41 and 1945/46); 1 Portuguese Championship (1937/38); 8 Lisbon Championships (1936/37, 1937/38, 1938/39, 1940/41, 1941/42, 1942/43, 1944/45 and 1946/47).
*10 International "A" caps.

Filipe Reis · Jan 20, 2008

TOP 100
9th - ALBANO
153 goals, between 1943 and 1956

Albano was part of the magnificent team of the "Five Violins", that undoubtedly marked not only Sporting's but also Portugal's football history. Fast, creative and with an usual competitive attitude, Albano played as a left-winger and was considered as the juggler of the Lions' team.

The legend says that, this man had a neverending joy in playing football. His small height and his speed gave nightmares to his opponents. On a national team's match - which he represented 15 times - against Switzerland, he passed between the legs of his direct marker!

At the service of the Lions, he became champion three and four consecutive times and won four Portuguese Cups. His debut for Sporting happened on 12 September 1943, on a match against Fósforos, won by the Lions 2-0.

Albano Narciso Pereira
*Date of Birth: 21 December 1923
*Birthplace: Seixal
*Deceased: 5 May 1990
*Titles won: 8 Portuguese Leagues (1943/44, 1946/47, 1947/48, 1948/49, 1950/51, 1951/52, 1952/53 and 1953/54); 4 Portuguese Cups (1944/45, 1945/46, 1947/48 and 1953/54); 2 Lisbon Championships (1944/45 and 1946/47).
*15 International "A" caps.

Filipe Reis · Jan 22, 2008

TOP 100
8th - JESUS CORREIA
156 goals, between 1943 and 1953

«Dois amores» (Two loves) won 11 titles for the club, in 10 seasons, besides a reputation that places him amongst the most shining athletes in the history of the club and of Portuguese sports, due to his aptitude in playing Roller Hockey - and winning World Cups.

He was the right-winger of the "Five Violins" and, as all his "orchestra" partners, he also scored more than 100 goals with the green and white jersey during the most brilliant period of the more than 100 years of the club, using as main weapons, speed, power and his crossing and shooting quality.

Amongst many sporting feats related with "Necas" - who claimed to find his strength in rice pudding - stands out the winning goal (1-0) in the Cup final of 44/45, against Olhanense, after having been injected with pain killers 12 times before the game started; and the six goals scored in the first half of the Lions' visit to Atlético Madrid (then called Atlético Aviación), that ended with a 6-3 rout.

He left football with only 28 years of age, when he opted - facing an ultimatum made by the club's directors to chose between football and roller hockey - for going on playing roller hockey, at Paço d'Arcos. This precocious exit - similar to the one of Peyroteo - impeached him of entering, certainly, in the "top 5" of the best ever goalscorers of the club.

António Jesus Correia
*Date of Birth: 3 Abril 1924
*Birthplace: Paço d'Arcos
*Deceased: 1 December 2003
*Titles won: 7 Portuguese Leagues (1943/44, 1946/47, 1947/48, 1948/49, 1950/51, 1951/52 and 1952/53); 3 Portuguese Cups (1944/45, 1945/46 and 1947/48).
*14 International "A" caps.

Filipe Reis · Jan 22, 2008

TOP 100
7th - JOÃO MARTINS
166 goals, between 1947 and 1959

The "sixth violin", as he used to be called, was a striker that passed through all attacking positions until he stayed as a centre-forward, after the breaking-up of the "golden quintet" with the departure of Peyroteo.

His passage through football was linked with various historical moments of this sport in Portugal and to the European dimension: he cried and asked for sorry to the opponent coach for the fact that his equalising goal at Belém (2-2 in 1955) having taken the league to the team of Restelo, offering it to Benfica; he scored the first goal, and the first brace in the history of the Champions League - back then known as European Champions Cup - in the first match of the competition played in Lisbon, on 4 September 1955, against Partizan Belgrade (3-3).

One of his career's trademarks was the extreme correction with which he played the game - recognised for having played more than 400 games without a single booking - and dedication to Sporting, as for example in a game played at Estádio do Oriental, where he played 80 minutes as a goalkeeper due to an injury of his team mate.

João Baptista Martins
*Date of Birth: 3 September 1927
*Birthplace: Sines
*Deceased: 18 November 1993
*Titles won: 5 Portuguese Leagues (1950/51, 1951/52, 1952/53, 1953/54 and 1957/58); 1 Portuguese Cup (1953/54).
*Honours: Top scorer of the Portuguese League (1953/54 - 31 goals).
*11 International "A" caps.

