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 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
GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
129 March 1972Estádio da Luz (1954), Lisbon, Portugal Cyprus4–04–01974 World Cup qualification
26 July 1972Mineirão, Belo Horizonte, Brazil Soviet Union1–01–0Brazilian Independence Cup
314 November 1973Estádio José Alvalade (1956), Lisbon, Portugal Northern Ireland1–01–11974 World Cup qualification
49 October 1977Idrætsparken, Copenhagen, Denmark Denmark0–12–41978 World Cup qualification
524 September 1980Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa, Italy Italy1–13–1Friendly
619 November 1980Estádio da Luz (1954), Lisbon, Portugal Northern Ireland1–01–01982 World Cup qualification
717 December 1980Estádio da Luz (1954), Lisbon, Portugal Israel2–03–01982 World Cup qualification
828 October 1981Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel Israel1–14–11982 World Cup qualification
921 September 1983Estádio José Alvalade (1956), Lisbon, Portugal Finland1–05–0Euro 1984 qualifying
1013 November 1983Estádio da Luz (1954), Lisbon, Portugal Soviet Union1–01–0Euro 1984 qualifying
112 June 1984Estádio Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal Yugoslavia1–02–3Friendly
122 June 1984Estádio Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal Yugoslavia2–12–3Friendly
1323 June 1984Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France France1–13–2UEFA Euro 1984
1423 June 1984Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France France1–23–2UEFA Euro 1984
1514 November 1984Estádio José Alvalade (1956), Lisbon, Portugal Sweden1–01–31986 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. ↑ "Especial 'Tetra'" ['Tetra' special edition]. Mística (in Portuguese). No. 33. Portugal: Impresa Publishing. April–June 2017. p. 94. ISSN 3846-0823.
  4. ↑ "Portugal – List of Topscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
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