Manuel da Luz Afonso (Loulé, 31 January 1917 – 15 October 2000) was aPortuguesefootballmanager.
He was the head of the football department ofBenfica, during their 1960s Golden Era, until 1964 when he was called to work for thePortugal national football team asseleccionador ("the selector"), withOtto Glória as the coach. That meant that Afonso would be choosing the players but would not be the coach in charge of the squad.
They took over on 15 November 1964, with a 2–1 win overSpain, in a friendly match. It was a promising start to the successful campaign Portugal had in the lead up to the1966 FIFA World Cup finals, inEngland. Portugal qualified for the first time, eliminating the world vice-championsCzechoslovakia. Portugal went on to reach the third place at the World Cup finals.
Manuel da Luz Afonso left the National Team following the 1–2 loss toSweden, on 13 November 1966, in aEuropean Championship qualifier. He left the Portugal national squad after 20 matches, with 15 wins, 2 ties and 3 defeats, still the best record ever for his country.
.svg)  | This biographical article relating to Portuguese football is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |