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• Jose brings hope to Angola

  The World Game - Found Oct. 1, 2009 In a recent radio interview, Angola and Benfica striker Pedro 'Mantorras' Manuel said: 'The biggest star in our side is our coach.' Responding...

• Freddy Adu excited by fresh challenge

  Portugoal.net - Found Sep. 3, 2009 Nuno Gomes is return to goals and dont forgot the Benfica talismanic Mantorras. This is a good move for Fred Adu.

• Benfica announces Europa League squad

  Portugoal.net - Found Aug. 15, 2009 Patric, Urretavizcaya and Mantorras not included As the Liga Sagres has already got underway, Benfica have issued out their list of who will be

• National Football Team Leave Country On Wednesday

  AllAfrica.com - Found Aug. 5, 2009 ... the other colleagues that play abroad such as Kali, Rui Marques, Ze Kalanga, Andr� Makanga, Mantorras, Fl�vio, Mateus Galiano, Gilberto and...

• Portugal: new season previewed by Pedro Pinto

  World Soccer - Found Aug. 11, 2009 Saviola and Cardozo are expected to get the nod ahead of Nuno Gomes and Mantorras.

• National Football Team Leave Country On Wednesday

  Africa Leader - Found Aug. 5, 2009 ... the other colleagues that play abroad such as Kali, Rui Marques, Ze Kalanga, Andr� Makanga, Mantorras, Fl�vio, Mateus Galiano, Gilberto and...

Mantorras extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Mantorras
Personal information
Full name	Pedro Manuel Torres
Date of birth	March 18, 1982 (1982-03-18) (age 27)
Place of birth	Huambo, Angola
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Benfica
Number	9
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1999–2001 2001–	Alverca Benfica	031 (10) 111 (38)
National team2
2001–	Angola	017 0(4)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 May 2009. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 21 June 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

Pedro Manuel Torres (born 18 March 1982 in Huambo), commonly known as Mantorras, is an Angolan footballer who currently plays for Sport Lisboa e Benfica in the Portuguese first division, as a striker.

His nickname derives from the fact that, as a child, he suffered slight accidental burns, being then known as "Man torras", from the Angolan expression "Mano Torras," which means "Toasted brother." His professional career has also blighted by constant injury problems.¹

Contents 1 Football career 2 Honours 2.1 Team 2.2 Individual 3 Personal 4 Club statistics 5 References 6 External links

Football 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 F.C. Alverca shortly thereafter, as that club acted also as Sport Lisboa e Benfica's feeder club. Most notably, Mantorras scored a hat-trick in a surprising 4-1 home win over Sporting Clube de Portugal.

At only 19, Mantorras signed with Benfica, making a particularly good impression during his first season at the club. He was then sought out by FC Barcelona and also refused an offer from Inter Milan in Italy. 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 said of the youngster that, "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.²³ He spent approximately two-and-a-half years recovering, during which he was subject to four surgical procedures.¹ He returned to the pitch during the 2004–05 season, and managed to contribute sufficiently as the Águias ended an 11-year drought and won the national championship, with five goals in only 15 matches (four of those in the final two months).⁴⁵

Even though he was subsequently deemed to be fully recovered, Mantorras failed to re-establish himself as a first team player, playing only in a few games throughout the next seasons combined. However, he remained a favorite with the club's supporters, additionally stating he would like to see out his career at Benfica, and that he would remain in the club even if he was not paid a salary.⁶

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.

Honours

Team

• Portuguese League: 2004–05
• Portuguese Cup: 2003–04
• Portuguese Super Cup: 2005
• Portuguese League Cup: 2008–09
• African U-20 Championship: 2001

Individual

• CAF Young Player: 2001

Personal

Mantorras did not forget his humble roots: soon after joining Benfica, 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," he stated. "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 [when I was] 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."

Club statistics

Club	Season	League		Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
		Apps + Minutes Played	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Alverca	1999-00	5 . 122 mins	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
	2000–01	26 . 1814 mins	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	26	9
Benfica	2001–02	30 . 2580 mins	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	30	13
	2002–03	8 . 550 mins	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	3
	2003–04	0 . 0 mins	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	2004–05	15 . 379 mins	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	15	5
	2005–06	17 . 302 mins	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	26	2
	2006–07	17 . 295 mins	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	17	3
	2007–08	9 . 145 mins	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	17	2
	2008–09	5 . 62 mins	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	1
Total (Portugal)		132 . 6249 mins	39	0	0	0	0	0	0	132	6
Career Total		132 . 6249 mins	39	0	0	0	0	0	0	132	6

References

External links

• Stats and profile at Zerozero
• PortuGOAL profile
• Girabola profile (Portuguese)

v • d • e Angola squad – 2006 Africa Cup of Nations 1 João Ricardo • 2 Pereira • 3 Jamba • 4 Lebo Lebo • 5 Kali • 6 Miloy • 7 Figueiredo • 8 André • 9 Mantorras • 10 Akwá • 11 Macaba • 12 Lamá • 13 Édson • 14 Mendonça • 15 Maurito • 16 Flávio • 17 Zé Kalanga • 18 Love • 19 Titi Buengo • 20 Locó • 21 Delgado • 22 Lundala • 23 Marco Abreu • Coach: Gonçalves

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

v • d • e S.L. Benfica – current squad 1 Moreira · 3 Shaffer · 4 Luisão · 5 Amorim · 6 Javi García · 7 Cardozo · 8 Ramires · 9 Mantorras · 10 Aimar · 11 Keirrison · 12 Quim · 13 Júlio César · 14 Maxi Pereira · 15 Roderick · 16 Urreta · 17 C. Martins · 18 Fábio Coentrão · 19 Weldon · 20 Di María · 21 Nuno Gomes (c) · 22 Luís Filipe · 23 David Luiz · 24 Felipe Menezes · 25 Peixoto · 27 Sidnei · 28 Miguel Vítor · 30 Saviola · Manager: Jesus