Mário Coluna
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Coluna in 1969 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mário Esteves Coluna | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 6 August 1935 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Inhaca, Portuguese Mozambique | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 25 February 2014 (aged 78) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Maputo, Mozambique | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| Albasini | |||||||||||||||||
| Ferroviário | |||||||||||||||||
| 1951–1954 | Desportivo Lourenço Marques | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1954–1970 | Benfica | 364 | (89) | ||||||||||||||
| 1970–1971 | Lyon | 19 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 1971–1972 | Estrela Portalegre | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 383 | (91) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1955–1968 | Portugal | 57 | (8) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
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Mário Esteves Coluna (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈmaɾiu kuˈlunɐ]; 6 August 1935 – 25 February 2014) was a Portuguese footballer who played mainly as a central midfielder.
He spent most of his career with Benfica, appearing in 525 official matches and scoring 127 goals over 16 professional seasons. Dubbed O Monstro Sagrado (The Sacred Monster), he won 19 major titles with his main club, including ten Primeira Liga and two European Cups.
Coluna represented Portugal at the 1966 World Cup and earned a total of 57 caps. He was considered one of the best midfielders of his generation, also being viewed as one of the most talented Portuguese players of all time.