#2 Andre Gomes
Yes, Andre Gomes is the player Lindelof replaced on his debut. At that stage, Gomes wasn’t already the star that he is now, having made his debut only a month prior to Lindelof’s. Gomes’ progression from Benfica’s reserves to Spanish giants Barcelona in the space of five years has been phenomenal. The playmaker was given his first run out in senior football by Norton de Matos, another glowing feather in the Portuguese’s cap.
Gomes came on in the 72nd minute to see Benfica B trail 2-1 to Braga B in a Portuguese second division game in August 2012 on his debut. He remained true to his highly rated stature to score the equaliser late in the game to help his team avoid a defeat. Having since moved on for a cumulative 55 million euros to Valencia and Barcelona, Gomes surely ranks among Norton de Matos’s finest finds.