João Martins (footballer, born 1927)

João Martins
Personal information
Full name João Baptista Martins[1]
Date of birth (1927-09-03)September 3, 1927[1]
Place of birth Sines, Portugal[1]
Date of death November 16, 1993(1993-11-16) (aged 66)[1]
Place of death France[1]
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
Sport Lisboa e Sines
CUF
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1946–1959 Sporting CP 204 (131)
National team
1952–1957 Portugal 11 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

João Baptista Martins (3 September 1927 – 16 November 1993) was a Portuguese footballer.

Club career

He played for Sporting CP for 13 years. During his time with the club, he would win seven Primeira Liga titles and the 1954 Taça de Portugal.[2]

On September 4, 1955, he scored the first-ever goal of the European Cup, in a 3–3 draw against FK Partizan.[3]

International career

Martins won 11 caps for Portugal. He made his debut on November 23, 1952, in a 1–1 draw against Austria.[1]

Later life and death

After retiring, Martins moved to France, and worked in a factory. He died in November 1993 aged 66, due to heart failure.[1][2]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "João Martins" (in Portuguese). Sines Município. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Roseiro, Bruno (3 June 2017). "Liga dos Campeões. João Martins, o corticeiro alentejano que marcou o primeiro golo da prova em 1955" [Champions League. João Martins, the cork-stripper from Alentejo who scored the competition's first goal in 1955]. Observador (in Portuguese). Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  3. ↑ Pimentel, José Nuno (4 September 2019). "O dia em que Sporting e Partizan fizeram história" [The day Sporting and Partizan made history] (in Portuguese). UEFA. Retrieved 25 April 2020.

Other websites