Mantorras

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pedro Manuel Torres (born March 18, 1982 in Huambo), is an Angolan football player. He currently plays for Benfica, from Lisbon. He has also played for F.C. Alverca and is a key player of the Angola national team. Mantorras suffered a serious knee injury early in his career, and having undergone four surgical procedures been forced to remain away from the pitches for two and a half years.

Mantorras' nickname derives from the fact that, as a child, he has suffered slight accidental burns. He was then known as "Man torras", from the Angolan expression "Mano Torras", which means "Toasted brother".

[edit] Career

Mantorras started his career as a professional footballer in Angola, at Progresso do Sambizanga. He quickly caught the eye of Portuguese scouts, and transferred to Alverca shortly thereafter. Mantorras helped them achieve promotion to the Portuguese Liga and shined during his season season with the club, reaching the top after scoring a hat-trick in a surprising 4-1 victory against Sporting CP.

At only 18 years of age, he then signed with SL Benfica, where he made a particularly good impression during his first season at the club. The young Angolan was then referenced by F.C. Barcelona and did refuse an offer from Inter Milan. One of the club's directors, Luís Filipe Vieira, who is currently Benfica's chairman, stated that Mantorras would never be sold for less than 90 million euros. During the player's quick rise to stardom, he was frequently described as the best best player to come out of Portuguese Africa since Eusébio left Mozambique for Benfica in the early 1960s. Eusébio himself says of the youngster: "He has special qualities and is set for a great future".

In 2002, Mantorras suffered a serious knee injury that almost put an end to his short career. He spent approximately two and a half years recovering, during which he was subject to four surgical procedures. He returned to the pitches during the 2004-2005 season and was a decisive player on Benfica's journey to its first league title in 11 years. If it weren't for is injury, some say that he had the potential to become a player with the same talent and skills as Thierry Henry or Didier Drogba.

Even though Mantorras is nowadays considered fully recovered, he failed to establish himself as a first team player, playing only for a few minutes throughout the season. However, he remains a favorite with the club's supporters due to his flamboyant style. Despite the fact the Mantorras is not playing as much as he would like, according to his own statements[1], he remains faithful to the club, having declared that he intends to end his career at Benfica and that he would remain in the club even if he was not paid a salary[2].

He was part of the Angolan National Team that was the first ever African Portuguese-speaking country to qualify for the World Cup, in 2006.

[edit] Angola

Benfica's highly-rated Angolan striker Mantorras obviously is not one to forget his roots. Soon after joining the Lisbon club, he turned his thoughts to the less fortunate in his homeland, promising to donate a hefty percentage of his wages to set up a home for street kids in Luanda.

"I feel so sorry for children in Angola" says Mantorras. "I know what it's like to go hungry and to sleep on the street. My father died when I was three months old and my mother when I was 16. I had a brother to look after and became the head of the family very young. I had a lot of difficulties early in my life. Now that my fortunes have improved, I'm going to do what I can to help the underprivileged".

[edit] Honours

• Portuguese Liga 2005
• Portuguese SuperCup 2005
• Portuguese Cup 2004
• CAF Young Player Award 2001
• African U-20 Championship 2001

v • d • e Angola squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 João Ricardo • 2 Marco Airosa • 3 Jamba • 4 Lebo Lebo • 5 Kali • 6 Miloy • 7 Figueiredo • 8 André • 9 Mantorras • 10 Akwá • 11 Mateus • 12 Lamá • 13 Édson • 14 Mendonça • 15 Rui Marques • 16 Flávio • 17 Zé Kalanga • 18 Love • 19 Titi Buengo • 20 Locó • 21 Delgado • 22 Mário • 23 Marco Abreu • Coach: Gonçalves