Fernando_Cruz_(footballer)
Fernando Cruz (footballer)
Portuguese footballer
Fernando da Conceição Cruz (born 12 August 1940) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a left-back.
.png) Cruz with Benfica in 1965 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Fernando da Conceição Cruz | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1940-08-12) 12 August 1940 (age 83) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Lisbon, Portugal | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Left-back | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1956–1959 | Benfica | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1959–1970 | Benfica | 227 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1970–1971 | Paris Saint-Germain | 24 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 251 | (0) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1961–1968 | Portugal | 11 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Born in Lisbon, Cruz was already first choice with Benfica at the age of 20, going on to win eight Primeira Liga championships with the club as well as four Portuguese Cups. He played in all five European Cup finals the side reached in the 60s, winning the 1961 and 1962 editions and appearing in 346 official games during his 11-year stint (one goal).[1]
Cruz ended his professional career in June 1971, after one year with newly-formed Paris Saint-Germain.[2] After leaving France he headed to South America, and later to the United States, working as a manager in the latter nation.[3]
Cruz played 11 matches for Portugal,[4] his first appearance being on 21 May 1961 in a 1–1 friendly draw with England.[5] He was included in Otto Glória's squad for the 1966 FIFA World Cup finals, failing to make an appearance for the third-placed nation.[6]
Cruz was a supporter of Benfica. In 2008, he was honoured by the club for his achievements, in the presence of his friend and well-known footballer Eusébio.[7]
On 23 September 2012, Cruz acted as "honour guest" of Benfica's supporters association in Canas de Senhorim in the Central Region of Portugal.[7]
Benfica
- Primeira Liga: 1959–60, 1960–61, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69[8]
- Taça de Portugal: 1961–62, 1963–64, 1968–69, 1969–70[9]
- European Cup:[9] 1960–61, 1961–62; runner-up: 1962–63, 1964–65, 1967–68
- Intercontinental Cup runner-up: 1961,[10] 1962
Paris Saint-Germain
Portugal
- FIFA World Cup third-place: 1966[6]
- "Fernando Cruz – Futebolista" [Fernando Cruz – Footballer] (in Portuguese). Bairro da Liberdade. Archived from the original on 15 November 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2009.
- Crépin, Timothé (26 January 2017). "Mercato, Ligue 1: Ces Portugais passés par le PSG" [Market, League 1: Portuguese men with spells at PSG] (in French). France Football. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
- "Lista completa dos internacionais portugueses" [Complete list of Portuguese internationals] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 18 February 2004. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
- "Results – 1960 to 1965". England FC. Archived from the original on 22 October 2007. Retrieved 8 June 2009.
- Paixão, Paulo; Castanheira, José Pedro (13 July 2016). "A lenda dos Magriços começou há 50 anos" [The legend of the Magriços started 50 years ago]. Expresso (in Portuguese). Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- "Cruz Fernando" (in French). Paris Canal Historique. 12 February 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- "Intercontinental Cup 1961". FIFA. 7 May 2007. Archived from the original on 25 September 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
- "Fernando CRUZ" (in French). Histoire du PSG. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- Fernando Cruz at ForaDeJogo (archived)
- Fernando Cruz at National-Football-Teams.com
- Fernando Cruz – FIFA competition record (archived)
- Fernando Cruz at EU-Football.info
