This Day in History: 2023-03-24

Nr. 432

INTER MILAN ROW OVER EUSEBIO (1966)

His position as tap scorer at the 1966 World Cup and his four-goal rescue act against North Korea brought Portugal’s Eusebio to the attention of tap Italian clubs. Accusations of ‘tapping up’ flew from the striker’s club, Benfica of Lisbon, and although nothing was ever proved, at the time the Italians were famous for the amounts of money they had available to attract tap international stars. The spat obviously didn’t unsettle Eusebio, who stayed at Benfica for 16 years, making 301 appearances and scoring 317 goals. He spent his later years in the North America League with a number of US and Canadian clubs.

Eusebio’s strong performances and one-man rescue act against North Korea had made him a transfer target for Europe’s biggest clubs.