António Simões da Costa (; born 14 December 1943), known as Simões, is a Portuguese former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He spent 14 professional seasons with Benfica, playing 449 official games and scoring 72 goals. In the late 1970s, early 1980s, he represented several teams in the United States, and subsequently worked as a manager in both continents. A diminutive winger known for his high technicality, creativity and crossing ability, Simões still holds the record of youngest player (18 years and 139 days old) to play and win a final, the European Cup final won by Benfica against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

on 2 May 1962. Simões played more than 40 times for

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, appearing with the country at the

1966 World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 July to 30 July 1966. The England national football team defeated West Germany 4-2 in the ...

Club career

Benfica

Born in

Corroios Corroios is a civil parish in the municipality of Seixal in the district of Setúbal, Portugal. It is part of the Lisbon metropolitan area. The population in 2011 was 47,661, in an area of 17.11 km².Seixal Seixal () is a Portugal, Portuguese city and municipality, located in the district of Setúbal District, Setúbal, in the metropolitan area of Lisbon region, Lisbon. Its population includes 184,269 inhabitants (2011), in an area of that includes ...

Setúbal Setúbal (, , ; cel-x-proto, Caetobrix) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2014 was 118,166, occupying an area of . The city itself had 89,303 inhabitants in 2001. It lies within the Lisbon metropolitan area. In the ti ...

, Simões joined

S.L. Benfica Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional association football, football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football league system, Portuguese footba ...

when he was 15, and was already an important first-team member just two years later, being part of the squads that won ten

national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

and one

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

. In the 1962 final of the latter competition, a 5–3 win against

, he became the youngest ever player to conquer the tournament, at 18 years and four months. Simões left Benfica at the end of the 1974–75 season, after winning his last league. He contributed with 26 scoreless matches in the process.

United States

Simões moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

at the age of 32, signing with the

Boston Minutemen The Boston Minutemen were an American professional soccer team based out of Boston that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL). They played from 1974 to 1976. Their home fields included Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Schaefer Stadium ...

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

. He spent two seasons in the city before moving to the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

in 1976, and subsequently the

Dallas Tornado The Dallas Tornado was a soccer team based in Dallas, Texas that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1967 to 1981. Of the twelve teams that comprised the U.S. in 1967, the Tornado franchise played the longest–15 seasons. ...

. In 1979, Simões joined the

Detroit Lightning The Detroit Lightning was a Major Indoor Soccer League franchise which existed for only one season, 1979–1980. The Lightning finished that season at 15–17. The team's home arena was Cobo Arena. On May 28, 1980, at the end of the 1979–1980 ...

of the Major Indoor Soccer League. After one season he moved to the

Chicago Horizon The Chicago Horizons was a member of the original Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992), Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) for only the 1980–81 season. It was the first of two professional sports league organization, franchises that represented ...

, before finishing his career at almost 39 with the Kansas City Comets; he returned twice to his country during the off-season period, briefly representing

G.D. Estoril Praia Grupo Desportivo Estoril Praia (), commonly known as Estoril, is a Portuguese sports club from Estoril, Cascais, Lisbon. Founded on 17 May 1939, its football team currently plays in Primeira Liga and hold home games at the Estádio António Coimb ...

and U.F.C.I. Tomar. Immediately after quitting football, Simões was hired as coach of the

Phoenix Inferno The Phoenix Inferno was an American indoor soccer team in Phoenix, Arizona, that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1980 to 1983. In 1983 new ownership renamed the team the Phoenix Pride. The Pride folded at the end of the 1983–19 ...

of the MISL. He was dismissed in March 1984 and replaced by Ted Podleski, joining the

Las Vegas Americans The Las Vegas Americans were a soccer team based out of Las Vegas that played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League. Prior to Las Vegas, the team had operated as the Memphis Americans. They only played in Las Vegas during the 1984–85 season ...

as assistant to

Alan Mayer Alan Mayer (born July 3, 1952) is an American retired soccer goalkeeper. He played professionally in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League and earned six caps with the United States men's national soccer team. In 2019 ...

afterwards and also leaving in January 1985; in 1989, he was the

SISL United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

indoor season coach of the year with the

Austin Sockadillos Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

International career

Simões made his debut with the Portugal national team on 6 May 1962, in a 1–2 friendly defeat with

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

. He was a member of the squad that finished in third place in the

in England, scoring the opener in the group stage opener against the same opponent (3–1 win). The recipient of 46

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

with three goals, Simões missed the

Brazil Independence Cup The Brazil Independence Cup was an international football tournament held in Brazil, from 11 June to 9 July 1972, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Brazilian Declaration of Independence. It was called the ''Minicopa'' by the Brazilians a ...

due to injury. He made his last appearance on 13 October 1973, in a 2–2 home draw against

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

for the 1974 World Cup qualifiers. Simões joined

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

's coaching staff in April 2011, acting as assistant to compatriot

Carlos Queiroz Carlos Manuel Brito Leal de Queiroz (; born 1 March 1953) is a Portuguese football coach who currently is the head coach of the Iran national team. He has served as the manager of his native Portugal's national team, the United Arab Emirates, ...

. He left in February 2014, due to personal reasons.

Honours

Benfica *

Primeira Divisão The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

: 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1974–75 *

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 seaso ...

(4) *

: 1961–62 * Intercontinental Cup runner-up:

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

Portugal *

UEFA European Under-18 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply UEFA Under-19 Championship or the UEFA Euro U-19, is an annual football competition contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the member associations of UEFA. Spain and England ...

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

third place:

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

References

External links

*
National team data
* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simoes, Antonio 1943 births Living people People from Seixal Portuguese footballers Association football wingers Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players S.L. Benfica footballers G.D. Estoril Praia players U.F.C.I. Tomar players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Boston Minutemen players San Jose Earthquakes (1974–1988) players New Jersey Americans (ASL) players Dallas Tornado players Detroit Lightning players Chicago Horizons players Kansas City Comets (original MISL) players UEFA Champions League winning players Portugal youth international footballers Portugal international footballers 1966 FIFA World Cup players Portuguese expatriate footballers Expatriate soccer players in the United States Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in the United States Portuguese football managers Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) coaches SISL coaches Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Iran S.C. Lusitânia managers Sportspeople from Setúbal District Portuguese expatriate football managers Expatriate soccer managers in the United States Expatriate football managers in Iran