- António Simões
António Simões da Costa (pron. IPA2|ɐ̃'tɔniu si'mõĩʃ) (born Corroios,
14 December ,1943 ) is a legendary Portuguese footballer and a current coach. He played as an extreme-midfielder for Benfica, from 1961/62 to 1974/75. With only 1, 58 m of height, he's seen as the first "Giant Gnome" of Portuguese football, beforeRui Barros .He won the titles of National Champion for Benfica, in 1962/63, 1963/64, 1964/65, 1966/67, 1967/68, 1968/69, 1970/71, 1971/72, 1972/73 and 1974/75, and the Cup of Portugal, in 1962, 1964, 1969, 1970 and 1972.
Simões was European Champion for
SL Benfica , in 1962, at the 5-3 win overReal Madrid , aged only 18.The Portuguese midfielder had his debut for the National Team the same year. He played for the National Team 46 times, scoring 3 goals. His first appearance was at
6 May 1962 , in a 1-2 defeat withBrazil , in a friendly match. He was a member of the "Magriços " side that reached 3 rd place in the1966 World Cup inEngland , like his Benfica colleagues,Mário Coluna ,Eusébio ,José Augusto and José Torres. He did the leading goal in the 3-1 win over Brazil.Simões missed the team that reached the
Independence Brazil Cup final, in1972 , because of an injury, and had his last game, at 13 October 1973, in a 2-2 draw withBulgaria , in the World Cup qualifyings. He left Benfica in 1975, moving to the U.S., where he signed with theBoston Minutemen of theNorth American Soccer League . He spent two seasons in Boston before moving to the San Jose Earthquakes in 1976. He finished the 1977 season in San Jose, then played for theDallas Tornado in 1979. [http://www.nasljerseys.com/Players/S/Simoes.Antonio.htm]He has been, since then, a football manager and the female National Team trainer.
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