[1][2] A prolific goalscorer, Águas was nicknamed "Cabeça de Ouro" ("Golden Head") because of his header skills.

With Benfica he won the Primeira Liga five times (1955, 1957, 1960, 1961 and 1963) and the domestic cup seven, also being crowned national league's top scorer on five occasions.

In the years previous to Eusébio's rise, he was also instrumental in the club's back-to-back European Cup conquests, in 1961 against FC Barcelona (3–2), and the next season against Real Madrid (5–3), scoring his team's first goal on both occasions and being club captain; he failed to complete a hat-trick of wins in the competition after the 1–2 defeat to A.C. Milan in the 1963 final (he did not play).

After leaving Benfica, Águas, aged 33, played one more season for FK Austria Wien, retiring the next summer.

[5] Águas made his debut for Portugal on 23 November 1952, in a 1–1 draw with Austria, and went on to gain a total of 25 caps while scoring 11 times.