[3][2] First deployed as an outside forward, he was quickly moved to the center, where his goalscoring abilities made him famous, using the flying header as trademark.

[2] Over the next seasons, he won three Campeonato de Portugal, the club first Primeira Liga, assuming captain armband from 1931 to 1934.

[2] Silva returned to his day job of coachtrimmer, also collaborating with Benfica football section for many years.

The highlight of his international career was his presence at the 1928 Football Olympic Tournament,[5] where he played in all the three matches, scoring three goals, one in each of them and being the top scorer for Portugal, who was eliminated at the quarter-finals by Egypt, due to a 1–2 loss.

[2] He represented the national team for the last time in a 1–3 loss to Germany in Lisbon on 27 February 1936, in a friendly game.