Francisco Vital

Francisco António Lucas Vital (born 27 June 1954) is a Portuguese former football forward and manager. 

Playing career
Born in Braga, Vital spent all of his early career in the second division, mainly with G.D. Riopele.  In 1977 he signed with FC Porto, going on to be irregularly played by the Primeira Liga club during his two-and-a-half-season spell and winning two national championships, contributing with a career-best 21 games and five goals in the 1978–79 edition. 

In January 1980, Vital moved to La Liga with Real Betis – his only abroad experience – returning to his country in the summer to join S.L. Benfica, with whom he won another league as well as one Portuguese Cup and one domestic Supercup.  After spending the 1981–82 campaign with Boavista F.C. he returned to the second level, where he remained until his retirement at the age of 33, mostly with F.C. Vizela. 

As a Porto player, Vital appeared once for Portugal, featuring 45 minutes in a 4–0 home win against Cyprus for the 1978 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and scoring the third. 

Coaching career
Vital worked almost exclusively in the Portuguese lower leagues, his first stint being precisely with his last club Vizela.  In 1997–98, his only season in the top tier, he was one of four managers for Sporting CP – having started as an assistant with the team – winning one match, drawing two and losing one as the Lions went on to finish in fourth position. 

In the second part of the 2000s, Vital coached mainly in Vietnam, helping Đồng Tâm Long An F.C. return to the V-League in 2012. 

References

External links

National team data 

Portugal stats at Eu-Football

Category:1954 births
Category:Living people
Category:Sportspeople from Braga
Category:Portuguese footballers
Category:Association football forwards
Category:Primeira Liga players
Category:LigaPro players
Category:F.C. Famalicão players
Category:G.D. Riopele players
Category:FC Porto players
Category:S.L. Benfica footballers
Category:Boavista F.C. players
Category:S.C. Farense players
Category:C.F. Os Belenenses players
Category:F.C. Tirsense players
Category:F.C. Vizela players
Category:La Liga players
Category:Real Betis players
Category:Portugal youth international footballers
Category:Portugal under-21 international footballers
Category:Portugal international footballers
Category:Portuguese expatriate footballers
Category:Expatriate footballers in Spain
Category:Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Category:Portuguese football managers
Category:Primeira Liga managers
Category:LigaPro managers
Category:F.C. Famalicão managers
Category:Sporting CP managers
Category:F.C. Penafiel managers
Category:Associação Naval 1º de Maio managers
Category:G.D. Chaves managers
Category:Portuguese expatriate football managers
Category:Expatriate football managers in Vietnam
Category:Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Vietnam