He was also an unused substitute in their second European Cup loss in three years, against AC Milan, moving in the subsequent off-season to his first professional club Vitória F.C.

[5] He earned 22 caps with five goals for the full side,[6] his debut coming on 18 November 1981 in a 2–1 win against Scotland for the 1982 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

He represented the nation at both UEFA Euro 1984[7] and the 1986 World Cup; in the latter tournament, in a 3–1 group stage loss to Morocco on 11 July, he appeared in his last match and scored his last goal.

[12] In May 2008 he joined Benfica as an assistant coach, under new boss Quique Sánchez Flores;[13] both left the post at the end of the season, after which he moved to the youth academy.

[14] He moved abroad for the first time in his career to manage CD Costa do Sol in Mozambique, but his spell at the club ended in October 2013 when Minister of Labour Maria Helena Taipo expelled him from the southern African country for having called its people "thieves" in protest at a refereeing decision;[15] he returned to the Moçambola in January 2019, when he was hired at Liga Desportiva de Maputo.