Filipe Reis · Jan 22, 2008

TOP 100
6th - ADOLFO MOURÃO
170 goals, between 1928 and 1944

This attacking-midfielder was the first great goalscorer of Sporting, representing the club before the creation of the "Five Violins", of whom he was one of the main inspirations and idol of the, then, youngsters Travassos and Peyroteo, in the sense that he would do, with similar efficiency, the positions of winger, central-midfielder and forward. During 16 years, Adolfo Mourão added as many titles with Sporting, always as a protagonist of the collective, a complete player thanks to his enormous physical capacity, team spirit and technical skills.

With only 17, in 1929, he scores the first of 19 goals in "derbies" against Benfica and he was one of the first great idols of the green and white football, contributing, together with the Stromp brothers, Jorge Vieira, Azevedo or Pedro Pireza, for the implementation of the national dimension of our club in its three first decades of existence. At the National Team he added 15 caps.

Adolfo Albino Mourão
*Date of Birth: 29 June 1912
*Birthplace: Algés
*Deceased: 14 June 1981
*Titles won: 2 Portuguese Leagues (1940/41 and 1943/44); 1 Portuguese Cup (1940/41); 3 Portuguese Championships (1933/34, 1935/36 and 1937/38); 10 Lisbon Championships (1930/31, 1933/34, 1934/35, 1935/36, 1936/37, 1937/38, 1938/39, 1940/41, 1941/42 and 1942/43)
*15 International "A" caps.

Filipe Reis · Jan 22, 2008

TOP 100
5th - RUI JORDÃO
187 goals, between 1977 and 1986

Born in the Angolan city of Benguela, Rui Jordão arrived at Sporting in 1977, after passages through the "eternal rivals" and by the Spaniards of Real Zaragoza, from where he was transfered to the Lions crest. Together with Manuel Fernandes, during nine seasons, he formed one of the best ever attacking duos of Portuguese football, thanks to the complementary characteristics of both players, as well as to the strong friendship that still lasts today.

He allied power, speed, individual skills and pure class in a career filled with goals, not only at the service of Sporting but also in the Portuguse national team, scoring, amongst others, the decisive goal that qualified us to the final stage of Euro 84 and the two semi-final goals against France. With an excelent goal average per game, Rui Jordão could have added even more, if he wouldn't have been the victim, during his career, of so many injuries.

After "hanging up his boots", the once idol of the crowds, has been living a life totally outside of football, exploring, successfully, another one of his artistic veins: painting.

Rui Manuel Trindade Jordão
*Date of Birth: 9 August 1952
*Birthplace: Benguela (ANG)
*Titles won: 2 Portuguese Leagues (1979/80 and 1981/82); 2 Portuguese Cups (1977/78 and 1981/82); 1 Portuguese Supercup (1981/82).
*Honours: Top scorer of the Portuguese League (1979/80 - 31 goals).
*43 International "A" caps.

Filipe Reis · Jan 22, 2008

TOP 100
4th - MANUEL SOEIRO
204 goals, between 1933 and 1945

Manuel Soeiro is one of the historical figures of Sporting, and not only for being in the fourth position of the list of players that scored more goals in official matches, at the service of the Lions. Soeiro was the first top scorer of the League, in 1934/35, season where he scored 14 goals. The feat was repeated in 1936/37 by scoring 24 goals

The forward stayed in the history of the club and in the memory of the green and white fans after scoring four goals against Barreirense, in the final of the Portuguese Championship, in July 1934. Besides having been one of the top scorers ever of Sporting, Manuel Soeiro was also in the history of the club for having been responsible for bringing his nephew - Manuel Vasques - to Sporting.

The goalscoring vein was one of this family's characteristics. The debut match of Soeiro with Sporting's jersey was on 25 March 1934, on a game against Barreirense. The Lions won 2-1, having Soeiro scored one of the Lions' goals.

Manuel Esteves Soeiro Vasques
*Date of Birth: 17 March 1909
*Birthplace: Barreiro
*Deceased: February 1977
*Titles won: 1 Portuguese League (1940/41); 2 Portuguese Cups (1940/41 and 1944/45); 3 Portuguese Championships (1933/34, 1935/36 and 1937/38); 10 Lisbon Championships (1933/34, 1934/35, 1935/36, 1936/37, 1937/38, 1938/39, 1940/41, 1941/42, 1942/43 and 1944/45).
*Honours: Twice top scorer of the Portuguese League (1934/35 - 14 goals and 1936/37 - 24 goals).
*12 International "A" caps.

