António Veloso


António Augusto da Silva Veloso is a retired Portuguese professional footballer who played most of his professional career with Benfica. A gritty defender who could appear in the flanks and on occasion in the middle, he played for a decade and a half at his main club, and was team captain from 1988 to 1995.
An international for nearly 15 years, Veloso represented Portugal at Euro 1984.

Club career

Born in São João da Madeira, Veloso starting playing football with hometown's A.D. Sanjoanense, then moved to S.C. Beira-Mar for a further two seasons. He joined Primeira Liga club S.L. Benfica for 1980–81, and was an everpresent fixture until his retirement, helping the capital side to seven leagues and five cups.
With Benfica, Veloso also played in the UEFA Cup final in 1982–83, as they lost to R.S.C. Anderlecht 1–2 on aggregate and, most notably, in the 1987–88 European Champions Cup final, where he missed the penalty shootout attempt that gave PSV Eindhoven the final win.
An injury left Veloso out of the team that reached the 1990 European Cup final, lost to A.C. Milan. He retired at 38 after 15 seasons with the same club and more than 500 overall appearances, subsequently becoming a coach.

International career

Veloso earned 40 caps for Portugal, making his debut on 18 November 1981 in a 2–1 win over Scotland for the 1982 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. He played at UEFA Euro 1984 where the national team reached the semi-finals, and was left outside the 1986 World Cup squad due to a doping test, which was later proved to be fake.
Veloso's last international game came at age 36 in a 2–2 draw with Spain on 19 January 1994, in a friendly match.

Personal life

Veloso's son, Miguel, is also a professional footballer. After an unassuming youth spell at Benfica, he went on to represent neighbours Sporting CP and also the national team.

Honours

Benfica