Virgílio Mendes
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Virgílio Marques Mendes | ||
| Date of birth | 17 November 1927 | ||
| Place of birth | Entroncamento, Portugal | ||
| Date of death | 24 April 2009 (aged 82) | ||
| Place of death | Porto, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Right back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1943–1946 | Ferroviários | ||
| 1946–1947 | Porto | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1947–1962 | Porto | 346 | (5) |
| International career | |||
| 1949–1960 | Portugal | 39 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1966 | Porto | ||
| 1979–1980 | Mirandela | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Virgílio Marques Mendes (17 November 1926 – 24 April 2009) was a Portuguese professional footballer, noticed as a leading figure of FC Porto and the Portugal national team during the 1950s.[1]
Career
He won the national Primeira Divisão championship title twice with FC Porto, in the 1955–56 and 1958–59 seasons. For the national team, Virgílio debuted in a friendly 1–4 loss to Italy on 27 February 1949, in a game that earned him the nickname of "O Leão de Génova" (The Lion of Genoa), for whom he would be known for the rest of his career.
He was a constant figure in the national team for the next 11 years, and he played in the 1950, 1954 and 1958 World Cup qualification. The last one is remembered for the historical 3–0 win over Italy, which ultimately resulted in the Italians missing the 1958 FIFA World Cup to Northern Ireland, the only time the Italians have missed a World Cup tournament. Virgílio's last game came at age 33, in the Euro 1960 1–5 quarter-final loss to Yugoslavia, on 22 May 1960. That would be his 39th cap for the national team, which made Virgílio the most capped Portuguese football player of his time.
He coached FC Porto for a brief period in 1966 as a caretaker, when he succeeded Flávio Costa in his second stint with the club. He also managed SC Mirandela in the 1979–80 season, leading the team to the first place of the Terceira Divisão – Série A.[2]
Career statistics
Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition.
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Porto | 1947–48 | Primeira Divisão | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 18 | 1 | |
| 1948–49 | Primeira Divisão | 20 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 23 | 1 | ||
| 1949–50 | Primeira Divisão | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 22 | 1 | ||
| 1950–51 | Primeira Divisão | 26 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 30 | 0 | ||
| 1951–52 | Primeira Divisão | 24 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | 31 | 0 | ||
| 1952–53 | Primeira Divisão | 19 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | 26 | 0 | ||
| 1953–54 | Primeira Divisão | 25 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 29 | 0 | ||
| 1954–55 | Primeira Divisão | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 28 | 0 | ||
| 1955–56 | Primeira Divisão | 26 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 31 | 0 | ||
| 1956–57 | Primeira Divisão | 26 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 32 | 0 | |
| 1957–58 | Primeira Divisão | 19 | 0 | 9 | 0 | — | 28 | 0 | ||
| 1958–59 | Primeira Divisão | 20 | 1 | 9 | 1 | — | 29 | 2 | ||
| 1959–60 | Primeira Divisão | 24 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 35 | 0 | |
| 1960–61 | Primeira Divisão | 26 | 1 | 11 | 0 | — | 37 | 1 | ||
| 1961–62 | Primeira Divisão | 26 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 32 | 0 | ||
| 1962–63 | Primeira Divisão | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| Career Total | 346 | 5 | 85 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 436 | 6 | ||
- ^ Includes the Taça de Portugal
- ^ a b Appearances in European Cup
- ^ Appearance in Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
Honours
Player
Porto
Manager
Mirandela
- Terceira Divisão – Série A: 1979–80
See also
References
- ^ "Virgílio:"Dentro das quatro linhas era muito endiabrado"" (in Portuguese). Record. 12 June 2002. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- ^ "CM Mirandela/Sport Clube de Mirandela" (in Portuguese). cm-mirandela.pt. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
Further reading
- DIAS, Rui, Record – 100 Melhores do Futebol Português – Volume II, 2002, EDISPORT.
External links
- Virgílio Mendes at ForaDeJogo (archived)
- Virgílio Mendes at EU-Football.info
- Virgílio Mendes national team profile at the Portuguese Football Federation (in Portuguese)