Injury has blunted the thrust of Angola's Pedro Mantorras over the last few years but he could still play a starring role at the World Cup finals.
A recent stinging outburst at coach Luis Oliveira Goncalves threatened to cost him a place in the squad for the tournament in Germany but Mantorras will be there.
Aggrieved at being reduced to a minor supporting role at the African Nations Cup finals in Egypt earlier this year, the 24-year-old threatened to quit the international game and poured public scorn on his coach's choices.
The tournament had offered Mantorras a showcase for his return after a near-crippling knee injury that kept him out of the game for two years and saw him shuttling back and forth between Lisbon and his surgeon in Barcelona.
He made only two substitute appearances, however, adding to the frustration of having spent most of the season as a perennial substitute for Benfica in Portugal's league and Champions League campaigns.
Mantorras was proclaimed clear of his injury at the start of the season and scored for Angola in September in their penultimate World Cup qualifier but has been unable to recapture the form that made him one of the most sought-after commodities in European football four years ago.
His free-scoring form at Alverca and Benfica had a bevy of clubs seeking his signature, a queue that dispersed only when Benfica signed him to an eight-year contract.
Mantorras hails from Luanda's slum district of Sambizanga and was the catalyst for his country's only success at continental level -- their victory in the 2001 African youth championship in Ethiopia.
His matches at full international level have been limited to just nine since his debut five years ago. The World Cup offers him a chance to close the door on the troubles of the recent past.
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