Feb. 20, 1997 – Revolution acquire Chiquinho Conde from Vitoria Setubal

Chiquinho Conde totaled 6 goals in 17 games for the New England Revolution in their second season. Conde might have produced more, but his season was interrupted by trips for World Cup qualifying matches. Traveling to Mozambique was exceedingly time-consuming. Conde played two games in Maputo and a third in Mauritius. And Conde had to make a fourth visit to attend the funeral of a brother.

Meanwhile, the Revolution were struggling, and coach Thomas Rongen jumped at the chance to bring back Giuseppe Galderisi, so he traded Chiquinho to Tampa Bay. Galderisi helped the Revolution qualify for the playoffs for the first time.

Chiquinho was distraught about the trade at the time. But he retains fond memories of the Boston area. During the 2010 World Cup, I met up with Chiquinho in Maputo, where he is a highly respected coach. Chiquinho coached Ferroviario to the 2009 Moçambola title and had been coaching Maxaquene until recently. The style of soccer in Mozambique places a premium on ball control and passing. I went with Brad Paul to watch Maxaquene take a 2-0 win over Textafrica of Chimoio and was impressed by the teams’ ability to keep the ball on the ground – and in play – in a swirling windstorm. There were several good prospects competing in the Moçambola but most of them would either move on to Portugal or South Africa. Chiquinho was willing to help send them to MLS, but several factors, mostly involving proximity, worked against that ever happening.

In fact, for Chiquinho to have played for the Revolution had been something of a long shot. The Boston area had a connection with the greatest Mozambican performer, Eusebio, but that probably did not factor into Chiquinho’s arrival. Chiquinho had an excellent relationship with Queiroz, his coach at Sporting, and Queiroz had a strong connection with Sunil Gulati, who was stocking MLS with players. Tico Tico (Manuel Jose Luis Bucuane) followed Chiquinho to Tampa Bay, but the Mozambique connection to MLS soon was discontinued.

TODAY IN NEW ENGLAND SOCCER HISTORY