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Full name | Elías Ricardo Figueroa Brander | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | 25 October 1946 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Valparaíso, Chile | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing position | Centre back | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1962–1964 | Santiago Wanderers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1964–1966 | Santiago Wanderers | 54 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1964 | → Unión La Calera (loan) | 30 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1967–1972 | Peñarol | 214 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1972–1976 | Internacional | 336 | (26) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1977–1980 | Palestino | 118 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1981 | Fort Louderdale Strikers | 22 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1981–1982 | Colo-Colo | 17 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1966–1982 | Chile | 47 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Teams managed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1994–1996 | Palestino | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Honours
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* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
Elías Ricardo Figueroa Brander (born October 25, 1946 in Valparaíso) is a former football player from Chile. He is considered the best Chilean footballer of all time, as well as one of the greatest defenders ever to play the game.
He played for several clubs during his long career, notably his hometown club Santiago Wanderers, Brazilian club Internacional and Uruguayan club Peñarol. He also represented Chile 47 times. He appeared in 3 world cups, '66, '74, '82.
He was noted for his elegant style of play, his calmness in the centre of defence and his ability to cut out opposition attacks and immediately launch counter attacks from the back. He was also praised throughout his career for being a gentleman on and off the pitch.
He twice awarded the Bola de Ouro, the Brazilian Player of the year whilst playing for Internacional in 1972 and 1976. He was also awarded the South American Footballer of the Year three times in a row by Venezuelan newspaper El Mundo in 1974, 1975 and 1976.
He was designated Best Player of Uruguay in 1967 and 1968. Best Player in Chile in 1977 and 1978.
He has subsequently been voted into the world's 125 best living soccer players and he was also voted at 8th in the IFFHS South America Top 50 Players of the Century.
In March 2011 he revealed that he was considering entering the FIFA Presidential election.
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He was born on November 25, 1947 and began his career at Florida High Quilpué. In 1963, at age 15 appeared in the Chilean professional football playing for the club Wandereres of Valparaíso and then move on loan to the whole Union La Calera and in 1964, with only 16, he joined the youth team of the Andean nation .
The Chilean star played his first World Cup in England in 1966. Designed to excel, the poise and hierarchy was gradually becoming one of the toughest positions in football, central defender, make the eyes of experts from perching on it.
This led to his first foreign recruitment in 1967. Thus, after completion of the South American Championship in Montevideo, Uruguay Peñarol passed.
With the institution gets aurinegra championships 1967, 1968 and 1969, was elected the best player in the Uruguayan championship in 1967 and 1968.
By then he was a trained athlete, however, worried about further develop their skills, which caught the attention of Brazilian executives. In fact, he was hired by the Internacional de Porto Alegre who is devoted to Brazilian champion in 1975 and 1976.
He was elected the best Brazilian central defender in the field during the seasons 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1976 and Player of the Year in 1975 and 1976. As if this were not enough, the semi-legendary figure of Figueroa is surpassing borders at the expense of praise, until he was acclaimed as the best player in America in 1974, 1975 and 1976 and competing with players against giants of world football as Falcão teammate, Rivelino, Jairzinho, Tostão, Gérson, Carlos Alberto Torres, Zico, Teófilo Cubillas, Héctor Chumpitaz, Mario Kempes, Roberto Perfumo, Daniel Passarella or Pelé (winner in 1973) in the most brilliant period of South American football. Until today this is considered something goes beyond the norm for a defense even in Europe, only Beckenbauer has been considered the best of their continent.
Was restrained in personal branding, and without relying on the violent game, marking opponents with surprising plasticity. It also had great ability to pass without stopping the attack, using his powerful shot and the natural endowment had to head, attack or defend.
In 1974 returned to represent Chile in a World Cup tournament and while the selection Andean failed to perform well, Figueroa was elected the best central defender of the tournament. Shortly after returning to his homeland to wear the colors of the Palestinian, whom ends up being a national champion in 1977 and 1978.
Like many figures in world football in 1981 became the American League (MSL) where he played for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. In 1982 he again wore the national uniform in the World Cup in Spain in 1982 and that year he transferred to Colo-Colo in Santiago.
