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Germano
	Germano lining up before the 1962 European Cup final
Personal information
Full name	Germano Luís de Figueiredo
Date of birth	23 December 1932
Place of birth	Alcântara, Portugal
Date of death	14 July 2004 (aged 71)
Place of death	Linda-a-Velha, Portugal
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Youth career
1947–1951	Atlético
Senior career*
Years	Team
1951–1960	Atlético
1960–1966	Benfica
1966–1967	Salgueiros
International career
1953–1966	Portugal
Medal record
Men's football
Representing Portugal
FIFA World Cup
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Germano Luís de Figueiredo (23 December 1932 – 14 July 2004), simply known as Germano (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒɨɾˈmɐnu]), was a Portuguese footballer who played as a central defender.

He spent most of his professional career with Benfica, appearing in 131 official matches and winning eight major titles, including two European Cups.^[1]

Germano represented Portugal at the 1966 World Cup.

Club career

Born in Alcântara, Lisbon, Germano started playing with local Atlético Clube de Portugal, spending seven of his nine seasons in the Primeira Liga. In the summer of 1960 he moved to neighbouring S.L. Benfica, where he remained the following six years, being a leading defensive unit of the sides that won four national championships and two European Cups (against FC Barcelona and Real Madrid); in the latter competition's 1964–65 edition, he was placed in goal following his teammate's Costa Pereira injury in the final against Inter Milan, and kept a clean sheet for more than 30 minutes, albeit in a 1–0 loss.^[1]

Germano retired in 1967, after one year with S.C. Salgueiros of the Segunda Liga. He died in Linda-a-Velha, at the age of 71.^[2]

International career

Germano won 24 caps for Portugal over 13 years.^[3] He was part of the squad that appeared at the 1966 FIFA World Cup but, after a subpar performance in the second game against Bulgaria, was benched for the rest of the tournament, which ended with a third-place conquest.^[4]

Style of play

A hard-working and strong-tackling defender, Germano was noted for his towering presence in Benfica's back-three defending formation, alongside left-back Ângelo and right-back Mário João. He possessed excellent ball control.^[5]^[6]

Germano ranked 53rd in UEFA's 50 Greatest Footballers of the Last 50 Years jubilee list.^[7]

Honours

Benfica

Primeira Liga: 1960–61, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65^[8]
Taça de Portugal:^[9] 1961–62, 1963–64
Taça de Honra (2)^[9]
European Cup:^[9] 1960–61, 1961–62

Atlético

Segunda Liga: 1958–59^[2]

Portugal

FIFA World Cup third place: 1966^[4]

Individual

World Soccer World XI: 1961, 1962, 1965^[10]

References

^ ^a ^b Malheiro, João (July 2006). Memorial Benfica 100 Glórias [Benfica Memorial 100 glories] (in Portuguese) (Third ed.). QuidNovi. pp. 64–67. ISBN 978-972-8998-26-4.
^ ^a ^b "Germano faleceu" [Germano has died]. Record (in Portuguese). 15 July 2004. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
^ "Lista completa dos internacionais portugueses" [Complete list of Portuguese internationals] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 18 February 2004. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
^ ^a ^b Paixão, Paulo; Castanheira, José Pedro (13 July 2016). "A lenda dos Magriços começou há 50 anos" [The legend of the Magriços started 50 years ago]. Expresso (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2 March 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
^ "Germano: O primeiro Beckenbauer da história do futebol" [Germano: The first Beckenbauer in the history of football]. Record (in Portuguese). 21 July 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
^ Dores, Márcia (25 March 2018). "Germano: o defesa de sonho do Bicampeão Europeu" [Germano: dream defender of back-to-back European champions] (in Portuguese). S.L. Benfica. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
^ "60–51: Dois portugueses em destaque" [60–51: Two Portuguese highlighted] (in Portuguese). UEFA. 16 January 2004. Retrieved 14 October 2013.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ "Especial 'Tetra'" ['Tetra' special edition]. Mística (in Portuguese). No. 33. Portugal: Impresa Publishing. April–June 2017. p. 92. ISSN 3846-0823.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Bicampeões para a história" [Back-to-back champions for the ages]. Visão (in Portuguese). Portugal: Impresa Publishing. May 2015. p. 49. ISSN 0872-3540.
^ "Eric Batty's World XI – The Sixties". Beyond the Last Man. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2015.