The last three decades has seen a huge increase in the number of Portuguese footballers plying their trade abroad, and Tottenham Hotspur have had its fair share of players who have made the jump from the Primeira Liga to the Premier League. In association with spursforlife.com, PortuGOAL takes a look at the history of Portuguese players who represented the north London club.
Most of these signings have come during a bleak period of mediocrity for Spurs. Some lit up White Hart Lane with flashes of brilliance and flair and were important in revitalising average, plodding squads, although on the whole there wasn’t much success for any of the Portuguese stars.
In fact, the best product from Portugal is probably Eric Dier, who despite his English nationality, received his academic, cultural and footballing education from Portugal. Nevertheless, some vivid memories and moments have been created by the following sextet of players.
Portugal and the Netherlands meet in a friendly in Geneva tomorrow. Both countries have a rich history of producing flair footballers and aesthetically pleasing football and have played out some wonderfully entertaining matches when facing each other over the years.
Maybe it’s the Champions League hype, maybe it’s Monaco’s overachieving efforts reminding me of their last great campaign, maybe it’s me reminiscing of the times in which Portuguese sides got much further in the world’s most renowned club competition than they generally do nowadays…
Fernando Peyroteo is rarely mentioned alongside the likes of Eusébio, Luís Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo in the debate about who is the greatest Portuguese footballer of all time, but going on statistics alone, the Sporting Clube de Portugal legend should undoubtedly be in the discussion. 
Most people recognise the name Cândido de Oliveira from the Super Cup match that marks the beginning of the season in Portugal, but who exactly is the man who lends his name to the trophy? 