João Mendonça Azevedo (10 July 1915 – 3 January 1991) 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 le ...
who played as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
.
His career was all but associated with
Sporting CP
Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...
, for which he appeared in 423 competitive games.
Club career
Born in
Barreiro Barreiro may refer to:
People
* Bruno Barreiro (born 1965), American politician
* Gustavo Barreiro (1959–2019), American politician
* Manu Barreiro (born 1986), Spanish footballer
Places
* Barreiro, Portugal
** Barreiro Municipality, a mu ...
,
Setúbal District
The District of Setúbal ( pt, Distrito de Setúbal ) is a district located in the south-west of Portugal. It is named for its capital, the city of Setúbal.
Geography
It is delimited by Lisbon District and Santarém District on the north, Év ...
, Azevedo started playing football with two local teams,
F.C. Barreirense and Luso Futebol Clube. He signed with
Sporting CP
Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...
in 1935, going on to remain with the club for the following 18 seasons and win 14 major titles, including eight
Primeira Liga
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, ...
championships.
On 17 November 1946, in a game against
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 ...
for the
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
Championship, Azevedo broke an arm, had to leave the field but returned during the second half with the score at 1–1 to help secure a 3–1 win. He retired in 1954 at 39, after
a season with neighbouring
Clube Oriental de Lisboa
Clube Oriental de Lisboa is a Portuguese football club based in Lisbon. Founded in 1946, it currently competes in the Campeonato de Portugal, holding home games at ''Campo Engenheiro Carlos Salema'', with an 8,500 capacity.
History
Clube Orienta ...
.
International career
Azevedo earned 19
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 ...
for the
Portugal national team in one full decade,
[ making his debut on 28 November 1937 in a 2–1 friendly win over ]Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. Before that match he, alongside teammates Mariano Amaro
Mariano Rodrigues Amaro (7 August 1914 – 22 May 1987) was a Portuguese football midfielder and manager.
Club career
Amaro was born in Lisbon. He spent his entire career with local club C.F. Os Belenenses, always in the Primeira Liga.
In the 1 ...
, Artur Quaresma
Artur da Silva Quaresma (27 June 1917 – 2 December 2011) was a Portuguese footballer who played as a forward.
Club career
Born in Barreiro, Setúbal District, Quaresma started playing with local F.C. Barreirense in the second division. In the ...
and José Simões
José Ribeiro Simões Costa (15 June 1913 – 19 July 1944), known as Simões, was a Portuguese footballer who played as a right-back.
Club career
Simões spent his entire career with C.F. Os Belenenses, always in the Primeira Liga. He was part o ...
, refused to perform the fascist salute
The Roman salute, alternatively called the Fascist salute, is a gesture in which the right arm is fully extended, facing forward, with palm down and fingers touching. In some versions, the arm is raised upward at an angle; in others, it is held ...
, being subsequently questioned by PIDE
The International and State Defense Police ( pt, Polícia Internacional e de Defesa do Estado; PIDE) was a Portuguese security agency that existed during the '' Estado Novo'' regime of António de Oliveira Salazar. Formally, the main roles of the ...
.
Azevedo's only competitive appearance took place on 1 May 1938, where a 0–1 defeat against Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
in Italy meant failure to qualify for that year's 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 ...
. He was also in goal for his country on 25 May 1947, during the 10–0 friendly loss with England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in Oeiras.
Later life and death
After finishing his career, Azevedo worked as a taxi driver
''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying and ...
. He later moved to London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England, where he worked as a college chauffeur
A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine.
Originally, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to speciali ...
.[
Azevedo returned to Portugal in 1982, dying in his hometown on 4 January 1991 at the age of 75.][
]
Honours
Sporting CP
*Primeira Liga
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, ...
: 1940–41, 1943–44, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53
*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 ...
: 1940–41, 1944–45, 1945–46, 1947–48
* Campeonato de Portugal: 1935–36, 1937–38
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azevedo, Joao
1915 births
1991 deaths
Sportspeople from Barreiro, Portugal
Portuguese footballers
Association football goalkeepers
Primeira Liga players
Sporting CP footballers
Clube Oriental de Lisboa players
Portugal international footballers
Portuguese taxi drivers