Finally, after 20 years of distributing international football hierarchy, retired from professional football practice. Later became a television sports commentator for Chilean and Brazilian, standing equally in his new profession.
In 1999 he received the honorable mention of being one of the top eleven players from Latin America and in the same year she was part of a select group of the Great Masters Cup in a ceremony held in Cannes, France.
His visit to Brazil was so successful that some local journalists divided his career in the South American nation "before and after Figueroa." Single lineage heads the list of all Chilean players to date.
Figueroa started and ended his career with Chilean clubs. He spent several years in Uruguay with Peñarol, in Brazil with Internacional, and in the US with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.
His most successful period in domestic football came at Peñarol and Internacional, but in total he amassed an impressive 22 titles.
He had 47 caps and scored two goals with the Chilean national football team.[1]
He was the captain of the Chile national football team on many occasions and captained the Chilean squad through their most successive era to date when they qualified for three World Cups, He played in the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England, the 1974 FIFA World Cup in Germany, and the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain.
He was also captain when they finished third in the South American Championship 1967 and a remarkable second place in the Copa América 1979.
On December 2006 he served as coach when Chile played a friendly game against Aragon.
On March 25, 2011 Figueroa was chosen as ChangeFIFA's candidate to clean up FIFA following the scandal-hit 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid race last year. Unless Figueroa is nominated by a national federation, FIFA president Sepp Blatter's only opponent in the elections on June 1 will be Asian football chief Mohamed Bin Hammam. ChangeFIFA co-director David Larkin said that if FIFA members denied one of their own legendary players the right to stand for president, "it will only prove to show that FIFA has become an exclusive and undemocratic club of an elite few who will stop at nothing to prevent their loss of privilege and power". Figueroa told Brazil's leading sports newspaper, Lance!: "My idea, which is also theirs, is to change some things in football, make it better. I still cannot give details, but, if the nomination is confirmed, we will reveal."[2]
However, on March 31, 2011, Figueroa said in a statement he had decided not to accept because "in such a short period of time I could not develop a case worthy of the magnitude and importance of such a distinguished job".[3]
With Peñarol
With Internacional
With Palestino
With Colo-Colo
Distinctions | Year |
---|---|
Elected the best footballer in the world the year 76 by IFFHS and FIFA[4] | 1976 |
All-Star Team of 1974 FIFA World Cup[5] | 1974 |
South American Footballer of the Year | 1974–1975–1976 |
Third place South American Footballer of the Year | 1977 |
Best South American defense of the year | 1972-1973-1974-1975-1976-1977 |
Bola de Ouro Brazil's best player | 1972–1976 |
Bola de Prata | 1972- 1974- 1975- 1976 |
Best player of Uruguay | 1967, 1968, 1971 |
Best foreign player who has played in Brazil and has played in Uruguay | 2002 2004 |
Best footballer of the year in Chile | 1981 |
Best sportsman of the year of Chile | 1981 |
Chilean Footballer of the History of Circle of Sports Journalists of Chile[6] | 1999 |
List FIFA 100 of Pelé | 2004 |
N° 37 The World's best Player of the Century IFFHS[7] | 1999/2000 |
N° 8 South America best Player of the Century IFFHS[8] | 1999/2000 |
N° 1 Chilean best Player of the Century IFFHS[9] | 1999/2000 |
N° 1 South America best Defender of the Century IFFHS[10] | 1999/2000 |
Placar magazine (Brazil) N 19° in published a list of the best 100 players of all time[11] | 1999 |
Playboy Brazil magazine N 13° in published a list of voted among the best in history[12] | 2005 |
World Soccer magazine; selected in published a list of the best 50 players of all time[13] | 2010 |
Member of American Cup of History Team[14][15][16][17][18] | 2011 |
Member of South American Team of the 20th Century[19] | 1999 |
Member of the Walk of Fame Stadium Maracana[20] | 2000 |
Nominated constantly to Selection of the World and South America from 19 years | 1966–1983 |
Only player alongside Hugo Sánchez that has participated in three World Cups alternately | 1966- 1974- 1982 |
Captained all teams where he played | 1967–1982 |
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