Artur de Sousa, known by his nickname Pinga (July 30, 1909 – July 12, 1963) was a Portuguese

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 ...

and later coach who made his name at FC Porto, where he served until his death in 1963.

Playing career

Pinga played as forward or inside left and achieved nationwide fame at

CS Marítimo CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to: Job titles * Chief Secretary (Hong Kong) * Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces * Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public s ...

. In 1930 he earned his first call-up to the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

, and in the same year joined FC Porto, and became the key player of the victories in the ''Campeonato de Portugal'' (the predecessor to the

Cup of Portugal A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

), in 1931/32 and 1936/37. He was still a playing for Porto when the forerunner of the current '' Primeira Liga'' was established, where he was champion in the first two years of the competition, in 1938/39 and 1939/40. He retired in 1946 after a meniscus surgery, when such operations still carried many risks. During his career he was considered the best national player ever, scoring 394 goals in 400 games. He only played for two clubs, Marítimo and FC Porto.

International career

He was capped 21 times for Portugal, scoring 9 goals over 12 years (1930–1942). On 5 May 1935, Pinga scored two late goals against Spain to complete an iconic comeback, from 3-0 down up to 3-3. On 16 March 1941, he scored his last international goal against Spain in a 5-1 loss.

Coaching career

In his first season as a football manager, he caused a massive upset when

Tirsense Futebol Clube Tirsense, commonly known as just Tirsense, is a Portuguese football club from Santo Tirso, founded on January 5, 1938. They currently play in the Divisão de Elite of AF Porto. They currently play their home games in Abel Alves de ...

knocked out Sporting in the Portuguese Cup. He then managed Sanjoanense and Gouveia before returning to FC Porto as assistant manager. He died in 1963, while serving as a youth team coach in Porto.

Legacy

He was idolized by

José Maria Pedroto José Maria Carvalho Pedroto, OIH (21 October 1928 – 7 January 1985), was a Portuguese football midfielder and manager. He amassed Primeira Liga totals of 227 matches and 57 goals over 11 seasons, at the service of Lusitano, Belenenses and Por ...

, who would become another major star in the Porto side. Both had their name suggested to the

Estádio do Dragão The Estádio do Dragão (; English: Dragon Stadium) is an All-seater stadium, all-seater Association football, football stadium in Porto, Portugal, and the home ground of FC Porto since 2003. It has a seating capacity of 50,033, making it the Lis ...

. One of the most important sportsmen born in the

Madeira Islands ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

(some say his legacy lives on modern star

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...

), he has a street named after him in his hometown Funchal.

International goals

:''Portugal score listed first, score column indicates score after each Pinga goal.

Honours

Club

;Porto * Primeira Liga (3): 1934–35, 1938–39, 1939–40 * Campeonato de Portugal (2): 1931–32, 1936–37

Individual

* Bola de Prata: 1935–36

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pinga, Artur de Sousa 1909 births 1963 deaths Sportspeople from Funchal Portuguese footballers Portuguese football managers C.S. Marítimo players FC Porto players Portugal international footballers Madeiran footballers Primeira Liga players Association football forwards