Portugal mourns Artur Jorge
Thursday, February 22, 2024
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Portuguese football is mourning the death of former national team coach and European Cup winner Artur Jorge, who has died aged 78.
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A major figure in Portuguese football, Artur Jorge made his mark first as a player, mainly for Académica and Benfica, where he won four titles and two cups for the latter, and then as a coach, becoming the first Portuguese to win the European Cup, with his hometown club FC Porto, in 1986/87. He was also capped 16 times for Portugal, scoring one goal.
Nicknamed King Artur, during a journeyed coaching career which included roles in Algeria, France, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Spain, he also led Porto to three domestic league titles, one Portuguese Cup and three Super Cups and was in charge of Paris Saint-Germain when they won their maiden French title in 1993/94. He also served as a national coach with Portugal during the qualification campaigns for EURO 1992 and the 1998 FIFA World Cup, led Switzerland at EURO '96 and later took charge of Cameroon.
Artur Jorge was also responsible for setting up the Portuguese Professional Footballers’ Union in February 1972, and was part of its first management committee alongside fellow greats Eusébio and António Simões. He was awarded an Order of Merit by the Portuguese Government in 1989.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Portugal President:
"Artur Jorge will always be remembered for his career as a football coach, in particular, and among the many titles he won, for winning the European Cup in 1987 [with Porto]."
Fernando Gomes, Federação Portuguesa de Futebol (FPF) chairman:
"It was with great consternation and sadness that I learned of the death of Artur Jorge, an indelible figure in Portuguese football, a great intellectual, a person with an affable, humble and discreet profile. On behalf of the FPF, I send my deepest condolences to all of Artur Jorge's family and friends and assure them that Portuguese football will always remember him with eternal nostalgia."