Quick Facts
Biography
Eurico Monteiro Gomes (born 29 September 1955), known simply as Eurico in his playing days, is a former Portuguese professional footballer who played as a central defender, and a current manager.
The first player to have represented the Big Three in his country, he amassed Primeira Liga totals of 313 games and seven goals over the course of 14 seasons, winning 12 major titles. He subsequently embarked on a lengthy managerial career.
Eurico played nearly 40 times with the Portugal national team, appearing with it at Euro 1984.
Club career
Born in Santa Marta de Penaguião, Vila Real District, Eurico made his professional debuts with S.L. Benfica at the age of 19, being regularly used in four Primeira Liga seasons and winning back-to-back national championships with the club (he also reached two domestic cup finals). In 1979 he switched to Lisbon rivals Sporting Clube de Portugal, only missing one league game during his three-year spell and winning a total of three titles, including the double in 1981–82.
Aged 27, Eurico signed with another team from the country's Big Three, FC Porto, again rarely missing one match until suffering a severe injury early into the 1985–86 campaign. He started in the final of the 1983–84 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, a 1–2 loss against Juventus F.C. in Basel.
After only one league game in his last two seasons at Porto combined – he still managed to appear in the side's victorious run in the European Cup – Eurico signed with Vitória F.C. still in the top level, retiring from football at the age of nearly 34.
Gomes took up coaching in 1989, managing a host of teams in Portugal. He helped F.C. Tirsense promote to the top division in 1994, then coached the team in a further two full seasons, the latter one ending in relegation. Early into 1996–97 he agreed to terminate his contract with the northerners and joined U.D. Leiria, suffering another top flight relegation (he was one of the club's three managers during the campaign).
In 2006 and 2007, Gomes worked in Algeria with JSM Béjaïa and MC Oran. The following year, on 10 October, he was appointed at Ethnikos Piraeus F.C. in Greece (second division), failing to win promotion.
International career
Eurico earned 38 caps for Portugal, scoring three goals. His first appearance with the national team was a 1–0 win over the United States in a friendly match, on 20 September 1978, and his final game was played on 3 April 1985 in another exhibition game, now a 0–2 loss with Italy.
Selected for UEFA Euro 1984 in France, Eurico played in all the matches and minutes as Portugal reached the semi-final stage of the competition.
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 October 1978 | Estádio José Alvalade (1956), Lisbon, Portugal |  Belgium | 1–0 | 1–1 | Euro 1980 qualifying |
| 2 | 9 June 1984 | Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg |  Luxembourg | 1–1 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 3 | 5 September 1984 | Estádio do Restelo, Lisbon, Portugal |  Bulgaria | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
Honours
Player
Club
- Benfica
- Portuguese League: 1975–76, 1976–77
- Portuguese Cup: Runner-up 1973–74, 1974–75
- Sporting
- Portuguese League: 1979–80, 1981–82
- Portuguese Cup: 1981–82
- Porto
- Portuguese League: 1984–85, 1985–86
- Portuguese Cup: 1983–84
- Portuguese Supercup: 1983, 1984, 1986; Runner-up 1985
- European Cup: 1986–87
- UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: Runner-up 1983–84
Country
- Portugal
- UEFA European Championship: Third-place 1984
Manager
- Tirsense
- Second Division: 1993–94