Club Career
Born in Damba, Uíge Province, Vata started his football career at Progresso Associação do Sambizanga. After a good run in Portugal with Varzim SC, he caught the eye of top division powerhouse Sport Lisboa e Benfica, signing with the Reds for 1988–89 and being crowned the season's top scorer in his first year.
In the following campaign's European Cup campaign, Vata achieved his most (in)famous moment: after the 1–2 defeat at Olympique de Marseille in the semifinals, he scored from a left-side corner kick, putting the ball in the net with his right arm as Benfica won on the away goals rule with that single goal.
After two more seasons in Portugal, with C.F. Estrela da Amadora and S.C.U. Torreense, 38-year-old Vata retired in 1999 after spells with Malta's Floriana Football Club and Gelora Dewata (Indonesia, where he also would act as player-coach). In 1993–94 he also had a brief go at Futsal, in the United States.
As a fulltime manager Vata worked with Guntur Bali, winning the league in his only season, and also coaching in that country Mitra Kukar and Kalimantan (in 2004–05). He also worked at the International School in Bali in 2000 and at the European Football Institute in Australia, as a high-performance coach of both the senior and reserve teams.
Read more about this topic: Vata Matanu Garcia
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