Full name Fernando Mamede Mendes Years Team Name Fernando Mendes | Playing position Role Football player 1953–1956 Sporting CP Position Midfielder | |
Date of birth (1937-06-15) 15 June 1937 (age 78) | ||
Fernando Mamede Mendes (15 July 1937 – 31 March 2016) was a Portuguese football midfielder and manager.
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Football career
Mendes was born in Seia, Guarda District. During his professional career, which lasted 13 seasons, he played almost exclusively for Sporting Clube de Portugal, also starting and finishing his football formation at the Lisbon club. He appeared in 233 games during his spell, including friendlies.
Mendes represented the Portuguese national team during six years, but did not attend any major international tournament: on 25 April 1965 he broke his leg in the early minutes of the away fixture against Czechoslovakia for the 1966 FIFA World Cup qualification, as the national team eventually won it 1–0 thanks to Eusébio, with ten players (no substitutions were allowed then).
Mendes never fully recovered from that situation, and retired four years later at only 31. In 24 Primeira Liga matches over the course of three separate seasons, he served as interim coach at his only club (the last in late 2000-early 2001), winning nine games, drawing nine and losing six; with the Lions, he also worked as an assistant coach and extensively with the youth teams.
Death
Mendes died on 31 March 2016 at the Hospital Pulido Valente in Lisbon, after a long illness. He was 78 years old.