Manny Matos (footballer)

Manuel "Manny" Matos is a retired Portuguese-American football (soccer) midfielder who played professionally in the North American Soccer League and American Soccer League.

A native of Portugal, Matos grew up in New Bedford, MA. In 1971, he graduated from New Bedford High School. He is a member of the New Haven Athletic Hall of Fame. He attended West Virginia University where he was a 1973 and 1974 Honorable Mention (third team) All American soccer player. In 1975, he turned professional with the Philadelphia Atoms of the North American Soccer League. In 1977, Matos returned to New Bedford where he became the High School boys soccer coach. He would coach the team for twenty-four years and was inducted into the Massachusetts High School Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2001. On May 5, 1978, the New England Tea Men of the North American Soccer League signed Matos. The Tea Men released Matos on December 23, 1978. He also played for the Rhode Island Oceaneers of the American Soccer League and for Portuguese Sports of the Luso American Soccer Association (LASA).