Vata Matanu Garcia
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Vata Matanu Garcia | ||
| Date of birth | 19 March 1961 | ||
| Place of birth | Damba, Angola | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1980–1983 | Progresso | ||
| 1983–1984 | Águeda | ||
| 1984–1988 | Varzim | 77 | (26) |
| 1988–1991 | Benfica | 92 | (42) |
| 1991–1992 | Estrela Amadora | 17 | (3) |
| 1992–1993 | Torreense | 23 | (0) |
| 1993–1994 | Floriana | 9 | (5) |
| 1996–1997 | Gelora Dewata | (14) | |
| 1998–1999 | Persija | ||
| 1999–2000 | Gelora Dewata | ||
| National team | |||
| 1985–1993 | Angola | 65 | (20) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Vata Matanu Garcia (born 19 March 1961), known simply as Vata, is a retired Angolan footballer who played as a striker.
He spent most of his professional career in Portugal, most notably at Benfica.
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 Primeira Liga club S.L. Benfica, signing with them 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 and Persija Jakarta (Indonesia, where he also would act as player-coach). In 1993–94 he also had a brief go at Futsal, in the United States.
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