José Travassos

Who was José Travassos?

José António Barreto Travassos was a Portuguese footballer. He played as a forward.

Travassos was one of the first Portuguese footballers to achieve international level, playing for the FIFA Team that defeated England 4–1, in 1955.

He is considered one of the best Portuguese players of all times. He gained notoriety as a member of the legendary Sporting's attacking force known as the "Os Cinco Violinos", together with António Jesus Correia, Fernando Peyroteo, Albano and Manuel Vasques. While in Sporting, Travassos managed to win four Portuguese championships in a row from 1950 to 1954. This record would only be broken by FC Porto from 1994 to 1999.

He played for the Portuguese national team 35 times, scoring 6 goals. His first game was a 2–2 draw with Switzerland, in 5 January 1947, and his last, was a 1–2 loss with England, in 7 May 1958, both friendly matches. He also was one of the participant of the gam between the Rest of Europe against Great Britain in 1955, being the first Portuguese player to participate in this list, because of that he was nicknamed "Zé da Europa".