His nickname derives from the fact that, as a child, he suffered slight accidental burns, being then known as "Mantorras" from the Angolan expression "Mano Torras," which means "toasted brother".
During his quick rise to stardom, he was frequently described as the best player to come out of Portuguese Africa since Eusébio left Mozambique for Benfica in the early 1960s; the latter himself said of the former: "He has special qualities and is set for a great future".
[2] He returned to the pitch during the 2004–05 campaign, and managed to contribute sufficiently as Benfica ended an 11-year drought and won the national championship, with five goals in only 15 matches (four of those in the final two months).
[8][9] Even though he was subsequently deemed to be fully recovered, Mantorras failed to re-establish himself as a first-team player, playing only in a few games throughout the next seasons combined.
[12] The following month, on the 18th, he received a testimonial match at the Estádio da Luz, facing an All-Star team which included Luís Figo, Edgar Davids, Luís Boa Morte, Teddy Sheringham, Dwight Yorke, Paulo Futre, Ronaldo, Francesco Toldo, Fabio Cannavaro, Fernando Couto, Míchel Salgado, Serginho, Pauleta, Juliano Belletti and Mateja Kežman, and netting the fourth goal in a 5–1 win;[13][14] after the match he praised the club fans in an interview, and dedicated his goal to them for all the support he received during his spell.
A full international since the age of 19, Mantorras was part of the national team which became the first ever African Portuguese-speaking country to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, in 2006.