| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mário Wilson | ||
| Date of birth | (1929-10-17)17 October 1929 | ||
| Place of birth | Lourenço Marques,Mozambique | ||
| Date of death | 3 October 2016(2016-10-03) (aged 86) | ||
| Place of death | Lisbon, Portugal | ||
| Position(s) | Centre back,forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1948–1949 | Desportivo Lourenço Marques | ||
| 1949–1951 | Sporting CP | 36 | (37) |
| 1951–1963 | Académica | 250 | (15) |
| Total | 286 | (52) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1964–1968 | Académica | ||
| 1968–1970 | Belenenses | ||
| 1971 | Tirsense | ||
| 1971–1975 | Vitória Guimarães | ||
| 1975–1976 | Benfica | ||
| 1976–1977 | Boavista | ||
| 1977–1979 | Vitória Guimarães | ||
| 1978–1980 | Portugal | ||
| 1979–1980 | Benfica | ||
| 1980–1983 | Académica | ||
| 1983–1984 | Estoril | ||
| 1984 | Boavista | ||
| 1984–1986 | Estoril | ||
| 1986–1987 | Cova Piedade | ||
| 1987–1988 | Louletano | ||
| 1988–1989 | Torreense | ||
| 1989 | Louletano | ||
| 1989–1990 | Olhanense | ||
| 1990–1991 | Águeda | ||
| 1993–1995 | FAR Rabat | ||
| 1995–1996 | Benfica | ||
| 1997 | Benfica (caretaker) | ||
| 1997–1999 | Alverca | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Mário WilsonComM (Portuguese pronunciation:['maɾju]; 17 October 1929 – 3 October 2016) was a Portuguesefootball player andmanager.
Acentral defender orforward, he appeared in 286Primeira Liga matches over 14 seasons, mainly in representation ofAcadémica. He also played forDesportivo de Lourenço Marques andSporting CP. Subsequently, Wilson embarked in a lengthy managerial career in the country, which lasted more than 30 years and also included two spells at his main club, and a record five atBenfica.[1]
Born inLourenço Marques,Portuguese Mozambique and the paternal grandson of American trader Henry Wilson and a Mozambican princess, Wilson joinedSporting CP in 1949 aged 19, arriving from localGrupo Desportivo de Lourenço Marques. He started his career as aforward.[2]
After two years at theEstádio José Alvalade, scoring an average of one goal per match,[3] Wilson signed with fellowPrimeira Liga sideAcadémica de Coimbra after enrolling at the local university to study (and eventually majoring)geology, remaining there for the rest of his career and retiring in June 1963 at nearly 34 years of age.[4] His best individual season for theStudents was1951–52 when he scored five goals in 24 appearances, helping to a final seventh position (out of 14 teams).
Wilson began working as a coach one year after retiring, spending his first five years with Académica – which he led to a best-ever second position in1966–67, as well as that year'sPortuguese Cup final – then working three seasons withC.F. Os Belenenses. He first managedS.L. Benfica in the1975–76 campaign, winning the national championship. During his early stint with the latter he coined the phrase "Anyone who coaches Benfica risks being champion", having been dubbed whilst still a playerO Velho Capitão (Portuguese for "The OldCaptain").[2]
In the late 70s, Wilson accumulated duties atVitória de Guimarães and thePortugal national team, being in charge of the latter during the unsuccessfulUEFA Euro 1980qualifying campaign. From 1980 to 1983 he again worked with Académica, two of those seasons being spent in thesecond division. Until the end of the decade he would be in charge of no fewer than six clubs, coachingLouletano D.C. andG.D. Estoril Praia in two different spells.[5]
Wilson replaced firedArtur Jorge at the helm of Benfica after the third round in1995–96, leading the side to the second position and the season's domestic cup. As aninterim he also managed the team in four matches in two different campaigns (1996–97 andthe following), winning two, drawing one and losing one.[5]
Wilson's last coaching job was in1998–99 at the age of 69, with anotherLisbon-based club,F.C. Alverca, helping lead them out of the relegation zone in the top tier alongside his successorJosé Romão, following which he continued to work there in directorial capacities.[6] Subsequently, he worked with the Portuguese Professional Footballers' Union, organising actions for unemployed players,[7] and also opened up his own football school,Mr. Wilson, in the Portuguese capital area.[8]
Wilson's son, also named Mário (born 1954), was also a footballer. Amidfielder, he too played for Académica and Benfica (only 11 matches over three seasons with the latter), competing professionally from 1973 to 1986.[9][10] His daughter Ana was crownedMiss Portugal in 1982, while his grandsonBruno played youth football for Sporting.[11]
Wilson died on 3 October 2016 in Lisbon aged 86.[12][13][4]
Sporting
Benfica
Orders
Commander of theOrder of Merit[14]