The Most Famous

SOCCER PLAYERS from Mozambique

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This page contains a list of the greatest Mozambican Soccer Players. The pantheon dataset contains 21,273 Soccer Players, 13 of which were born in Mozambique. This makes Mozambique the birth place of the 95th most number of Soccer Players behind Suriname, and Guinea-Bissau.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Mozambican Soccer Players of all time. This list of famous Mozambican Soccer Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Mozambican Soccer Players.

Photo of Eusébio

1. Eusébio (1942 - 2014)

With an HPI of 81.41, Eusébio is the most famous Mozambican Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 88 different languages on wikipedia.

Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (European Portuguese: [ewˈzɛβju ðɐ ˈsilvɐ fɨˈʁɐjɾɐ]; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei" ("The King"), was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time as well as Benfica's best player ever. He was known for his speed, technique, athleticism and right-footed shot, making him a prolific goalscorer, accumulating 733 goals in 745 matches. Eusébio was the first ever player to win European Golden Boot, World Cup Golden Boot and UCL Golden Boot. Eusébio helped Portugal reach third place at the 1966 FIFA World Cup, being the top goalscorer of the tournament with nine goals. He remains Portugal's all-time top scorer at the World Cup. He won the Ballon d'Or in 1965 and was runner-up in 1962 and 1966. He is Benfica's all-time top scorer with 473 goals in 440 competitive matches. There, his honours include eleven Primeira Liga titles and a European Cup, also being integral in reaching additional European Cup finals in 1963, 1965 and 1968. He is the second-highest goalscorer, behind Alfredo Di Stéfano, in the pre-Champions League era of the European Cup with 48 goals. He was the European Cup top scorer in 1964–65, 1965–66 and 1967–68. He also won the Bola de Prata for the Primeira Liga top scorer a record seven times. He was the first ever player to win the European Golden Boot, in 1968, a feat he replicated in 1973. From his retirement until his death, Eusébio was an ambassador of football and was one of the most recognizable faces of his generation. His name often appears in best player of all time lists and polls by football critics and fans. He was elected the ninth-best footballer of the 20th century in a poll by the IFFHS and the tenth-best footballer of the 20th century in a poll by the World Soccer magazine. Pelé named Eusébio as one of the 125 best living footballers in his 2004 FIFA 100 list. He was seventh in the online poll for UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll. In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player of Portugal by the Portuguese Football Federation as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years. Shortly after Eusébio's death, Di Stéfano stated: "For me Eusébio will always be the best player of all time".

Photo of Carlos Queiroz

2. Carlos Queiroz (b. 1953)

With an HPI of 69.51, Carlos Queiroz is the 2nd most famous Mozambican Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 47 different languages.

Carlos Manuel Brito Leal de Queiroz (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈkaɾluʃ kɐjˈɾɔʃ]; born 1 March 1953) is a Portuguese football manager. He has served as the manager of his native Portugal's national team, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Iran, Colombia, Egypt and Qatar, leading South Africa (2002), Portugal (2010) and Iran (2014, 2018, and 2022) to the FIFA World Cup. At club level, he has also managed Sporting CP, the New York/New Jersey Metrostars in Major League Soccer and Spanish club Real Madrid. He also had two spells as Alex Ferguson's assistant manager at English club Manchester United. Queiroz has won several awards as a coach at junior levels, and has been successful at senior and club levels, mainly as Alex Ferguson's assistant manager. In 1998, he authored the Q-Report, which detailed plans to enhance footballer development in the United States. Queiroz is the longest-serving manager in the history of the Iran national team, serving for almost eight years between 2011 and 2019. He returned to the role for Iran's 2022 World Cup campaign. He is the only manager in the country's history to lead them at three consecutive World Cups.

Photo of Mário Coluna

3. Mário Coluna (1935 - 2014)

With an HPI of 63.99, Mário Coluna is the 3rd most famous Mozambican Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Mário Esteves Coluna (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈmaɾiu kuˈlunɐ]; 6 August 1935 – 25 February 2014) was a Portuguese footballer who played mainly as a central midfielder. He spent most of his career with Benfica, appearing in 525 official matches and scoring 127 goals over 16 professional seasons. Dubbed O Monstro Sagrado (The Sacred Monster), he won 19 major titles with his main club, including ten Primeira Liga and two European Cups. Coluna represented Portugal at the 1966 World Cup and earned a total of 57 caps. He was considered one of the best midfielders of his generation, also being viewed as one of the most talented Portuguese players of all time.

