Ângelo Martins


Ângelo Gaspar Martins, simply known as Ângelo, is a retired Portuguese footballer who played as a defender for Benfica, with whom he played his entire career.

Club career

Despite having been born in Porto, where Boavista F.C. and FC Porto are the main teams, a young Ângelo Martins turned down the opportunity to play for Porto, as he was a fan of Lisbon rivals S.L. Benfica.
He started his career as a left defender, but also played as a left-midfielder. He started playing for Académico do Porto at 15 years of age, but he was scammed by a Porto staff member, that gave him a false document and made him sign a Porto file. The federation punished Ângelo but for only a short period. At 20 years old while serving in the military, a Benfica scout spotted him playing and brought him to Lisbon. He played 14 seasons for Benfica making 285 appearances and scoring 4 goals.

National team

Ângelo was capped for 20 times by Portugal, making his debut on 27 September 1953 at Prater Stadium in Vienna.

Honours

Benfica