From Mozambique alleys in Africa to one of the greatest of those who passed on football fields, the name Osbio da Silva Ferrera is shining as a Khaled’s symbol of talent, persistence and sports nobility.
It was not just a shown scorer, but a legend that formed a turning point in the history of the game, and put Portugal on the global football map at a time when he dominated names such as Pele, De Stefano and Bushkash.
Osbio was born in Lorenso Marquise in Mozambique, in 1942, in a poor neighborhood named Mavalla, and his father worked in the railway, while his mother assumed family raising.
Playing the ball began in the streets of the neighborhood, with a ball made of socks or cabbage paper, and the road to glory was not easy, but was full of conflicts, from the club’s struggle to sign it, to the biggest struggle to prove to the world that talent does not recognize geography, color or origin.
Osbio joined a local youth team linked to Sporting Lisbon, as he drew attention to his innate capabilities and extraordinary speed.
Although Sporting was the first to embrace him, Benfica was the first to actually believe in him, when he persuaded his famous coach Bella Gutman his mother to let him move to Portugal, after receiving a recommendation from a Brazilian player who watched Ozibio in a match in Mozambique.
With Benfica, it was not just a star, but an offensive meteor that could not be stopped, as he scored 727 goals in 715 games, and won 11 league titles with the Portuguese club.
But the European glory was not completed in the 1968 final, when he lost to Manchester United, and wasted an opportunity in the last moments, but he congratulated the goalkeeper instead of bemoving in behavior, shortening his noble sporting spirit.
As for the Portuguese national team, he was a real leader, and his most prominent moments came in the 1966 World Cup, when he became the top scorer of the tournament with 9 goals, including 4 in an immortal match against North Korea, to lead “Brazil Europe” to the semi -finals for the first time in its history.
Osbio could have shine more, but politics interfered despite the attractive offers of major clubs, most notably Inter Milan, as the Portuguese ruler Antonio Salazar prevented him from leaving the country, considering him a “national wealth.”
He stayed in Benfica, brilliance internally, but he did not participate in the World Cup again, and the dream of raising the World Cup remained far away and after his retirement, Osbio remained ambassador of Portuguese sports, and he remained widely respected in football circles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=excaltotms0
A statue was erected outside the “Da Luz” stadium, and it was repeatedly chosen, the greatest Portuguese player, before the brightness of Cristiano Ronaldo.
In his last years, he said with sorrow, “I was the best player in the world, and his first goal, I did everything, but winning the World Cup.”
In 2014, Osbio left, but his statue outside the “Da Luz” stadium testifies that the black tiger did not die, but rather he became immortal in the game memory, his name is proudly mentioned, not only as the greatest Portuguese player, but as one of the greatest people who touched the ball in history.
