Oceano Andrade da Cruz (born 29 July 1962 in São Vicente, Cape Verde), simply Oceano, is a former Cape Verdean–born Portuguese footballer during the 80's/90's, and a current manager.

A defensive midfielder with tremendous physical strength and leadership skills as his main assets, he is widely regarded as the best footballer ever hailing from his birth nation, and represented most notably Sporting Clube de Portugal.

[edit] Club career

Oceano's family emigrated from Cape Verde to Portugal when he was a child. He started his career at Almada Atlético Clube and, after a spell with then relatively unknown C.D. Nacional, moved to country giants Sporting Clube de Portugal, for 1984–85.

At Sporting, Oceano was an undisputed starter during his stay, which consisted at first of seven seasons. In 1991, he moved, alongside compatriot and teammate Carlos Xavier, to Spain's Real Sociedad, where the pair was equally influential, having been reunited with former Sporting boss John Toshack.

In 1994, both Oceano and Xavier returned to Sporting, and the former continued to perform at a consistent level until the end 1997–98, when he was almost 36; his Sporting trophies consisted, however, of a single Portuguese Cup, in 1995. He wrapped up his career in 1999, after a stint in France with Toulouse FC.

Oceano worked many years as a color commentator for several TV networks.

[edit] International career

Oceano played 54 times for Portugal, scoring eight goals. His debut came on 30 January 1985, in a 2–3 defeat with Romania, and his last game occurred thirteen years later, on April 22, 1998, in a 0–3 loss against England. He was a leading presence in the national side throughout the 90's, notably at UEFA Euro 1996, helping it to the quarterfinals.

Following the Portuguese Football Federation's appointment of Carlos Queiroz in July 2008, Oceano was invited to work as part of his technical team, and took up a position within the scouting department, working alongside former F.C. Porto's José Alberto Costa and former IFA Premiership player Julian Ward.

In August 2009, Oceano was appointed head coach of Portugal U21's, succeeding Rui Caçador;^[1]his first match was on the 11th, a 2–1 victory over Northern Ireland.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Stats and profile at Zerozero
• BDFutbol profile
• NationalFootballTeams data

v • d • e Portugal squad – UEFA Euro 1996 1 Baía • 2 Secretário • 3 Paulinho Santos • 4 Oceano • 5 Couto • 6 Tavares • 7 Paneira • 8 Pinto • 9 Sá Pinto • 10 Costa • 11 Cadete • 12 Alfredo • 13 Dimas • 14 Barbosa • 15 Domingos • 16 Hélder • 17 Porfírio • 18 Folha • 19 Sousa • 20 Figo • 21 Madeira • 22 Correia • Coach: Oliveira

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