Pepe (1908–1931)

José Manoel Soares (30 January 1908 – 24 October 1931), known as Pépe, was a Portuguese footballer. During his brief career, he played as an inside forward for CF Belenenses and the Portugal national football team, and was considered by many to be Portugal's best player of the time. Despite the young age at which he died, Pépe won two Portuguese Championships (Taça de Portugal) and three Lisbon Championships (Campeonato de Lisboa).

José Manuel Soares Louro, better known as “Pépe”, was born to a poor family at No. 17 Rua do Embaixador, in Belém, western Lisbon, on January 30, 1908.

At the age of 18, Pépe Soares made his first appearance for Belenenses on 28 February 1926 against Benfica, entering the match in the 75th minute with Belenenses down 4-1. In the subsequent 13 minutes, Belenenses scored three goals, tying the contest at 4-4. In the final minute, Benfica were called for a foul in the penalty area. With none of the Belenenses players stepping forward to take the penalty, Pépe, the rookie, was called in by his captain to take the shot. He did not fail. Belenenses won 4-5, giving birth to the expression "a quarter-hour to Belenenses," an expression still used in Portugal today.

Soares played 140 games in his club career, all with FC Belenenses. In the 1929/30 Lisbon Championship season, Pépe played 14 games, scoring 36 goals (a stunning average of 2.57 goals per game). This included a single-game record of 10 goals scored in a 12-1 victory over Bom Sucesso (a record that stands to this day).

Pépe Soares made his international debut for Portugal at the age of 19, in a friendly against France played in Lisbon on 16 March 1927. Pépe scored two goals in his national side’s 4–0 victory. In total, he played 14 games for the Portuguese national team, scoring 7 goals. Pépe also played for Portugal at the 1928 Olympic Games football tournament in Amsterdam. Portugal defeated Chile (4-2) and Yugoslavia (2-1), but subsequently lost to Egypt (1-2) in the quarter-finals. Egypt later lost to Argentina in the semi-finals and to Italy in the match for the bronze medal. Pépe's last appearance for Portugal was in Porto on 23 February 1930, a 2–0 win over France.

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