Fernando Peyroteo
Peyroteo in 1945
Personal information
Full name Fernando Baptista de Seixas Peyroteo de Vasconcelos
Date of birth (1918-03-10)10 March 1918
Place of birth Humpata, Angola
Date of death 28 November 1978(1978-11-28) (aged 60)
Place of death Lisbon, Portugal
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1932–1934 AC Moçâmedes
1934–1936 Académico Sá da Bandeira
1936–1937 Sporting Luanda
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1937–1949 Sporting CP 197 (332)
Total 197 (332)
International career
1938–1949 Portugal 20 (14)
Managerial career
1961 Portugal
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Fernando Baptista de Seixas Peyroteo de Vasconcelos (10 March 1918 – 28 November 1978) was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker.

He spent his entire professional career with Sporting CP, scoring 544 goals in all competitions, winning 11 major titles and being crowned his country's top-division scorer on six occasions.[1][2]

Club career

Born in Humpata, Huíla Province, Portuguese Angola, Peyroteo arrived at Sporting CP on 26 June 1937 after being introduced to the club by family friend Aníbal Paciência,[3] and he quickly impressed new manager József Szabó by scoring a hat-trick in a practice match.[3][4] His competitive debut came on 12 September, and he netted a brace against rivals S.L. Benfica. He went on to be part of the club's attacking line that included Albano, Jesus Correia, José Travassos and Manuel Vasques and was dubbed the Cinco Violinos (Five Violins), scoring 57 goals in only 30 games in his first year to win both the Lisbon Championship and the Taça de Portugal, then named Portuguese Championship.[5][6]

During his spell with the Lisbon side, Peyroteo won five Primeira Liga trophies, five domestic cups and the first edition of the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira at the new Estádio Nacional, scoring twice in the latter tournament for an eventual 3–2 extra time win over Benfica. He managed nine in a single game against Leça F.C. and eight against Boavista FC, and his goals-per-game ratio was the best in Portuguese football, at 1.68 successful strikes per game.[7][8][9][10]

I have been a soldier in the ranks of national sport, and a soldier does not escape from his duty, no matter what the circumstances. But today I recognise that I am an old soldier. I can no longer meet the demands faced by a football player who wants to stay in shape and be useful to his club and to the sport. When I enter the field I am filled with enthusiasm, but after half a dozen kicks on the ball, an inexplicable tiredness falls on me.

—Peyroteo's farewell speech following his final game against Atlético Clube de Portugal, explaining why he retired[3]

Peyroteo contributed 40 goals in the 1948–49 campaign as the Lions conquered their third league in a row. He retired shortly after at the age of 31, with the revenue from the testimonial match against Atlético Clube de Portugal being used to pay debts he had collected with a sportswear shop he had opened.[11]

Peyroteo subsequently moved back to Angola, but returned eventually to Portugal to coach the national team: after his second game, a 4–2 loss at minnows Luxembourg for the 1962 FIFA World Cup qualifiers which brought young Eusébio his first cap, he was relieved of his duties, and quit football altogether. After a veterans match in Barcelona, he was forced to undergo surgery that brought complications later, leading to the amputation of one leg; he died in the Portuguese capital, at the age of 60.[11]

International career

Peyroteo played 20 times for Portugal over nearly 11 years, scoring 14 goals. He made his debut on 24 April 1938, in an exhibition game with Germany in Frankfurt.[12]

Personal life

José Couceiro, a football player and later a manager, was Peyroteo's grandnephew. António César de Vasconcelos Correia, 1st Viscount and 1st Count of Torres Novas and the 93rd Governor of Portuguese India, was his great-uncle; Augusto de Vasconcelos was his second cousin once removed.

Peyroteo's paternal grandfather was Spanish.[13]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season Primeira Liga[a] Taça de Portugal[b] Lisbon Championship[c] Other[d] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Sporting CP 1937–38 14 34 6 11 10 12 — 30 57
1938–39 10 14 6 8 10 23 — 26 45
1939–40 17 29 4 8 10 17 — 31 54
1940–41 14 29 4 6 2 2 — 20 37
1941–42 12 28 3 5 10 19 — 25 52
1942–43 18 21 3 4 10 13 — 31 38
1943–44 17 24 2 1 9 11 1[e] 2 29 38
1944–45 15 19 6 10 10 11 — 31 40
1945–46 21 37 4 8 10 11 — 35 56
1946–47 19 43 — 4 4 — 23 47
1947–48 17 14 5 13 6 10 — 28 37
1948–49 23 40 0 0 — 2[f] 3 25 43
Career total 197 332 43 74 91 133 3 5 334 544
  1. ^ Both as the Primeira Liga and as the Primeira Divisão
  2. ^ Both as the Campeonato de Portugal and as the Taça de Portugal
  3. ^ Both as the Campeonato de Lisboa and as the Taça de Honra
  4. ^ Includes the Taça do Império and the Latin Cup
  5. ^ Appearance in the Taça do Império
  6. ^ All appearances in the Latin Cup

