Elías Figueroa

For the Uruguayan footballer, see Elías Ricardo Figueroa.

Elías Figueroa

Personal information
Full name	Elías Ricardo Figueroa Brander
Date of birth	25 October 1946 (1946-10-25)
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 Player Peñarol Winner Uruguayan Primera División 1967 Winner Uruguayan Primera División 1968 Winner Supercopa de Campeones Intercontinentales 1969 Internacional Winner Campeonato Gaúcho 1972 Winner Campeonato Gaúcho 1973 Winner Campeonato Gaúcho 1974 Winner Campeonato Brasileiro 1975 Winner Campeonato Gaúcho 1975 Winner Campeonato Brasileiro 1976 Winner Campeonato Gaúcho 1976 Palestino Winner Copa Chile 1977 Winner Chilean Primera Division 1978
* 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, appearing in three world cups, in 1966, 1974, and 1982.

Figueroa 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 counterattacks from the back. He was also praised throughout his career for being a gentleman on and off the pitch. He was twice awarded the Bola de Ouro, the Brazilian Player of the year award 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 in Uruguay in 1967 and 1968 and Best Player in Chile in 1977 and 1978. He has subsequently been voted into the world's 125 best living soccer players and was also voted 8th best South American and 37th best player in the world of the 20th Century by the IFFHS in 1999.

In March 2011 he revealed that he was considering entering the FIFA Presidential election.

History

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, Carlos Alberto Torres, Zico, Teófilo Cubillas(winner in 1972), 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.

Clubs

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.

National team

He had 47 caps and scored two goals with the Chilean national football team.

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.

Potential FIFA Presidential Run

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."

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".

Titles

With Peñarol

• Champion of Primera División Uruguaya: 1967 and 1968
• Winner of Intercontinental Champions Super Cup: 1969
• Winner of Competencia Tournament: 1967
• Winner of Honour Tournament: 1967
• Winner of Cuadrangular Tournament: 1968 & 1970
• Winner of Atlántico Sur Cup: 1972
• Winner of Copa Principe Juan de España: 1972
• Winner of Príncipe Juan de España Cup: 1972
• Winner of Montevideo Cup: 1971

With Internacional

• Champion of Campeonato Gaúcho: 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975 & 1976
• Champion of Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 1975 & 1976

With Palestino

• Winner of Chile Cup: 1977
• Champion of Primera División de Chile: 1978

With Fort Lauderdale Strikers

• Winner of 1982 North American Soccer League season: 1982

With Colo-Colo

• Winner of Primera División de Chile: 1983

Individual

Distinctions	Year
Considered the best footballer in the world the year 76 by IFFHS and FIFA	1976
All-Star Team of 1974 FIFA World Cup	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	1999
List FIFA 100 of Pelé	2004
N° 37 The World's best Player of the Century IFFHS	1999/2000
N° 8 South America best Player of the Century IFFHS	1999/2000
N° 1 Chilean best Player of the Century IFFHS	1999/2000
N° 1 South America best Defender of the Century IFFHS	1999/2000
Placar magazine (Brazil) N 19° in published a list of the best 100 players of all time	1999
Playboy Brazil magazine N 13° in published a list of voted among the best in history	2005
World Soccer magazine; selected in published a list of the best 50 players of all time	2010
Member of American Cup of History Team	2011
Member of South American Team of the 20th Century	1999
Member of the Walk of Fame Stadium Maracana	2000
Nominated constantly to Selection of the World and South America from 19 years	1966–1982
Only player alongside Hugo Sánchez that has participated in three World Cups alternately	1966- 1974- 1982
Merit by getting sent off just once in 18 years of professional professional	1966–1982
Captained all teams where he played	1967–1982

Comments

"Is the best defender I've ever seen in my live".

— César Luis Menotti

"Figueroa is the best Chilean player of all time, and probably the finest central defender in the history of football in the Americas".

— Pele

"I’m the European Figueroa".

— Franz Beckenbauer

"I have no hesitation in saying that Elias Figueroa is the best defender in football world".

— Carlos Alberto Parreira

"Thither (in Brazil) he is an eminence".

— Juan Rodrigo Araya

"If you asked me to compare Don Elias to someone, I couldn’t give you an answer".

— Rubens Minelli

"We’re facing a boy of seventeen who plays like a mature crack. After today we’ll have to call him 'Don' (MR.) Elias Figueroa".

— Hernán Solís

"In the air he fought like a lion. If he jumped with two Russians, the ball would be his when he came down".

— Juan Manuel Olivares (footballer)

"Elegant as a earl of suit, dangerous as a Bengal tiger, Elias Figueroa was the perfect defender ".

— Nelson Rodrigues

"The area is my home, and I decide who enters it".

— Elías Figueroa

See also

• Bola de Prata
• Bolo de Ouro
• South American Footballer of the Year
• FIFA 100

Links

• Elías Figueroa at National-Football-Teams.com
• http://www.eliasfigueroa.com/
• Top 50 South American Players of All Time