Black Portuguese Greatest All-Time Team

Euro 2016 Final

Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.
Portugal
French Black Players 
African American Players,
Black Portuguese Players
Afro-Brazilian Players 



This is my selection of a 23 member all-time team for Black Portugese players.  The number 23 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the World Cup Finals.

Afro-Portuguese, African-Portuguese or Black Portuguese are Portuguese citizens or residents of Portugal with total or partial ancestry from any of the Black ethnic groups of Africa. Most of those perceived as Afro-Portuguese are descent of immigrants from former Portuguese overseas provinces in Africa. Alternatively, Afro-Portuguese may also refer to populations of partial Portuguese descent living throughout Africa.

The impact of Black players on Portuguese football is great.  Eusebio and Mario Coluna were leading members of Portugal's Gold Generation in the 1960's.  Eder scored the winning goal at Euro 2016.

Please also see:
Black Players who played for England 
African-American Players
French Black Players
African-American Players
Afro-Brazilian Players 

Team
GK: Nuno Espírito Santo
During his career he first made a name for himself in Spain, playing for three teams in five years. He later represented Porto in his country, albeit with little impact, and also played professionally in Russia. Nuno was part of the Portuguese squad at Euro 2008, but never won a cap for the national team.

GK: Ernesto
Born in Portugal, he represented Cape Verde internationally. In the summer of 2009, he signed for A.D. Carregado, where he remained for one season following the club's relegation to the third tier. In December 2012, Ernesto signed for Mozambican side Vilankulo F.C.

GK: Fernando
Fernando represented Angola internationally.  He played for Santa Clara.

RB: Jose Bosingwa
Born in Mbandaka, Zaire to a Portuguese father and a Congolese mother, he started with Boavista before joining  FC Porto coached by José Mourinho for 2003–04.  In 2008, he joined Chelsea.  Later, he played in Turkey.  Capped 25 times for Portugal.

Jose Bosingwa

RB: Miguel
He played the vast majority of his professional career with Benfica (five seasons) and Valencia (seven). Miguel gained 59 caps for Portugal during the 2000s, and represented the country in two World Cups and as many European Championships.

CB: Vicente Lucas
Vicente played for C.F. Os Belenenses in 13 Primeira Liga seasons, making his debut in 1954 and winning the Portuguese Cup six years later. He gained 20 caps for Portugal, his debut coming on 3 June 1959 in a 1–0 win against Scotland.  He was a member of the 1966 World Cup squad.

CB: Bruno Alves 
He spent most of his professional career at Porto, winning a total of nine titles, seven as first-choice, and appearing in 171 official games. He also won trophies in Russia with Zenit St. Petersburg, and in Turkey with Fenerbahçe. A Portuguese international since 2007, Alves represented the country in two World Cups and three European Championships, winning the 2016 edition of the latter tournament.

CB: Pepe
Born in Brazil, Pepe moved to Portugal playing for Maritimo.  In 2004, he moved to Porto while he established himself as one of the best defender in Portugal.  In 2007, he earned a dream move to Real Madrid.  At the time of writing, he won two Champions' league with them.  Although born in Brazil, he chose to represent Portugal.  At Euro 2016, he emerged as one of Portugal's best player as Portugal won their first ever international trophy.  He earned the Man of the Match in the Final against France.

CB: Abel Xavier
Xavier played for clubs in Portugal, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, England, Turkey, Germany and the USA.  Xavier was selected for UEFA Euro 2000, and became one of the key figures in the competition, not only due to playing some of his best football but also due to a distinctly bleached-blonde hairstyle with a matching beard. 

CB: Jorge Andrade  
Started with Estrela da Amadora and was bought by Porto FC in 2000.  After Japan/Korea 2002, he joined Deportivo La Coruna.  In 2007, he joined Juventus, but this spell was very unsuccessful due to injuries.  He was capped 51 times by Portugal and went to the WC 2002 and Euro 2004.

LB: Hilario 
Hilario was first noticed at Sporting de Lourenço Marques along with teammate Eusébio.  He joined Sporting CP while Eusebio went to Benfica. He played his entire professional career with Sporting CP, appearing in nearly 450 official games and winning seven major trophies.  He was the starting leftback of Portugal in 1960's.   He went to the 1966 WC finals in England.

DM: Costinha
Costinha played in the lower division in Portugal before getting discovered by Monaco. In 2001, he joined FC Porto, where he was a part of the team that won the Champions league in 2003. He also played in Russia, Italy and Spain.  Capped over 50 times.  He played at both Euro 2004 and 2000, and the 2006 FIFA World Cup. D uring the latter, on 25 June, he took part in the Battle of Nuremberg, being one of four players sent off against the Netherlands after two bookable offenses. 

