July 23, 1966: Eusébio vs. North Korea

July 23, 1966: Coming off perhaps the greatest upset in World Cup history, North Korea faces Portugal, and the man who might be, for the moment, the greatest soccer player in the world.

Eusébio da Silva Ferreira was born on January 25, 1942, in Lourenço Marques, in Mozambique, on the east coast of southern Africa, then a colony of Portugal. In 1975, after the Carnation Revolution overthrew Portugal's fascist government, the overseas empire was broken up, and Mozambique gained its independence. Lourenço Marques was the capital, and its name was changed to Maputo.

By the age of 18, Sport Lisboa e Benfica, the Lisbon-based soccer team that was, then as now, the most successful, the most loved, and the most hated sports team in Portugal, signed him. Benfica won Portugal's Primeira Liga and the European Cup (the precursor tournament to today's UEFA Champions League) in 1961, but Eusébio played only 1 senior game that season. But in 1961-62, the season in which he turned 20, he became a world "football" superstar, leading them to win the Taça de Portugal (Portuguese Cup) and a repeat of the European Cup, scoring 5 goals in the tournament, including 2 goals in the Final against Real Madrid. 

(Infamously, Benfica have not won a European Final since, losing the European Cup/Champions League Final in 1963, '65, '68, '88 and '90; and the 2014 UEFA Europa League Final.)

With Eusébio, Benfica won the Premeira Liga 11 times between 1961 and 1975, and the Taça de Portugal 5 times between 1962 and 1972. In other words, they "did The Double" twice, in 1964 and '72. He scored 638 goals in 614 official matches for Benfica. In 1965, he was awarded the Ballon d'Or (Golden Ball) for world player of the year. He became known as O Rei (The King), the Black Pearl and the Black Panther. I don't know how Portuguese natives generally treated black people on the soil of the empire's seat, but he remained beloved in Portugal throughout his life. (Brazil's Pelé was also nicknamed O Rei and the Black Pearl.)

In 1966, Portugal qualified for the World Cup, and were placed in Group 3 with another of their former colonies, Brazil, the 2-time defending Champions; and 2 Eastern Bloc nations, Hungary and Bulgaria. On July 13, at Old Trafford, home ground of Manchester United, they beat Hungary, 3-1, with José Augusto, Eusébio's Benfica teammate, scoring 2 goals. On July 16, also at Old Trafford, they beat Bulgaria, 3-0, with Eusébio scoring. And on July 19, at Goodison Park in Liverpool, home of Everton F.C., they beat Brazil, 3-1, with Eusébio scoring twice.

Portugal and the Soviet Union were the only countries, out of the 16 to qualify, who got through the Group Stage 3-0. However, some bad fouls by Portuguese and Bulgarian defenders left Pelé injured, and so it was Hungary that joined Portugal in advancing to the knockout stage from Group 3.

The Quarterfinal was set for July 23, at Goodison: Portugal vs. North Korea. No one expected North Korea, coming off its epic upset of Italy in the last game of the Group Stage, to pull off a 2nd huge upset within 5 days. But Pak Seung-zin scored in the 1st minute, before many people had even gotten to their seats. Li Dong-woon scored in the 22nd, and Yang Seung-kook scored in the 25th. Portugal had only allowed 2 goals in the entire Group Stage, 270 minutes plus stoppage time. Now, in 25 minutes, they had allowed 3.

Eusébio to the rescue. He scored in the 27th. In the 43rd, Portugal were rightly awarded a penalty, and Eusébio took it, closing his team to within 3-2. In the 56th he hit a screamer that tied the game. The North Koreans decided to follow the Bulgarians' path, and foul the opposing star like crazy. In the 59th, a tackle worthy of an immediate dismissal -- yellow and red cards hadn't come into use yet -- injured Eusébio's knee. He took the penalty, anyway, and gave Portugal a 4-3 lead, completing the comeback. Somehow, he finished the game, and José Augusto capped the performance with a goal in the 80th. Portugal 5, North Korea 3 -- 3-0 to North Korea in the 1st 25 minutes, 5-0 to Portugal thereafter.

North Korea's fairy tale was over. Portugal's lasted just 1 more game. In the Semifinal, at Wembley Stadium in London, Bobby Charlton of Manchester United scored 2 goals for England. Portugal were awarded a penalty in the 82nd minute, and Eusébio took it, but they couldn't find an equalizer. West Germany beat the Soviet Union in the other Semifinal, and England won the Final, 4-2 after extra time.

Eusébio continued to be one of the world's best players for a few more years. In 1975, 33 years old, he did what so many aging soccer players were doing, and would do, and continue to do today: He came to North America to make a lot of money. He played in the original North American Soccer League.

In 1975, he played for the Boston Minutemen. In 1976, he played for Toronto Metros-Croatia (a merger of the Toronto Metros and Toronto Croatia), and they won the NASL title. In 1977, he played for the Las Vegas Quicksilvers. But he was 35, and dealing with constant pain and medical treatment on his knees. He scored only 2 goals. 

In 1978, he signed with the New Jersey Americans of the American Soccer League, who played their home games at Memorial Stadium in New Brunswick, Middlesex County. As a native of East Brunswick, I've seen many sporting events at that complex: Football, soccer, baseball. But I didn't know Eusébio played at Memorial Stadium until 2011 -- 33 years later. In 1979, he played with the Buffalo Stallions of the Major Indoor Soccer League, and then he retired, to work for Portugal's national team.

Eusébio died on January 5, 2014. He was just short of turning 72. The outpouring of memories of other legends of the sport showed that he was still held in very high esteem, all over the world.

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July 23, 1966 was a Saturday. The other World Cup Quarterfinals were also played that day. England beat Argentina, 1-0 at Wembley. West Germany beat Uruguay, 4-0 at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, Yorkshire. And the Soviets beat Hungary, 2-1 at Roker Park in Sunderland, in the North-East.

And these baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the California Angels, 7-6 at Yankee Stadium. Mickey Mantle hit a grand slam, and the Yankees chased Angel starting pitcher Marcelino Lopez after 3 innings. But it wasn't enough, as Al Downing and Pedro Ramos couldn't hold the lead.

* The New York Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Sandy Koufax went the distance for the win.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox, 10-4 at Fenway Park in Boston. Harmon Killebrew hit a home run. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-4 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Brooks Robinson went 0-for-3 with a walk, but Frank Robinson went 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk, and 3 RBIs.

* The Washington Senators beat the Kansas City Athletics, 8-1 at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington. (It was renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1969.)

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-5 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Al Kaline did not play.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs, 4-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Bob Gibson pitched a 6-hit shutout, outpitching Robin Roberts, in his final season. Lou Brock hit a home run. Ernie Banks went 1-for-4.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Astros, 4-3 at the Astrodome in Houston. Roberto Clemente went 2-for-5.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants, 8-0 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Jim Bunning pitched a 3-hit shutout, the hits all singles, by Willie Mays, Hal Lanier, and, oddly, the opposing starting pitcher, Bobby Bolin.

* And the Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds were rained out at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. Both games went 10 innings. The Reds won the opener, 4-3. Vada Pinson scored on a wild pitch by Dick Kelley. The Braves won the nightcap, 5-4. Joe Torre hit 2 home runs in the 2nd game, including the winner in the top of the 10th. Hank Aaron went 1-for-7 with a home run in the 2nd game, 2 walks and 2 RBIs. Pete Rose went 1-for-10.