Jose Augusto Torres

The Kind Giant of Benfica

José Augusto Costa Sénica Torres (8 September 1938 – 3 September 2010) was a Portuguese centre-forward whose height and temperament earned him the nickname “O Bom Gigante”, the Kind Giant. He signed for Benfica in 1959 from Clube Desportivo de Torres Novas, the club of his home town in the Santarém district, and stayed twelve seasons.

Twenty-six goals in twenty-one games

Torres featured rarely in his first three seasons, yet still scored six league goals in six appearances. The 1962–63 campaign settled the argument: he finished as the Primeira Liga’s top scorer with 26 goals from only 21 appearances. Across 21 seasons in the top flight he amassed 374 games and 217 goals, passing 200 for Benfica alone, and collected 13 major titles.

Three European Cup finals

Through the 1960s he led the Benfica attack alongside Eusébio, Mário Coluna, José Augusto and António Simões, reaching three European Cup finals. He left in 1971 at almost 33, in a deal that took him to Vitória de Setúbal, where he averaged 13 goals a season and briefly acted as player-coach in 1975. He finished at Estoril Praia three months short of his 42nd birthday.

1966 and 1986

Torres won 33 caps for Portugal and scored 14 goals, making his debut on 23 January 1963. At the 1966 World Cup in England he played every match and scored three times as Portugal finished third. Twenty years later he returned to the same tournament as the national team’s manager.