Costinha

DM: William Carvalho 
Born in Luanda, Angola, Carvalho moved to Portugal when he was just a few years old. At the time of writing, except two loan spells, he has mainly played for Sporting SP.  Carvalho first grained international recognition when he was named player of the tournament at the 2015 European Under-21 Championship.  At Euro 2016, he established as a starter of the national team.  He was also a member of Portugal's team at the 2014 WC Finals.  

DM: Oceano
Born in Cape Verde, he was probably the greatest player from there. Oceano's family emigrated to Portugal when he was a child. He started his career at Almada A.C. in the lower leagues and, after spells in the second division with Odivelas F.C. and C.D. Nacional, signed with Sporting Clube de Portugal for the 1984–85 season.  He appeared in over 400 matches for two spells.  In between, he played for Real Sociedad and Toulouse.  He earned 54 caps and was a top player in the early 1990's.  He went to Euro 1996.

CM: Renato Sanches 
At the time of writing, he is considered one of the best young midfielder in the world.  He played for benfica before moving to Bayern Munich in 2016.  He played a big role during Portugal's Euro 2016 winning campaign.

CM: Mario Coluna 

Mario Coluna is one of the greatest player ever for both Portugal and Benfica. He won two European Cup with Benfica in 1961 and 1962.  He was the captain of Portugal in the 1966 World Cup. He was known to be Eusebio's friend and his top assister on the field.

Captain of Portugal in 1966

LW: Silvestre Varela
He represented mainly Sporting and Porto during his career, amassing Primeira Liga totals of 212 games and 44 goals over the course of nine seasons and winning 11 major titles with the latter, including three national championships and the 2011 Europa League. He also competed professionally in Spain, England and Italy. Varela appeared for Portugal at Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup, scoring in both tournaments.

LW/AM: Luís Boa Morte
Having come through the youth ranks with Sporting Clube de Portugal, Boa Morte received his first big break by joining Premier League side Arsenal in 1997. He also went on to play for Southampton, Fulham and West Ham United. He joined Greek side Larissa before moving on to South African side Orlando Pirates. In October 2012 he returned to England and joined fourth-tier side Chesterfield. Boa Morte earned 28 caps for Portugal and was selected for the 2004 Olympics and the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

RW: Nani
Nani came through the ranks of Sporting CP.  In 2007, he joined Manchester United, where his career was up and down. He was a part of the team that won the Champions' League. He earned over a 100 caps for Portugal.  He is a regular member of the national team from 2006 onward. He contributed to Portugal's winning Euro 2016.

Nani

FW: Liedson 
Liedson moved to Sporting CP in 2003 after playing for Corinthians and Flamengo without successes. From 2003 to 2011, he scored 173 goals for them, becoming one of the club's greatest players.  He helped them to reach the UEFA Cup Final in 2005.  He was first capped by Portugal in 2009 and went to play at South Africa 2010.

ST: Eder
Born in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, Eder made his Primeira Liga debut for Académica on 24 August 2008.  he also played for Braga, Swansea and Lille.  At the writing, he has 32 caps. He scored the winning goal against France at the Final of Euro 2016.

Eder scoring against France 

ST: Rui Jordão 
He played for Benfica, Sporting CP, Racing Zaragoza and Vitoria SC.  With Sporting CP, he was the league's top scorer twice and was Portuguese Player of the Year in 1980.  He had 37 caps in total.  He was probably best remembered for scoring twice against France at the semifinal of Euro 1984. 

ST: Eusebio 
He is probably Portugal's greatest player.  Along with Pele, he was considered to be the best player in the world during the 1960's.  He helped Portugal reach third place at the 1966 World Cup, being the top goalscorer of the tournament with nine goals (including four in one match against North Korea) and received the Bronze Ball award. He won the Ballon d'Or award for European footballer of the year in 1965 and was runner-up in 1962 and 1966. He played for Benfica 15 out of his 22 years as a footballer.  He won the European Cup in 1961.

Eusebio

Honorable Mention
Rolando, Nelson Marcos.

Squad Explanation
-- I have difficult time looking for goalkeepers.  I found 4 keepers, whom I knew nothing about.  I chose three with the most experience according to their bios. Nuno was the only one with some international experience with Portugal. And I made an exception case of including Portuguese-born goalkeepers of African decent who chose to represent a country other than Portugal.
-- Jose Aguas was born in Angola, but he was not of African descent.
-- Eder scored the most important goal ion Portugal's history.  That put him in a special place in Portugal's football history.
-- Renato Sanches is actually too young, but he contributed to the Euro 2016 victory.  At the time of writing, his career with Bayern Munich has not panned out.  He is fading quickly. However, his contribution for Euro 2016 was too important for the history of Portuguese football.  I am keeping him on the squad as of 2018.  
-- William Carvalho also played a part in that victory, but when I first created the blog, he only made honourable mention.  In 2017, I decided to select him to the squad.  José Luís Vidigal who spent his career playing in Italy 
-- According to various source, Cristano Ronaldo is of Cape Verdean descent. I excluded him because of uncertainty.

Formation