Luciano Jorge Fernandes (6 August 1940 – 5 December 1966) 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

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

Club career

Born in

Olhão Olhão (), officially known as Olhão da Restauração, is a city and municipality in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 45,396, in an area of . Located near the regional capital Faro and formi ...

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

, Luciano started out at local club

S.C. Olhanense Sporting Clube Olhanense () is a Portuguese sports club from Olhão, Algarve. Its football team was founded on 27 April 1912 and currently plays in the Campeonato de Portugal, the fourth tier of Portuguese football. It holds home matches at the ...

at age 19. His composure and assuredness in possession earned him the nickname ''Germano II'', in honour of

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 ...

player

Germano Germano is a given name and a surname. Given name Notable people with the given name include: *Germano Almeida (born 1945), Cape Verdean author and lawyer *Germano Celant (born 1940), Italian art historian, critic and curator *Germano de Figueire ...

. He moved to the latter side in 1963, and coach

Lajos Czeizler Lajos Czeizler (5 October 1893 – 6 May 1969) was a Hungarian footballer and coach. With 11 major titles altogether, he remains one of the most successful football coaches of all time. Career Czeizler was born in a Jewish family in Heves, Aust ...

displayed him in the

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

position until he injured his

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

, needing an operation. Luciano was again bothered by physical problems upon his return, now in the

ankle The ankle, or the talocrural region, or the jumping bone (informal) is the area where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle includes three joints: the ankle joint proper or talocrural joint, the subtalar joint, and the inferior tibiofibular join ...

, only returning to full fitness in the 1966–67 season.

Death

On 5 December 1966, Benfica's new

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bath short-circuited with seven players inside, Luciano being the only one immersed.

Eusébio Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei" ("The King"), was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the greatest players of ...

Jaime Graça Jaime da Silva Graça (; 30 January 1942 – 28 February 2012) was a Portuguese football midfielder and coach. Club career Born in Setúbal, Graça made his professional – and Primeira Liga – debut with local Vitória Futebol Clube, appe ...

and

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escaped with burns, whilst José Carmo Pais,

Domiciano Cavém Domiciano Barrocal Gomes Cavém (21 November 1932 – 12 January 2005) was a Portuguese footballer who played mainly for Benfica in several positions, but mostly as a left winger and right back. He appeared in 420 official games for his main cl ...

and Amândio Malta da Silva were knocked unconscious until Graça managed to climb out the pool and cut off the power supply; Luciano died immediately at the age of 26, and the team played the rest of the campaign in black, winning the league.

Honours

Benfica *

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, ...

: 1963–64, 1964–65, 1966–67 *

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 ...

: 1963–64

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Luciano Fernandes 1940 births 1966 deaths People from Olhão Portuguese men's footballers Men's association football defenders Primeira Liga players S.C. Olhanense players S.L. Benfica footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Accidental deaths in Portugal Accidental deaths by electrocution Footballers from Faro District