Eusébio struck a football harder than almost anyone of his generation, and in the 1960s and 1970s goalkeepers facing him from the spot had a very short time to think about it.
The man from Mozambique, Portugal's greatest player, finished as top scorer at the 1966 World Cup with 9 goals. The most famous of them came in the quarter-final against North Korea. Portugal were 3-0 down. Eusébio scored four times to lead the comeback, at that point the greatest recovery in World Cup history. That afternoon tells you most of what you need to know about him.
Power with accuracy
His penalties combined raw power with unerring accuracy. Many strikers of his era had one or the other. The Black Panther had both, and it gave goalkeepers very little to work with.
Over a career with Benfica and Portugal he scored over 700 goals, a good number of them from the spot. He is regularly counted among the best players the game has produced, and he was one of the most lethal penalty takers of his era.
He was built for big moments, and at 12 yards he rarely let one pass. The Black Panther is number 15.
Tomorrow, number 14 takes the ball.
