Place of death Lisbon, Portugal | Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) Name Carlos Gomes | |
Full name Carlos Antonio do Carmo Costa Gomes Date of birth (1932-01-18)January 18, 1932 Date of death October 18, 2005(2005-10-18) | ||
Place of birth Barreiro, Portugal | ||
Carlos António do Carmo Costa Gomes (18 January 1932, in Barreiro – 18 October 2005, in Lisbon) was one of the greatest Portuguese goalkeepers. He was also a football manager.
Contents
Career
He started his career in Barreirense, before being transferred to Sporting, in 1950, aged 18, where he was the substitute of another legendary goalkeeper, João Azevedo. In just a year, he was the number 1 of the Sporting team, where he played until 1957/58, and was a four-time national champion (1951/52, 1952/53, 1953/54 and 1957/58) also winning the Cup of Portugal in (1958).
During the golden years of his career, he played 18 times for the National Team. His first game, on November 22nd,1953, was a friendly match against South Africa, which Portugal won 3–1. His last game, on May 7th, 1958, was a 1–2 defeat by England; another friendly match.
After his demands were refused by Sporting, he moved to Spain, where he represented Granada and Real Oviedo. He returned to Portugal, to play for Atlético, in 1960/61. He was a known opponent of the fascist regime and it is believed, like he claimed, that the allegations of rape against him were a set-up, created by the political police of the regime to force him to leave football. After a simulated injury in an Atlético game with Vitória Guimarães, he escaped to Spain. Later, he escaped to Morocco and played with Tangier FC, USP Tangier and CODM Meknès.
In 1969 he went to Algeria, played with JS Djijel and became a manager. In 1971 he managed MC Oran and won the championship. He went to Tunisia before returning to Portugal in the 1980s.
He moved again to Spain and Austria, returning finally to Portugal in July 2005, suffering from Parkinson's Disease. He died soon after, at age 73.