Cândido de Oliveira

Who was Cândido de Oliveira?

Cândido Plácido Fernandes de Oliveira was a Portuguese football player, coach, and sports journalist.

Oliveira was educated at Casa Pia. He played for Sport Lisboa e Benfica from 1911–1920, moving then to Casa Pia Atlético Clube in 1920, of which he was one of the founders. He had his only cap for the Portuguese national team, in the first game ever of the Selecção das Quinas, on 18 December 1921, a 1–3 loss to Spain in Madrid, a game which he captained.

Oliveira was also a successful coach of Sporting Clube de Portugal, and was in charge, for several times, of the Portuguese national squad.

He was one of the founders of the sports newspaper A Bola in 1945. He also published several books about football.

His opposition to the Portuguese fascist regime landed him several stays in prison, including an imprisonment at the infamous Tarrafal prison.

He died on June 23, 1958 in Stockholm, Sweden of lung disease when he was covering the 1958 FIFA World Cup for A Bola. He felt ill a few days before, and even received hospital care, but his spirit of mission brought him back to the stadiums and when he returned to the hospital it was too late. The Portuguese Super Cup is named the SuperCup Cândido de Oliveira in his honour.