The Portuguese national hero may have been born in Mozambique, but there is nothing to suggest Eusebio considers himself African, says Ayo Akinfe
Guardian Unlimited - January 20, 2008
Last week Guardian Unlimited proposed a list of the six best African footballers of all time and ranked Eusebio at No1, arguing that though he was a Portuguese international, this was because it was not possible for him to represent his native Mozambique. GU's list is very comprehensive and the commentary on the players is genuinely reflective of their abilities but we should not let sentiments cloud our sense of judgment - I think it is necessary to point out that Eusebio is not African.
I love Eusebio to death and still vividly recollect those mazy runs of his in the 1966 World Cup and his breathtaking displays for Benfica but the fact remains that he is not an African. Yes, Eusebio was born in Maputo but then so too were Carlos Queiroz, Manchester United's assistant manager, and Abel Xavier, the Portugal and LA Galaxy defender who once played for Middlesbrough, Everton and Liverpool.
Eusebio arrived in Portugal as an 18-year old in 1960 and joined Benfica the following year. He got into Portugal's national team in 1961 and has never looked back. Everything about Eusebio is Portuguese and I would like to know if he ever goes back to Africa at all.
For starters, the fact that Eusebio is not in Ghana for the current African Cup of Nations should be enough evidence that he sees the continent as a distant memory in the past that is no more than part of his history. Has Eusebio ever been to any African Cup of Nations tournament before?
Eusebio was born in 1942 and Mozambique did not become an independent nation state until 1975, by which time Eusebio was already not just Portuguese but a Portuguese national hero. Eusebio was never a Mozambican, never held a Mozambican passport and as of when he left Maputo, or Lourenco Marques as it was called then, the city was part of what was called the Overseas Province of Portugal.
At that time, if you were a citizen of what is today known as Mozambique, you swore an oath of allegiance to the Portuguese monarch, were eligible to serve in Portugal's army and all your official documents had the word Portugal next to the question about nationality. Eusebio has only known one flag throughout his lifetime and it is certainly not an African one.
Arriving in Portugal as an 18-year old, Eusebio did not grow up seeing himself as a Mozambican and like most other natives of European overseas colonies, he was liable to be sentenced to death for treason if he referred to himself as anything other than Portuguese. Across the British empire, in countries like modern day Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Gambia, etc everyone carried British passports and those like Dedan Kimathi who disputed this met very unfortunate and brutal ends in the hands of the British colonial government.
Accident of birth does not make you an African. Nothing in Eusebio's mannerism, interests, charitable activities or community programmes gives the slightest indication that he is vaguely interested in Africa.
Up until this day, Eusebio is very influential with the Portuguese national team, where he is revered as an icon with legendary status. He runs several programmes in Benfica but never have I seen him even pose for a photograph with an African team. In a football match between Portugal and Mozambique, I have a good idea who Eusebio will be rooting for. Eusebio scored 41 goals in 64 matches for the Portuguese national team, won the European cup with Benfica in 1962, was the European Footballer of the Year in 1965 when the award was only open to Europeans and in 1968 and 1972 he won the Golden Boot, after emerging top goalscorer. He won 11 league titles with Benfica and was leading scorer in the league seven times. Eusebio is too culturally and emotionally attached to Portugal to be described as a man from anywhere else.
Reading through Paul Doyle's list, I would remove Eusebio and replace him with either Mark Abega, Austin Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, Tony Yeboah, Papa Camara, Lakhdar Belloumi, Mohammed Timouni, Nourredine Naybet or Thomas Nkono. I simply cannot see how a player can be described as an African great when he has never featured for an African national team, played in a Nations Cup tournament or in a continental or World Cup qualifier.
Veja em:
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/01/20/eusebio_is_not_african.html
NOTA:
Que confusão vai nas cabeças de muita gente. Repare-se nos comentários colocados no blog acima.
Fernando Gil
MACUA DE MOÇAMBIQUE
