Porto, the club in which Gomes is listed as the all-time top scorer, reports his death at the age of 66 as a result of cancer
The Portuguese ex-soccer player Fernando Gomez, twice Golden Boot and Porto’s top scorer, he died this Saturday at the age of 66 after a long fight against cancer, the “dragons” reported.
“It is with great sadness and dismay that the Porto Football Club announces the disappearance of one of the inescapable names in its history. Fernando Gomes, twice Golden Boot and blue and white top scorer, passed away this Saturday at the age of 66 due to prolonged illness“, disclosed Porto in a statement.
Both the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) as well as the Portuguese League and leaders of the sports and political scene have conveyed their condolences for the loss.
The “dragons” recalled that Gomes, born in Porto in November 1956, “he collected goals and titles in his short career in the young litters” and that he “quickly morphed into an even more productive one in senior football.”
He debuted in Porto’s main team at the age of 17 and with 20 he established himself as the best scorer in the League in the first of six times.
He was five times National Champion, once European Champion, winner of three Portuguese Cups, three Cândido de Oliveira Super Cups and one European Cup.
He received the Golden Boot as best scorer in Europe in 1983 and 1985 and “he was the owner and master of the number 9 shirt and the blue and white bracelet in the 1970s and 1980s,” added the club, which conveyed its condolences to the family, friends and fans. In his twenty years of tour with the “dragons” he played 452 games and scored 355 goals.
“His experience on the pitch and in front of the prospecting department they gave him more than enough background to assume the position of Director of Training for the Dragons, a position he held until the last day despite health problems,” the statement said.
On the occasion of his death, the FPF has determined a minute of silence in the competitions that it organizes until next Monday, November 28.
For his part, the president of the Portuguese League, Pedro Proenca, He published a message on Facebook in which he stated that he receives the loss of Gomes with “deep dismay”, “a figure greater than Soccer, an extraordinary player but, above all, a gentleman who marked the lives of those who lived with him”.
“Portuguese football loses one of its greatest ambassadors, someone who made us aware on and off the field. The best memories of Fernando Gomes will remain“, he added.
The coach of the “dragons”, Sérgio Conceição, also said goodbye to Gomes through social networks with a “see you forever” and affirmed that “a symbol” of Porto and Portuguese football left. “Our paths crossed long before football. From an early age I learned to appreciate Fernando as a man. Over the years we kept a relationship of great respect and admirationadding football to what united us,” he posted on Instagram.
They also released farewell messages Benfica and Sporting de Portugalamong other entities.