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Matateu

Matateu


Matateu is considered one of the greatest legends of Portuguese football and the rival of a certain Eusébio with whom he had a great duel in the late 50s and early 60s.


4
Trophies
246
Goals 
335
Games

1947/51 1st de Maio de Maputo (MOZ)


1951/64 Belenenses CF (POR) 282 matches, 220 goals


1964/67 Atlético CP (POR) 23 matches, 12 goals


1967/68 CD Gouveia (POR) 3 matchs, 1 goal


1968/69 Amora FC (POR)


1969 First Portuguese (CAN)


1969/70 GD Chaves (POR)


With the National Team :

27 caps, 13 goals


(Friendly matches: 21 matches, 10 goals)


(Euro Qualifiers: 4 matches, 2 goals)


(World Cup Qualifiers: 2 matches, 1 goal)



1st cap: 23 November 1952 against Austria (1-1)


Last cap: 22 May 1960 against Yugoslavia (1-5)

Sebastião Lucas da Fonseca "Matateu"


Born on July 26, 1927 in Lourenço Marques (MOZ)


Died on January 27, 2000 in Victoria (CAN)


Mozambican/Portuguese, Second Striker, Striker, 1m75

The Portuguese football star of the 50s

Lucas Sebastião da Fonseca also called "Matateu" was born on July 26, 1927 in Lourenço Marques, Mozambique. At a time when Mozambique was a colony of Portugal, the young boy grew up in the Alto Maé neighborhood and began playing in the football club Clube Desportivo João Albasini.

He joined the 1° de Maio club of Lourenço Marques which was affiliated with Belenenses. Despite the interest of several Portuguese clubs, he signed for Belenenses in 1951, a club where he would stay for 13 years. In one of the biggest Portuguese clubs of his time, he participated in the 1955 Latin Cup where he finished in 4th place, behind AC Milan.

For his first with the Portuguese club in the championship, he was the main actor in the 4-3 victory against Sporting by scoring a wonderful double. This match will mark a long love story between the club's supporters and the player, in the 1950s and early 1960s, he was the most famous player in all of Portugal.

A career marked by cruel injustice

Playing as a second striker or striker, he suffered many injuries throughout his career. This did not prevent the player from scoring many goals and providing many assists. In total, he scored 220 goals in 282 games for his club. He thus finished top scorer in the Portuguese championship in 1953 and 1955.

Matateu was not lucky enough to win the Portuguese championship despite his excellent seasons, this was particularly the case in the 1954/55 season where he lost the title 4 minutes from the end, during a match against Sporting when the opposing team scored the equalizing goal and the final result 2-2, giving the title to Benfica.

This match was also marked by a huge injustice, Matateu scored four goals during this match, 2 of his goals were disallowed, one of them because according to the referee the ball had not crossed the line, the Sporting goalkeeper admitted that the ball had exceeded the line by at least 20 centimeters and was therefore valid.

During the 1958/59 season, he would once again experience huge disappointment when, while playing for the title with his club, he took a direct corner in the 90th minute against Benfica and scored it. The goal was disallowed by the referee who explained that the ball had gone out of bounds (which is simply impossible on a direct corner).

The legend of Belenenses

His greatest feat with Belenenses was surely the Portuguese Cup won in 1960 against Sporting, a 2-1 victory and the winning goal came from Matateu. He also won the 1959 and 1960 Honor Cups.

Matateu finally left his favorite club in 1964 before moving to other clubs in Portugal. He then left the country for Canada for a short stay. In selection, he was one of the most prominent faces of Portuguese football in the 50s, with 27 matches and 13 goals for Portugal, he is among the greatest players in the history of the country.

Trophies :

Vice-Champion Portuguese League x1

- 1955 (Belenenses CF)


Portuguese Cup x1

- 1960 (Belenenses CF)

Honor Cup x2

- 1959 (Belenenses CF)

- 1960 (Belenenses CF)

AF Setubal 1st Division x1

- 1969 (Amora FC)

Individual Trophies :

- Top scorer in the Portuguese championship in 1953 (29 goals) and 1955 (32 goals)



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