Ângelo Martins

Ângelo Martins

Personal information
Full name	Ângelo Gaspar Martins Pereira
Date of birth	(1930-04-19) 19 April 1930
Place of birth	Porto, Portugal
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Left back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
	S.L. Benfica
National team
1953–1962	Portugal	20	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Ângelo Gaspar Martins, or simply Ângelo (born 19 April 1930 in Porto) was a former football player. He played as a defender for S.L. Benfica in the 1950s. He was known as "O Serrafeiro".

Career

Despite having been born in Porto, where Boavista F.C. and F.C. Porto are the main teams, a young Martins turned down the opportunity to play for F.C. Porto, as he was a fan of the rival Benfica club.

He started his career as a left defender, but also played as a left-midfielder. Martins started playing for Académico do Porto at only 15 years of age, but he was scammed by a FC Porto staff member, that gave him a false document and made him sign a FC Porto file. The federation punished Angelo but for only a short period. At 20 years old while serving in the military a SL Benfica scout spotted him playing and brought him to the Lisbon club. He played 14 seasons for SL Benfica making 285 appearances and scoring 4 goals.

National team

Ângelo was capped for 20 times by Portugal, making his debut on 27 September 1953 at Prater Stadium in Vienna (Áustria 9 - Portugal 1) Qualif. World Championship. Last game 16 December 1962 Restelo Stadium in Belém (Portugal 3 - Bulgária 1) - Qualif. European Championship.

Honours and awards

S.L.Benfica

European Champions Cup Winner: 1961/62 and 1960/61
Runner Up: 1962/63

Intercontinental Cup
Runner-Up: 1961/62 and 1962/63

8x Portuguese Liga 1954/55, 1956/57, 1959/60, 1960/61, 1961/62, 1962/63, 1963/64 and 1964/65
5x Portuguese Cup 1952/53, 1954/55, 1956/57, 1961/62 and 1963/64

External links

• Ângelo Martins – FIFA competition record
• Profile (Portuguese)