Carlyle recalls that wild weekend in Vegas

He doesn’t talk much about it these days. The memories are locked away, recalled only in special circumstances. But ever since Eusebio’s death on Sunday, Hilary Carlyle has looked a little differently at the photograph hanging proudly on his wall.

It was April 9, 1977. Pele’s New York Cosmos were in Las Vegas for their NASL season-opener against the Quicksilvers, a re-badged and re-located version of San Diego Jaws. Somehow, the new franchise had persuaded a 35-year-old Eusebio to join them.

He had been in America for two years, bouncing from one cash-strapped team to the next, his already-damaged knees struggling with the weight of expectation and the litany of poor playing surfaces. Two of his former Benfica team-mates, Toni and Humberto Coelho, had also signed for the Quicksilvers. An imposing Holy Trinity. But there was another intriguing new arrival. Another centre-forward.