Ângelo Martins

Ângelo Gaspar Martins (19 April 1930 – 11 October 2020), simply known as Ângelo, was a Portuguese footballer who played as a defender for Benfica and the Portugal national team.[3]

Ângelo Martins
Personal information
Full name Ângelo Gaspar Martins
Date of birth (1930-04-19)19 April 1930
Place of birth Porto, Portugal[1]
Date of death 11 October 2020(2020-10-11) (aged 90)
Place of death Lisbon, Portugal
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Left back, right back[2]
Youth career
1945–1948 Académico do Porto
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1951–1952 Benfica (reserves)
1952–1965 Benfica 231 (3)
National team
1953–1962 Portugal 20 (0)
Teams managed
Benfica (youth)[1]
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Born in Porto on 19 April 1930,[1] Ângelo turned down an opportunity to play football for FC Porto because he was a supporter of rivals Benfica, from Lisbon, and hometown club Salgueiros.

In 1945, aged 15, Ângelo started his career playing as a left defender for Académico do Porto,[2] where he spent three years until he was scammed by an FC Porto staff member, who gave him a false document and made him sign for the club while he still was an Académico do Porto player. As a result, the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) banned Ângelo from football, although the punishment would only last for a few months.[1]

Three years later, when Ângelo was a worker at his father's shoe store and was serving in the military in Santarém at age 20,[1] a Benfica scout watched him play and brought him to Lisbon in 1951 to represent Benfica's reserves,[4] with the FPF backing down on his ban.[2] During his 13 seasons with The Eagles' main team, from 1952 to 1965, he made 285 appearances and scored 4 goals,[5] winning 7 Primeira Liga titles, 5 Taça de Portugal, 1 Taça de Honra, and 2 consecutive European Cups (in 1961 and 1962).[1] He retired as a player at age 35.[4]

International career

Ângelo played for Portugal on 20 occasions. He made his debut in 1953 against Austria at the Prater Stadium and played his final match for the country in 1962 against Bulgaria at the Estádio do Restelo.[6]

Death

Ângelo died of natural causes at 90 years old, on 11 October 2020, in the company of his family.[1][2]

Honours

Player

Benfica

Manager

Benfica[1]

See also

References
  1. Melo, Rui Miguel (12 October 2020). "Partiu mais um bicampeão" [Another back-to-back champion is gone]. A Bola (in Portuguese). p. 32.
  2. Silva, Flávio Miguel (12 October 2020). "Adeus ao bicampeão e detetor de talentos" [Goodbye to the back-to-back champion and talent spotter]. Record (in Portuguese). p. 13.
  3. Benfica de luto pelo bicampeão europeu Ângelo Martins
  4. "Benfica de luto pela morte do bicampeão europeu Ângelo" [Benfica in mourning for the death of back-to-back European champion Ângelo]. TVI24 (in Portuguese). 11 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  5. Plantel Glorioso. Portugal: Prime Books. 2014. pp. 46–47. ISBN 978-989-655-246-6.
  6. "Morreu Ângelo Martins" [Ângelo Martins has died]. FPF (in Portuguese). 11 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  7. "Bicampeões para a história" [Back-to-back champions for the ages]. Visão (in Portuguese). Portugal: Impresa Publishing. May 2015. p. 45. ISSN 0872-3540.
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