Place of birth Braga, Portugal Name Francisco Vital Playing position Role Footballer | 1969–1970 Caldas Position Forward 1970–1972 Benfica | |
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Full name Francisco Antonio Lucas Vital Date of birth (1954-06-27) 27 June 1954 (age 61) | ||
Francisco António Lucas Vital (born 27 June 1954) is a retired Portuguese footballer who played as a forward, and a current coach.
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Playing career
Born in Braga, Vital played all of his early career in the second division, mainly with G.D. Riopele. In 1977, he joined F.C. Porto, going on to be irregularly played by the top flight club during his two 1/2-season spell and winning two national championships, contributing with a career-best 21 games and five goals in the 1978–79 edition.
In January 1980 Vital moved to La Liga with Real Betis – his only abroad experience – returning to his country in the summer to join S.L. Benfica, with whom he won another league, as well as one Portuguese Cup and one domestic Supercup. After spending the 1981–82 campaign with Boavista F.C. he moved back to the second level, where he remained until his retirement at the age of 33, mostly with F.C. Vizela.
As a Porto player, Vital appeared once for Portugal, playing 45 minutes in a 4–0 home win against Cyprus for the 1978 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and scoring the third.
Manager career
Vital worked almost exclusively in the Portuguese lower leagues, his first stint being precisely with his last club Vizela. In 1997–98, his only season in the top division, he was one of four coaches for Sporting Clube de Portugal – having started as an assistant with the team – winning one match, drawing two and losing one as the Lions went on to finish in fourth position.
In the second part of the 2000s Vital coached mainly in Vietnam, helping Đồng Tâm Long An F.C. return to the V-League in 2012. During three seasons he also worked in directorial capacities with Ruivanense Atlético Clube, in the Braga second regional division.