A prolific striker, he played his entire career with Benfica, appearing in nearly 600 official games for the club[1] and winning 19 titles, a record for several years.

In the 1972–73 season, he was a star player for a side which became Primeira Liga champion without a single defeat (28 matches won – 23 consecutively – out of 30): the team scored 101 goals, breaking 100 for only the second time in its history.

Nené was the Portuguese Footballer of the Year in 1971 and also runner-up in 1972, which was achieved whilst competing with teammate Eusébio.

[3] He ranked second in Benfica's scoring lists in European competitions with 28 goals in 75 appearances,[4] and played in the 1982–83 UEFA Cup finals, in an aggregate loss to R.S.C.

Selected for the Euro 1984 tournament, he netted the game's only goal against Romania in the last group stage encounter,[6] becoming the oldest player to score in the European championship finals at 34 years and 213 days; his effort led the national team to the semi-finals versus hosts France, where he played as a substitute but could not help avoid the 2–3 extra time defeat.