One day in 1960, Bela Guttman sat in a chair in the barbers to get a hair cut. Guttman was a successful football coach at the time who had become a man of the people when he led Benfica, the Portuguese football club, into the European Cup.
Despite this success, the coach wanted more. He was pondering how to make his club better and mulling over his options. Sat in the next chair across was the coach of the Sao Paulo football club from Brazil whose club regularly toured around for away matches.
The coach shared a secret – coach to coach – about a young man who the top clubs were chasing and no one had successfully managed to recruit to their own team yet. His name was Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, who in some circles was known more simply as the Black Panther.
The player had been kicking balls around in the youth team in what later become the capital of Mozambique, Maputo. He was the son of a white father and a black mother from a local community in Mozambique.
The swarthy mother had already spurned substantial offers from clubs such as Juventus offering to snatch up the young player in exchange for a lucrative multi-year deal. Bela Guttman liked what he heard and decided to make an offer of his own.
Some time later, Eusébio da Silva Ferreira came to play at Benfica football club where his record of 733 goals spread over 745 matches impressed everyone who loved the game and came to watch the panther play.
At the end of his playing career, the legendary footballer maintained his connection with Benfica by becoming their Ambassador.
At his death recently, Portugal declared a three day period of mourning for the nation. The funeral was held in Lisbon where thousands came out, including both Portugese and fans from around the world, who all came together to celebrate the legacy of the man Portugal came to call their own.