Luís Figo

Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo (pron. IPA ^*) (born November 4, 1972 in Lisbon, Portugal) is a legendary Portuguese international footballer, who plays as a midfielder and winger, currently for Inter Milan. Figo was the 2000 European Footballer of the Year, the 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year, and was named amongst the FIFA 100. Known for his exceptional trickery and dribbling skills on either wing (though he predominantly plays on the right), Figo is one of the few footballers to have played for both the Spanish rival clubs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. He is married to Swedish model Helen Svedin. They have three daughters named Daniela (born in March 1999), Martina (born in April 2002), and Stella (born December 9, 2004). He is a devout Catholic.

Background

Figo started his career at Sporting Lisbon, a club which developed many other great Portuguese players. He won his first senior international cap in 1991. Prior to that, he won the Under-20 World Championships and Under-16 European Championships with Portugal junior sides, alongside compatriot Rui Costa and a significant part of his nation's so called 'golden generation' in football. In 1995, Figo looked poised to join one of the big clubs of Europe, but a dispute between Italian clubs Juventus F.C. and Parma, Figo having signed contracts with both clubs, resulted in an Italian 2-year transfer ban on Figo, effectively stopping any moves to Italy. However, the situation was eventually resolved for Figo, with a move to Spanish club FC Barcelona, under coach Johan Cruyff, and within four years he became a fan-favourite, captain and symbol of the Catalan side.

In 2000 his switch to Barcelona's arch-rival Real Madrid, for a then world transfer record £38.7 million at the time, only intensified the great animosity between the two clubs. The move was hurtful to Barcelona supporters especially after he spent the summer swearing he would not transfer to Madrid. He went from being one of the most cherished players in Catalonia to being the most hated one. There was a short-lived website (antifigo.com ^{^*}) devoted to insult "Judas Figo", which shows how much the fans were hurt. He missed his highly anticipated first return to the Nou Camp due to injury; in 2002, Barcelona's ground was almost closed after objects (including a pigs head, whiskey bottles, etc.) were thrown at Figo, while massive chants calling him Pesetero (which can be roughly translated to mercenary) echoed in the stadium; and finally, during the final match of between Greece and Portugal, a Barça fan known as Jimmy Jump ran across the field and threw a FC Barcelona flag at Figo in an apparent act of defiance.

Despite the niggling detractors and all the critics' cries that he was a vastly 'overrated' player, Figo played out some of the best attacking football ever seen in both an individual and in his Real Madrid team. It was not hard to see why though, given that Figo was one of the linchpins at the heart of an ever increasing star studded squad that included Zinedine Zidane, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo, and Raúl González, and dubbed the 'Greatest Club in the World' first, and then, officially crowned as the 'Club of the Century' by FIFA in the year he joined. Alongside his equally illustrious team mates, Real Madrid with Figo at the core swept the titles for the next three years under coach Vicente Del Bosque.

On August 18, 2004, Figo announced that he would "take a break" from international football. In April 2005 he announced to be ready to return, as he was sidelined in Real Madrid, and the next month Luiz Felipe Scolari announced he would talk to him about his return. He agreed to return on 13 May and resumed his international career in the match between Portugal and Slovakia on June 4. This received mixed feelings from Portuguese fans: some saw his return as fixing something that should not have happened, others were fearful of the "concessions" Scolari made to bring him back.

Career overview

The leader of Portugal's 'golden generation', Figo won a FIFA World Youth Championship in 1991, the same year he made his senior debut against Luxembourg, at 16 October 1991, in a friendly match, that ended 1-1, when he was only 18 years old. He has performed at the highest level ever since, gracing Euro 96, Euro 2000, and the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cup. He announced his retirement from international football following the UEFA EURO 2004™ final defeat by Greece, having won 117 caps and scored 31 goals. However, in June 2005 he reversed his decision and returned for 2006 World Cup qualifying wins against Slovakia and Estonia. He again vowed to retire from international football after the 2006 World Cup and made a cameo appearance (played around 10 minutes at the end of the game) in Portugal's last game of the tournament, the third-place play-off, in which he set up Portugal's only goal for Nuno Gomes.

It was at Camp Nou in 1995 that the career of the 'Lion King' really took off: Figo won a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1996/97, successive Primera División titles and went on to appear 172 times for the Azulgrana, scoring 30 goals.

In 2000 came his controversial, world-record transfer to Real Madrid CF. The move caused outrage among Barcelona fans and many others baulked at the €65m fee. Yet Figo justified the investment by helping Madrid to the Primera División title and UEFA Champions League semi-finals as well as winning the FIFA World Footballer of the Year award. In 2001/02, he went one better, playing through injury against Bayer Leverkusen as Madrid prevailed 2-1. Figo also occupied a major role as Madrid won the 2003 Spanish title, scoring ten times. The success made up for the disappointment of a Champions League semi-final loss to Juventus F.C., but the next season, despite Figo's nine league goals, Madrid finished fourth and lost in the Champions League last eight and Copa del Rey final.

He struck four goals in the Champions League group stage in 2004/2005 but it was another mixed campaign for Madrid, and in April Figo found himself dropped as David Beckham was moved to the right. Given permission to leave by Madrid, he signed a two-year contract with Inter Milan.

Real Madrid coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo had a falling-out with Figo after he relegated the Portugal international to the bench for the second half of the 2004-2005 Primera Liga season. It was widely believed that Figo would leave Los Merengues for first-team football elsewhere. During the off-season, he was linked with a move to the English Premiership with Liverpool or to Serie A's Inter Milan. On August 5, 2005, Figo moved to Inter on a free transfer and a two-year deal worth £6 million.

Luís Figo is nowadays one of the main Portuguese symbols and ambassadors.

Motor racing

Along with his countryman, football manager Carlos Queiroz, Figo has bought into the A1 Grand Prix Team Portugal race team, and will act as team boss.

Titles earned

Coppa Italia (2006, Inter Milan)
UEFA Euro 2004 Finalist medal (Portugal)
UEFA Champions League (2002, Real Madrid)
Intercontinental Cup (2002, Real Madrid)
Cup Winners' Cup (1997, FC Barcelona)
FIFA World Youth Championship (1991, Portugal)
UEFA Euro 2000 MVP

External links

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Luís Figo

Background

Career overview

Motor racing

Titles earned

External links