Jorge Alberto Mendonça Paulino (born 19 September 1938), known as Mendonça, is a Portuguese-Angolan 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 lea ...

who played as a striker. Having spent the vast majority of his career in Spain, he amassed

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

totals of 205 matches and 69 goals over the course of 12 seasons, almost all with

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

, with which he won five major titles.

Club career

Born in

Luanda Luanda ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Angola, largest city of Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Ang ...

Portuguese Angola In southwestern Africa, Portuguese Angola was a historical Evolution of the Portuguese Empire, colony of the Portuguese Empire (1575–1951), the overseas province Portuguese West Africa of Estado Novo (Portugal), Estado Novo Portugal (1951–1 ...

, Mendonça started his career with

S.C. Braga Sporting Clube de Braga (), commonly known as Sporting de Braga or just Braga, is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Braga. Best known for the men's professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese foo ...

. In early 1958, the 19-year-old moved to Spain where he would remain for the rest of his playing days, representing

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña () or simply Depor, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, that competes in the Segunda División, the ...

for a couple of months then signing for

. He made his debut for the latter club on 14 September in a 2–0 home win against

Real Oviedo Real Oviedo ( Asturian: Real Uviéu) is a Spanish professional football club based in Oviedo, Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926, the club plays in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system. The club plays at ...

, scoring the last goal; three days later he was one four players netting braces in an 8–0 trouncing of Drumcondra F.C. for the season's

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

.Técnica y magia angoleña (Skills and magic from Angola)
Mundo Deportivo, 22 December 2004 (in Spanish) During his nine-year spell at the

Vicente Calderón Stadium The Vicente Calderón Stadium ( ) was the home stadium of Atlético Madrid from its completion in 1966 to 2017, with a seating capacity of 54,907. It was located on the banks of the Manzanares, in the Arganzuela district of Madrid, Spain. The ...

, Mendonça would never appear in more than 25

matches, but was a solid attacking contributor as the ''Colchoneros'' won three

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

trophies and the

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

, with the player scoring in the final's replay, a 3–0 victory over

ACF Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

. He left with competitive totals of 235 games and 91 goals, retiring in June 1970 after unassuming top-flight spells with

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

(two seasons) and

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (, , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or RCD Mallorca, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Palma de Mallorca, ...

( one, team relegation).

Personal life

Mendonça converted to

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

in the late 1960s. FC Barcelona president

Narcís de Carreras Narcis de Carreras i Guiteras (1905, in La Bisbal d'Empordà — 1991, in Barcelona) was a Spanish lawyer and president of FC Barcelona. Politically close to the Catalan Regionalist League in his youth (he was personal secretary of Francesc Cambó ...

found this intolerable and ordered manager

Salvador Artigas Salvador Artigas Sahún (23 February 1913, Barcelona, Spain – 6 September 1997, Benidorm, Spain) was a Spanish footballer and manager. He was also manager for FC Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao and FC Sevilla. During the Spanish Civil War T ...

not to field him. As a result, Mendonça was transferred to RCD Mallorca.

Honours

Atlético Madrid *

: 1965–66 *

Copa del Generalísimo The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanish f ...

: 1959–60, 1960–61, 1964–65 *

: 1961–62 Barcelona *

: 1967–68

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mendonca, Jorge 1938 births Living people Footballers from Luanda Angolan men's footballers Portuguese men's footballers Portuguese sportspeople of Angolan descent Portuguese Jehovah's Witnesses Converts to Jehovah's Witnesses Men's association football forwards Primeira Liga players S.C. Braga players La Liga players Segunda División players Deportivo de La Coruña players Atlético Madrid footballers FC Barcelona players RCD Mallorca players Angolan expatriate men's footballers Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Angolan expatriate sportspeople in Spain People from Portuguese Angola 20th-century Portuguese sportsmen