João Lourenço (footballer, born 1942)

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is de Matos and the second or paternal family name is Moura Lourenço.
João Lourenço
Personal information
Full name João de Matos Moura Lourenço
Date of birth (1942-04-08) 8 April 1942 (age 82)
Place of birth Alcobaça, Portugal
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
Alcobaça
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1960–1961 Alcobaça
1961–1964 Académica 56 (40)
1964–1972 Sporting CP 151 (93)
Total 207 (133)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Portugal
FIFA World Cup
Third place 1966 England
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

João de Matos Moura Lourenço (born 8 April 1942) is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a striker, most notably for Sporting CP.[1]

Club career

Born in Alcobaça, Leiria District, Lourenço started playing football in 1960 with local G.C. Alcobaça. After one season, he signed for Associação Académica de Coimbra.[2]

In the summer of 1964, Lourenço joined Primeira Liga club Sporting CP. He remained in Lisbon eight years, winning the 1966 and 1970 national championships.[1]

Lourenço retired in June 1972 aged only 30, having scored 145 goals in 219 competitive matches for the Lions including 93 in the league. In a rainy afternoon in October 1965, he netted four times in a 4–2 away win against S.L. Benfica as Sporting went on to win the domestic championship; in European competition he added 18, only being surpassed many years later by Liédson.[3]

International career

Lourenço was a member of the Portugal squad that participated in the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England, but did not make any appearance in the competition for the third-placed team, eventually being the only player called for the tournament that would never be capped.[4][5]

Personal life

Lourenço's career ended in 1972, when he still had a year left on his contract with Sporting. He retired from football and moved to Portuguese Angola because he did not want to fight in the Portuguese Colonial War, and as the African territory was under Portuguese rule, he was legally exempt from military service.[1]

Subsequently, Lourenço emigrated to Canada, where he worked in a flat block, a bureau de change and the cargo department of Sabena (a Belgian airline). He returned to Portugal in 1981, being employed at Securitas.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Gomes, Rui (11 December 2016). "João Lourenço" (in Portuguese). Camarote Leonino. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Só Travaços não traduziu a qualidade em golos" [Only Travaços did not translate quality into goals]. Record (in Portuguese). 29 January 2002. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  3. ^ Silveira, João Pedro (17 November 2011). "Lourenço: o homem do Poker na Luz" [Lourenço: pokerman at the Estádio da Luz] (in Portuguese). Zerozero. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  4. ^ "1966 FIFA World Cup England ™ – Portugal". FIFA. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
  5. ^ 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). Retrieved 9 April 2020.

Information related to João Lourenço (footballer, born 1942)