Photo: Dmitry Parshin / CC BY-SA 1.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Oceano da Cruz earns my deep respect. Born on São Vicente in Cape Verde and going on to make over 400 appearances for Sporting CP, he was widely regarded as the finest footballer his island nation ever produced, which is no small claim. A defensive midfielder defined by physical strength and leadership, he was the type who holds a team together rather than chasing headlines. I am drawn to that selfless profile, and the fact that he turned to coaching after retiring tells me the game runs all the way through him. From a tiny archipelago to the European elite, his story is genuinely inspiring.
Overview
Oceano Andrade da Cruz (born 29 July 1962), known simply as Oceano, is a Portuguese former professional footballer, currently a manager. A defensive midfielder with tremendous physical strength and leadership skills as his main assets, he was widely regarded as the best footballer ever hailing from Cape Verde, and represented most notably Sporting CP, appearing in more than 400 official matches for the club over 11 s…
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Oceano da Cruz
- Name (Japanese)
- オセアノ・ダ・クルス
- Reading
- おせあの・だ・くるす
- Born
- July 29, 1962 (age 63)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Leo / Tiger
- Origin
- São Vicente, Cape Verde
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- 175 cm
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- association football player / association football coach
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Association football player — see all → · Association football coach — see all →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.