Photo of Paulo Fonseca

4. Paulo Fonseca (b. 1973)

With an HPI of 62.75, Paulo Fonseca is the 4th most famous Mozambican Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Paulo Alexandre Rodrigues Fonseca (born 5 March 1973) is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who played as a central defender. He is currently head coach of Ligue 2 club Lyon. He amassed Primeira Liga totals of 111 matches and three goals over seven seasons, representing Leça, Belenenses, Marítimo, Vitória de Guimarães and Estrela da Amadora. Fonseca became a manager in 2005, notably winning the 2015–16 Taça de Portugal with Braga as well as three editions of the Ukrainian Premier League with Shakhtar Donetsk. He also coached Paços de Ferreira to a best-ever third place in the 2012–13 Primeira Liga, qualifying the club for the UEFA Champions League. Following a couple of seasons in charge of Roma in Serie A, he joined Lille in June 2022, leaving two years later and returning to Italy with AC Milan, being dismissed in December 2024.

Photo of Abel Xavier

5. Abel Xavier (b. 1972)

With an HPI of 60.46, Abel Xavier is the 5th most famous Mozambican Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Abel Luís da Silva Costa Xavier (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐˈβɛl ʃɐviˈɛɾ]; born 30 November 1972) is a Portuguese football manager and former professional footballer who played as a right-back. Xavier played for clubs in Portugal, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, England, Turkey and Germany before retiring with the LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer (MLS) in 2008. He represented both Merseyside rivals Everton and Liverpool in the Premier League. While at Middlesbrough he was the first Premier League player to test positive for performance-enhancing substances, and was banned for one year. From his debut in 1993, Xavier played 20 games for the Portugal national team, and was selected in their squads for UEFA Euro 2000 and 2002 FIFA World Cup. He later became a manager for several Portuguese clubs and the Mozambique national team.

Photo of Costa Pereira

6. Costa Pereira (1929 - 1990)

With an HPI of 57.31, Costa Pereira is the 6th most famous Mozambican Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Alberto da Costa Pereira (22 December 1929 – 25 October 1990) was a Portuguese footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Photo of Vicente Lucas

7. Vicente Lucas (b. 1935)

With an HPI of 55.21, Vicente Lucas is the 7th most famous Mozambican Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Vicente da Fonseca Lucas (born 24 September 1935), known simply as Vicente, is a Portuguese retired footballer who played as a central defender.

Photo of Hilário

8. Hilário (b. 1939)

With an HPI of 55.15, Hilário is the 8th most famous Mozambican Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Hilário Rosário da Conceição, OM (born 19 June 1939), known as Hilário (Portuguese pronunciation: [iˈlaɾiu]), is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a left-back. He spent his entire professional career with Sporting CP, appearing in 474 competitive matches (a record that stood for several decades) and winning seven major trophies. An international for 12 years, Hilário represented Portugal at the 1966 FIFA World Cup.

Photo of Reinildo Mandava

9. Reinildo Mandava (b. 1994)

With an HPI of 48.71, Reinildo Mandava is the 9th most famous Mozambican Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Reinildo Isnard Mandava (born 21 January 1994), also known mononymously as Reinildo, is a Mozambican professional footballer who plays as a left back the Mozambique national team.

Photo of Armando Sá

10. Armando Sá (b. 1975)

With an HPI of 45.75, Armando Sá is the 10th most famous Mozambican Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Armando Miguel Correia de Sá (born 16 September 1975) is a Mozambican football manager and former player who serves as assistant coach of Canadian club Pacific FC. As a player, he played mainly as a right back. He also held a Portuguese passport, and played professionally in four countries in a 16-year professional career: Portugal (six teams, including a two-and-a-half-year spell with Benfica), Spain, England (five months with Leeds United) and Iran.

People

Pantheon has 13 people classified as Mozambican soccer players born between 1929 and 1994. Of these 13, 10 (76.92%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Mozambican soccer players include Carlos Queiroz, Paulo Fonseca, and Abel Xavier. The most famous deceased Mozambican soccer players include Eusébio, Mário Coluna, and Costa Pereira. As of April 2024, 13 new Mozambican soccer players have been added to Pantheon including Eusébio, Carlos Queiroz, and Mário Coluna.

Living Mozambican Soccer Players

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Deceased Mozambican Soccer Players

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Newly Added Mozambican Soccer Players (2024)

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Overlapping Lives

Which Soccer Players were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 3 most globally memorable Soccer Players since 1700.