Toni distinguished by the Government with Medal of Honor to Sports Merit

O former footballer and coach Toni will receive the Medal of Honor to Sports Merit, for the contribution to Portuguese football over more than five decades, today announced the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport.

The distinction, announced on the day Toni turns 80, will be delivered on November 26, during the ceremony marking the first year of the National Sports Development Plan (PNDD).

António José da Conceição Oliveira, known as Toni, built a career linked to Benfica and the Portuguese team, having played as a player, coach and sports leader, as well as having developed an international career.

He was born in Mogofores (Anadia) and was in the club of the land that finished the formation. By the hand of Mário Wilson arrived at Academica (1965/66) and in 1968/69 joined Benfica, emblem that represented until 1980/81 (13 seasons), where he won eight National Championships and four Portuguese Cups and played alongside names such as Eusébio, Mário Column, Simões and Shéu.

Middle center, Toni held 393 games by Benfica and scored 24 goals, and added 33 internationalizations by the Portuguese team.

After finishing his career as a player, he began the course as assistant coach at Benfica, having worked with coaches such as Sven-Göran Eriksson. In 1987/88, he took over the technical command of the main team, leading the ‘incarnates’ to the national title at the following time, in 1988/89.

In the second round as the main coach, he won the Cup of Portugal in 1992/93 and again became the national champion in 1993/94. In 1988 he also led Benfica to the final of the European Champions Cup, lost against the Dutch of the Eindhoven PSV, in the tie-breaker for major penalties.

Throughout his career, Toni also worked abroad with clubs such as Bordeaux, France, and Seville, Spain, as well as experiences in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Kuwait.

Among the titles won outside Portugal are the 2002/03 Egyptian Super Cup, serving Al-Ahly, and the 2013 Iran Cup with the Tractor.

In the Portuguese team, he joined the technical team that participated in the 1984 European in France, in which Portugal reached the semi-finals.

More recently, he joined the Board of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), as director, in 2025, maintaining the connection to Portuguese football at institutional level.

For his career in sport, Toni was awarded the Order of Merit by the President of the Republic on 4 February 1989.

In June 2025, he also received the Municipal Medal of Sports Merit of the City of Lisbon, delivered by the mayor, Carlos Coins.

For the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Margarida Balseiro Lopes, “distinguishing Toni with the Medal of Honor to Sports Merit is to recognize a life dedicated to Portuguese football. Over several generations, functions and geographies, it has always maintained a deep connection to national sport. Toni is a reference not only to the titles he has earned, but also to the leadership, experience and contribution he continues to make to the Portuguese sports institutions”.

The Medal of Honor to Sports Merit is intended to distinguish individualities and collectivities for the relevant services provided to national sport or for actions that are prestigious in Portugal.