Filipe Reis · Jan 23, 2008

TOP 100
3rd - VASQUES
221 goals, between 1946 and 1959

Vasques was part of the magnificent team of the "Five Violins", having been entitled the most artistic of the quintet. The inside-right played with Sporting's jersey during 13 years and scored 221 goals, in official games. For being the one more technically skilled of this team, he was called "Malhoa". The nickname came as an hommage from Tavares da Silva, making reference to the famous painter, such was the art with which Vasques treated the ball. Those that saw him playing tell that he could do whatever he wanted with the ball, apart from being tall which also gave him advantage in the air.

Curious is the way he came to Sporting. After the eternal rivals having observed him three times and showed interest in signing him, Vasques' uncle - Soeiro - Told that to Sporting, taking the Lions' directors to advance for a flash signing.

He entered Sporting together with Travassos and said goodbye to his footballer career on the same day that his partner and friend did - 7 September 1959. Manuel Vasques was capped 26 times and, at the service of Sporting, won eight Leagues and two Cups. "Malhoa" was managed by Robert Kelly and was the top scorer of our league in 1950/51, with 29 goals.

Manuel Vasques
*Date of Birth: 22 February 1926
*Birthplace: Barreiro
*Deceased: 10 July 2003
*Titles won: 8 Portuguese Leagues (1946/47, 1947/48, 1948/49, 1950/51, 1951/52, 1952/53 and 1953/54); 2 Portuguese Cups (1947/48 and 1953/54).
*Honours: Top scorer of the Portuguese League (1950/51 - 29 goals).
*26 International "A" caps.

Filipe Reis · Jan 23, 2008

TOP 100
2nd - MANUEL FERNANDES
255 goals, between 1975 and 1987

The forward that scored more goals, in the first Estádio José Alvalade, arrived at the club of his heart in 1975, after having, on the previous season, qualified CUF to the European cups, thanks to a goal that defeated FC Porto. He debuted with goals, against Académica, in 12 years of dedication, many of them as captain.

Feline, with an easy shot with both feet and head, he would move like very few inside the opponent's box, always looking for a passing line or a lost ball that he could send to the right place: inside the opposite goal. That happened in one of the most remarkable game of the last decades in Portuguese football, when he scored four goals against Benfica in that famous 7-1 rout.

After the end of his career as an athlete, he became a manager, coaching Sporting twice - both in the middle of the season - managing to win the Cândido de Oliveira Supercup, in 2000/01 against FC Porto.

Manuel José Tavares Fernandes
*Date of Birth: 5 June 1951
*Birthplace: Sarilhos Pequenos, Moita
*Titles won as a player: 2 Portuguese Leagues (1979/80 and 1981/82); 2 Portuguese Cups (1977/78 and 1981/82); 1 Portuguese Supercup (1982/83).
*Titles won as a coach: 1 Portuguese Supercup (2000/01).
*Honours: Top scorer of the Portuguese League (1985/86 - 30 goals).
*31 International "A" caps.

Filipe Reis · Jan 23, 2008

TOP 100
1st - PEYROTEO
529 goals, between 1937 and 1949

The "best of all times". A lot has been written and said about Fernando Peyroteo, the biggest "goal machine" of Portuguese football and holder of a world record: the one of the best goal average in league matches (1,62).

Physically strong, he dominated the whole art of being a centre-forward, which allowed him to be a lethal striker and scorer of many goals in one single match, standing out the nine scored against Leça (1942), which is still today the maximum reached in one game, in Portugal, and the four scored against Benfica - guaranteeing the victory in the league, the one that became known as "pirolito", by only one goal - after having spent the previous night in bed with fever.

The difference of almost the double for the second placed goalscorer of Sporting in official matches, underlines the "difference of football played" in the 1940s and today, but also crowns Fernando Peyroteo as one of the main phenomenon of this sport in Portugal, which could have been even bigger, if he wouldn't have stopped competing with only 30 years of age.

Fernando Baptista de Seixas Peyroteo
*Date of Birth: 10 March 1918
*Birthplace: Humpata (ANG)
*Titles won: 5 Portuguese Leagues (1940/41, 1943/44, 1946/47, 1947/48 and 1948/49); 4 Portuguese Cups (1940/41, 1944/45, 1945/46 and 1947/48); 1 Portuguese Championship (1937/38).
*Honours: Six times top scorer of the Portuguese League (1937/38 – 34 goals; 1939/40 – 29 goals; 1940/41 – 29 goals; 1945/46 – 39 goals; 1946/47 – 43 goals and 1948/49 – 40 goals).
*20 International "A" caps.

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