Jorge Plácido


Jorge Manuel Plácido Bravo da Costa, known as Plácido, is a Portuguese retired footballer who played as a forward.
He played for nearly a dozen clubs during his extensive career, in both Portugal and France. He amassed Primeira Liga totals of 192 games and 30 goals, over the course of a decade.

Club career

Born in Luanda, Portuguese Angola, Plácido made his professional and Primeira Liga debuts at just 17, with lowly Amora FC. After showing promise at his following two clubs, Vitória F.C. and G.D. Chaves the 23-year-old signed for FC Porto, but failed to adjust grossly.
In the following summer, Plácido moved to fellow league team Sporting Clube de Portugal, meeting the same fate. In January 1989 he moved abroad to France, signing with Racing Club de France football Colombes 92 where he also failed to establish, often being demoted to the reserves of the Ligue 1 side and suffering relegation in his only full season. A second spell at Porto, in the 1990–91 campaign, also proved unassuming, as he only appeared in four matches, all from the bench.
After one more year in Portugal, at S.C. Salgueiros, Plácido returned to France, continuing to play until the age of 37 in the country's lower leagues in representation of US Créteil-Lusitanos, US Lusitanos and Saint-Denis FC. He never appeared in higher than the latter nation's third level.

International career

Plácido played three times for Portugal, scoring twice. His arrival coincided with the defection of practically all of the members of the national team, after the infamous Saltillo Affair at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
On 29 March 1987, Plácido's most important moment in the international scene arrived as his brace helped avoid a shock defeat in Madeira against Malta for the UEFA Euro 1988 qualifiers.