“Eusebio is Stronger Than Ever”
　“Eusebio is now at his strongest ever･”said Mr. Jimmy Hagan, newly appointed manager of the world famous Portuguese team, Benfica of Lisbon. Eusebio showed in Tokyo that Mr.Hagan's words　were true. Benfica visited Japan at　the　end of August and plyed three matches against an All Japan selection in Kobe? and Tokyo.In their second game at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, which ended in a 4-l victory for Benfica, watched by some 60,000 spectators, Eusebio scored all four goals, showing his fast, tricky and powerful footwork. Some officials, who had seen him in the World Cup in England in 1966, said he was better than he was as the leading goal-getter in London. He is not only as strong as ever, but　looks　also as　if he　has　reached maturity.　He has not been fully fit during the two years following the European ?CupFinal in 1968. He underwent a knee operation last May and the world is now watching to see　whether　he has recovered or not. We believe that he is still one of the greatest footballers in the world, comparable to Pele of Brazil.

　Middle School Tournament
　The first National Football Championship for Middle School boys aged 13-15 was held in the latter part of August, this year.　Up to last year, nation-wide sports tournaments for boys and girls under Middle School aged had benn prohibited　by　the　Education Authorities.
　It is felt that the Middle School Tournament will contribute much to the popularisation　of　football amongst　young　boys. However, the Directors of some Sports Clubs are not satisfied since the Japanese Football Association　restricted　eligibility　for　thetournament　to school teams only.　Other boys' teams in the sports clubs still have no opportunity to take part in the NationalChampionships

　Merdeka Tournament
　From the results of the Merdeka Tournament,　no-one can forecast the outcome of the Sixth Asian Games to be held in Bangkok in December. We only know that it will be the hardest ever contest between evenly matched Asian countries.
　The Thirteenth Merdeka Tournament of Malaysia was held in August with eleven Asian countries and Western Australia participating. South Korea emerged the winner after defeating Burma by a score of l-0 in the final.　India was third and Hong Kong, the young professional side, fourth. However, these standings do not give a complete picture.　There were only slight differences between these four teams and five others. In group　games, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Nationalist China　and　Thailand took points from the best four teams. Western Australia, South Vietnam and Singapore were not so outstanding.
　Korea was the best prepared team amongst them. Since the begillning of　this year, they have　had two national teams, which were　named the“Blue Dragon”and the“White　Tiger” respectively, as standing squads.“Blue Dragon” took part in theMerdeka Tournament and　showed　wxcellent fighting spirit.
　Not only the Japanese supporters, but also the local spectators were disappointed with the showing of the Japanese side.　Although they forced a draw 1-1 with Korea and beat last year’s Chamoinons, Indonesia by 4-3, the loss of　their first　match against Hong Kong　affected their final position in their group.　Shun Okano, Manager of the Japanese team, explained　that the newlypromoted　young　players were　lacking inlnternational experienc and could not keep up their　moral during debut in International competition.

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