Rui Jordão

Rui Jordão

Jordão in 1972
Personal information
Full name Rui Manuel Trindade Jordão
Date of birth (1952-08-09) 9 August 1952
Place of birth Benguela, Angola
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Striker
Youth career
Sporting Benguela
1970–1971 Benfica
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1971–1976 Benfica 90 (63)
1976–1977 Zaragoza 33 (14)
1977–1987 Sporting CP 207 (137)
1987–1989 Vitória Setúbal 60 (12)
Total 390 (226)
National team
1972 Portugal U21 1 (0)
1972–1989 Portugal 43 (15)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Rui Manuel Trindade Jordão (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈʁuj ʒuɾˈðɐ̃w̃]; born 9 August 1952) is a retired Portuguese footballer.

One of the most prolific strikers in the history of Portuguese football, his career was mainly associated with two of the biggest clubs in the country, Benfica and Sporting, winning the Silver Ball award twice, once with each team.

Jordão represented the Portugal national side for 16 years, appearing with them at Euro 1984.

Club career

Born in Benguela, Portuguese Angola, Jordão moved in his teens to Portugal's S.L. Benfica, making his professional debuts in 1971–72. He played 17 games and scored six goals in his debut campaign, appearingly slightly less in his second (but still contributing with five successful strikes) as Benfica won back-to-back top division titles, only losing one match in the course of the two seasons combined.

After improving his displays at Benfica, Jordão signed with Spanish side Real Zaragoza in the 1976 summer, netting regularly but being relegated from La Liga, after which he returned to his country of adoption, signing with Sporting Clube de Portugal.

Jordão enjoyed his best years with the Lions, only scoring once in single digits in his first seven seasons, which included an astonishing 57 goals combined in the seasons where the team won the league (1980, 1982). At the age of 35 he moved to Vitória de Setúbal, reuniting with former Sporting teammate Manuel Fernandes, another prolific veteran goalscorer; he closed out his career two years later, one after Fernandes, having netted more than 200 goals – 214 exactly – in Portugal's league alone.

International career

In early 1972, Jordão won the first of his 43 caps for Portugal, against Cyprus for the 1974 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Also in that year he was picked for the squad that lost the Brazilian Independence Cup, 0–1 against hosts Brazil.

On 13 November 1983, Jordão scored the decisive goal against the Soviet Union, as the national side won 1–0 in Lisbon and qualified for UEFA Euro 1984. In the final stages Portugal managed to reach the semi-finals, where the player netted twice against hosts France in Marseille on 23 June 1984: Portugal led 2–1 with only six minutes to go in extra-time, after individual efforts and assists by Fernando Chalana, but eventually lost 2–3.[1][2]

Jordão played his last international in 1989, at nearly 37, precisely in the year of his club retirement.

Rui Jordão: International goals
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 29 March 1972 Estádio da Luz (1954), Lisbon, Portugal  Cyprus 4–0 4–0 1974 World Cup qualification
2 6 July 1972 Mineirão, Belo Horizonte, Brazil  Soviet Union 1–0 1–0 Brazilian Independence Cup
3 14 November 1973 Estádio José Alvalade (1956), Lisbon, Portugal  Northern Ireland 1–0 1–1 1974 World Cup qualification
4 9 October 1977 Idrætsparken, Copenhagen, Denmark  Denmark 0–1 2–4 1978 World Cup qualification
5 24 September 1980 Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa, Italy  Italy 1–1 3–1 Friendly
6 19 November 1980 Estádio da Luz (1954), Lisbon, Portugal  Northern Ireland 1–0 1–0 1982 World Cup qualification
7 17 December 1980 Estádio da Luz (1954), Lisbon, Portugal  Israel 2–0 3–0 1982 World Cup qualification
8 28 October 1981 Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel  Israel 1–1 4–1 1982 World Cup qualification
9 21 September 1983 Estádio José Alvalade (1956), Lisbon, Portugal  Finland 1–0 5–0 Euro 1984 qualifying
10 13 November 1983 Estádio da Luz (1954), Lisbon, Portugal  Soviet Union 1–0 1–0 Euro 1984 qualifying
11 2 June 1984 Estádio Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal  Yugoslavia 1–0 2–3 Friendly
12 2 June 1984 Estádio Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal  Yugoslavia 2–1 2–3 Friendly
13 23 June 1984 Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France  France 1–1 3–2 UEFA Euro 1984
14 23 June 1984 Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France  France 1–2 3–2 UEFA Euro 1984
15 14 November 1984 Estádio José Alvalade (1956), Lisbon, Portugal  Sweden 1–0 1–3 1986 World Cup qualification

Honours

Club

Benfica
Sporting

Individual

References

  1. ↑ EURO's greatest games; UEFA.com, 24 June 2008
  2. ↑ "Platini faz a diferença em meia-final de sonho" [Platini makes the difference in dream semi-final] (in Portuguese). UEFA.com. 4 October 2003. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  3. ↑ "Portugal – List of Topscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
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