Vata Matanu Garcia

Vata

Personal information
Full name	Vata Matanu Garcia
Date of birth	(1961-03-19) 19 March 1961
Place of birth	Damba, Angola
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	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)
1994–1999	Gelora Dewata
Total		218	(76)
International career
1985–1993	Angola	65	(20)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Vata Matanu Garcia (born 19 March 1961), simply known as Vata, is an Angolan retired footballer who played as a striker.

He spent most of his professional career in Portugal, most notably at S.L. Benfica.

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 S.L. Benfica, signing with the Eagles 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 full-time 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.

International career

Vata was capped 65 times for the Angola national football team, including one 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifying match.

Honours

Club

Benfica

• Portuguese League: 1988–89, 1990–91
• Portuguese Supercup: 1989
• European Cup: Runner-up 1989–90

Floriana

• Maltese Cup: 1993–94

Deltras

• Indonesian League: 1999–2000 (as coach)

Individual

• Portuguese League: Top Scorer 1988–89 (16 goals)
• Indonesian League: Top Scorer 1995–96

External links

• Profile at Zerozero
• Vata Matanu Garcia at ForaDeJogo (archived)
• Bali Beach Soccer bio