Oceano da Cruz

Oceano

Personal information
Full name	Oceano Andrade da Cruz
Date of birth	July 29, 1962 (1962-07-29)
Place of birth	São Vicente, Cape Verde
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current club	Sporting CP (assistant)
Youth career
1975–1980	Almada
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1980–1982	Almada	?	(?)
1982–1984	Nacional
1984–1991	Sporting CP	202	(17)
1991–1994	Real Sociedad	96	(17)
1994–1998	Sporting CP	106	(22)
1998–1999	Toulouse	30	(6)
National team
1985–1998	Portugal	54	(8)
Teams managed
2009–2010	Portugal U21
2011–	Sporting CP (assistant)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Oceano Andrade da Cruz (born 29 July 1962), simply Oceano, is a retired Cape Verdean–born Portuguese footballer during the 80's/90's, and a current manager.

A defensive midfielder with tremendous physical strength and leadership skills as his main assets, he is widely regarded as the best footballer ever hailing from his birth nation, and represented most notably Sporting, appearing in nearly 400 official games with the club over the course of 11 seasons (two separate spells).

Having gained more than 50 caps for Portugal, he represented his adopted nation at Euro 1996.

Club career

Born in São Vicente, Cape Verde, Oceano's family emigrated to Portugal when he was a child. He started his career at Almada Atlético Clube and, after a spell with then relatively unknown C.D. Nacional, moved to country giants Sporting Clube de Portugal for the 1984–85 season.

At the Lisbon outfit, Oceano was an undisputed starter during his stay, which consisted at first of seven seasons. In 1991, he moved, alongside compatriot and teammate Carlos Xavier, to Spain's Real Sociedad, where the pair was equally influential, having been reunited with former Sporting boss John Toshack.

In 1994, both Oceano and Xavier returned to the Lions, and the former continued to perform at a consistent level until the end 1997–98, when he was almost 36; his Sporting trophies consisted, however, of a single Portuguese Cup, in 1995. He wrapped up his career in 1999, after a stint in France with Toulouse FC.

After retiring, Oceano worked as a color commentator for several TV networks. In early March 2011, he returned to his main club Sporting, joining newly-appointed José Couceiro's coaching staff.

International career

Oceano played 54 times for Portugal, scoring eight goals. His debut came on 30 January 1985 in a 2–3 friendly defeat with Romania, and his last game occurred thirteen years later, on 22 April 1998 in a 0–3 loss against England. He was a leading presence in the national side throughout the 90's, notably at UEFA Euro 1996, helping it to the quarterfinals.

Following the Portuguese Football Federation's appointment of Carlos Queiroz in July 2008, Oceano was invited to work as part of his technical team, and took up a position within the scouting department, working alongside former F.C. Porto's José Alberto Costa and former IFA Premiership player Julian Ward.

In August 2009, Oceano was appointed head coach of Portugal U21's, succeeding Rui Caçador. His first match was on the 11th, a 2–1 victory over Northern Ireland.

After failing to qualify to the 2011 European Championship, Oceano was fired from his position.

Oceano da Cruz: International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	16 January 1991	Nou Estadi Castalia, Castellón de la Plana, Spain	Spain	0–1	1–1	Friendly
2	12 February 1992	Estádio de São Luís, Faro, Portugal	Netherlands	1–0	2–0	Friendly
3	11 November 1992	Stade de Paris, Paris, France	Bulgaria	2–1	2–1	Friendly
4	10 February 1993	Estádio de São Luís, Faro, Portugal	Norway	1–0	1–1	Friendly
5	10 November 1993	Estádio da Luz (1954), Lisbon, Portugal	Estonia	2–0	3–0	1994 World Cup qualification
6	19 January 1994	Balaídos, Vigo, Spain	Spain	2–2	2–2	Friendly
7	18 December 1994	Estádio da Luz (1954), Lisbon, Portugal	Liechtenstein	3–0	8–0	Euro 1996 qualifying
8	27 March 1996	Estádio do Restelo, Lisbon, Portugal	Greece	1–0	1–0	Friendly

External links

• Stats and profile at Zerozero
• Stats at ForaDeJogo (Portuguese)
• BDFutbol profile
• Oceano at National-Football-Teams.com