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[14]
National team Year Apps Goals
Portugal 1938 3 1
1939 0 0
1940 1 2
1941 1 1
1942 1 0
1943 0 0
1944 0 0
1945 3 4
1946 2 3
1947 6 1
1948 1 1
1949 2 1
Total 20 14
Scores and results list Portugal's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Peyroteo goal.
List of international goals scored by Fernando Peyroteo[14]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 1 May 1938 Arena Civica, Milan, Italy   Switzerland 1–2 1–2 1938 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 28 January 1940 Parc des Princes, Paris, France  France 1–3 2–3 Friendly
3 2–3
4 12 January 1941 Campo das Salésias, Lisbon, Portugal  Spain 2–2 2–2 Friendly
5 11 March 1945 Estádio Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal  Spain 1–0 2–2 Friendly
6 2–2
7 6 May 1945 Estadio Riazor, A Coruña, Spain  Spain 1–0 2–4 Friendly
8 2–4
9 14 April 1946 Estádio Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal  France 2–1 2–1  Friendly
10 16 June 1946 Estádio Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal  Ireland 3–0 3–1 Friendly
11 23 November 1947 Estádio Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal  France 1–0 2–4 Friendly
12 23 May 1948 Estádio Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal  Ireland 1–0 2–0 Friendly
13 20 March 1949 Estádio Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal  Spain 1–1 1–1 Friendly

Honours

Sporting CP

Individual

See also

References

  1. ^ "Variety the spice of Sporting life". FIFA. 24 March 2009. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  2. ^ a b Claro, Paulo; Preston, Simon; Nunes, João; Di Maggio, Roberto. "Portugal – List of Topscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Thacker, Gary (11 February 2019). "Fernando Peyroteo: the game's most emphatic, underrated and statistically brilliant goalscorer ever". These Football Times. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  4. ^ Martins, Rui Miguel (1 March 2017). "Fernando Peyroteo, Portugal's forgotten superstar". PortuGOAL. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  5. ^ Marques, Sara (16 February 2015). "O dia em que os cinco violinos marcaram 12 golos" [The day the five violins scored 12 goals] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  6. ^ Roseiro, Bruno (29 July 2017). "Quem eram os Cinco Violinos, a famosa linha avançada que marcou mais de 1.200 golos?" [Who were the Five Violins, the famous forward line who scored more than 1.200 goals?]. Observador (in Portuguese). Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Um rugido "à antiga"" ["Old-time" roar]. Record (in Portuguese). 15 November 2004. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  8. ^ Marques, Sara (22 February 2016). "O dia em que Peyroteo marcou nove golos num jogo" [The day Peyroteo scored nine goals in one match] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  9. ^ Rodrigues, Berta (22 February 2017). "Procure-se um recorde e encontra-se Peyroteo" [Look for a record and find Peyroteo] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  10. ^ Olenev, Maxim. "Portugal – All-Time Topscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  11. ^ a b Roseiro, Bruno (11 March 2018). "Peyroteo, o goleador que desafiava o impossível e só falhou o curso de medicina veterinária" [Peyroteo, the scorer who defied the impossible and only failed vet school]. Observador (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  12. ^ Escudeiro, Leo (10 March 2018). "Os 100 anos de Peyroteo, a máquina de gols portuguesa que antecedeu Eusébio e Cristiano Ronaldo" [The 100 years of Peyroteo, the Portuguese scoring machine that came before Eusébio and Cristiano Ronaldo] (in Portuguese). Trivela. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  13. ^ "Fernando Batista Seixas Peyroteo de Vasconcelos" (in Portuguese). Geneall. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  14. ^ a b "Fernando Peyroteo". European Football. Retrieved 24 October 2013.

External links

Latin Cup top scorers
Primeira Liga top scorers
Taça de Portugal top scorers
Portugal national football team – managers
Authority control databases
Categories