Rui Jordão facts for kids
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Jordão in 1972
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Rui Manuel Trindade Jordão | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 9 August 1952 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Benguela, Angola | |||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 18 October 2019 (aged 67) | |||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Cascais, Portugal | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.79 m | |||||||||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1971 | Portugal U18 | 7 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 1973 | Portugal U21 | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 1972–1989 | Portugal | 43 | (15) | |||||||||||||
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Honours
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Rui Manuel Trindade Jordão (born August 9, 1952 – died October 18, 2019) was a famous Portuguese football player. He was known as a fantastic striker, which means he was great at scoring goals.
Rui Jordão played most of his professional career for two of Portugal's biggest football clubs: Benfica and Sporting CP. He was one of the best goal scorers in Portuguese football history. He even won the "Silver Ball" award twice, once with each team.
Jordão also played for the Portugal national team for 17 years. He represented his country in the Euro 1984 tournament.
Contents
Rui Jordão's Club Journey
Rui Jordão was born in Benguela, which was then part of Portuguese Angola. When he was a teenager, he moved to Portugal. He started his professional football career with S.L. Benfica in the 1971–72 season.
Playing for Benfica
In his first season with Benfica, he played 18 games and scored seven goals. In his second season, he helped the team win the Primeira Liga title. Benfica was very strong during these years, winning two league titles in a row. They only lost one match over these two seasons! Jordão helped them win four league titles in total.
Time in Spain and Return to Portugal
In 1976, Jordão moved to Spain to play for Real Zaragoza. He scored goals regularly there, but his team was unfortunately moved down to a lower league. After just one year in Spain, he returned to Portugal. He then joined Sporting CP, another big club.
Success with Sporting CP
Rui Jordão had his best years playing for Sporting CP. He scored more than ten goals in six of his first seven seasons with the team. He scored a total of 57 goals when Sporting won the league in 1980 and 1982. He also helped them win the Portuguese Cup twice.
Final Club and Retirement
When he was 35 years old, Jordão moved to Vitória de Setúbal. He played there for two more years. He finished his amazing career having scored 212 goals in Portugal's top football division.
Rui Jordão's International Career
Rui Jordão first played for the Portugal national team in early 1972. This was against Cyprus in a qualifying game for the 1974 FIFA World Cup. He played a total of 43 games for his country.
Euro 1984 Heroics
One of his most famous moments was on November 13, 1983. He scored the winning goal against the Soviet Union in Lisbon. This important goal helped Portugal qualify for UEFA Euro 1984.
In the Euro 1984 tournament, Portugal reached the semi-finals. They played against the host country, France, in Marseille. Jordão scored two goals in this exciting match! Portugal was even leading 2-1 in extra time with only six minutes left. However, France came back and won 3-2. Even though Portugal lost, Jordão's performance was unforgettable.
He played his last international game in 1989, the same year he retired from club football.
Life After Football
After retiring from football, Rui Jordão chose a different path. He moved away from the world of sports and became a talented painter and sculptor.
He passed away on October 18, 2019, at the age of 67. He had been in the hospital due to heart problems in Cascais, Portugal. Fernando Gomes, the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, said that Jordão was "peerless," meaning he was truly unique and had no equal.
Rui Jordão's Achievements
Rui Jordão won many awards and titles during his football career.
Benfica
- Primeira Liga: 1971–72, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1975–76
- Taça de Portugal: 1971–72
Sporting CP
- Primeira Liga: 1979–80, 1981–82
- Taça de Portugal: 1977–78, 1981–82
- Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 1982
Individual Awards
- Bola de Prata (Top Scorer Award): 1975–76, 1979–80
- Portuguese Footballer of the Year: 1980
Images for kids
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Jordão in 1972
See also
In Spanish: Rui Jordão para niños
