Elías Figueroa

Elías Ricardo Figueroa Brander (born 25 October 1946) is a Chilean former footballer who 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 FIFA World Cups, in 1966, 1974, and 1982.

Regarded by many as one of the greatest defenders in the history of the game, Figueroa was noted for his elegant style of play, his composure in the centre of defense and his ability to cut out opposition attacks and immediately launch counterattacks from the back with his passing. 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 named Best Player in Uruguay in 1967 and 1968, and Best Player in Chile in 1977 and 1978. After retiring, he was named one of the world's 125 best living football players by Pelé in 2004, and was also voted 8th best South American and 37th best player in the world of the 20th Century by the IFFHS in 1999.

Early life and youth career
Figueroa was born in Valparaíso, Chile on 25 October 1946. He began playing football in Chile with Florida High Quilpué, and later joined the youth system of his hometown club Santiago Wanderers in 1962.

Early career in Chile
Figueroa began his professional career in 1963, when, at the age of 16, he appeared in the first division of the Chilean professional football league, playing for the Santiago Wanderers first team. He was later sent on loan to Unión La Calera in 1964. Later that year, aged 17, he was called up to the Chile national youth team.

Success with Peñarol
His performances attracted interest from several foreign teams, and following the South American Championship in Montevideo in 1967, he was acquired by Uruguayan side Peñarol later that year. At that time this Uruguayan Club was the best team in the world as champion of the Intercontinental Cup (football) and the Uruguayan league was very strong. Figueroa settled in a team full of stars and legends, but he with 18 years was elected the best player in the Uruguayan Championship 1967 and also 1968 and 1971. He spent several years with the Peñarol, where he experienced one of his most successful periods in domestic football. He won the Uruguayan Championship with the club in 1967, 1968 and 1969 and in his farewell at the end of 1971, people cried at the airport.

Continued success with Internacional
By then Figueroa had established himself as a well-developed and highly regarded athlete; however, he was looking to develop his skills further, and his talents caught the attention of Brazilian executives. He was acquired by Brazilian club Internacional de Porto Alegre in 1972, where he had an equally successful spell, winning the Brazilian championship in 1975 and 1976, and also winning five Campeonato Gaúcho Championships with the team; in 1974, the club won all of their 18 games to claim the title. Elias Figueroa was the central figure of the team, and is well remembered by the club's fans for his famous "Illuminated goal" in the club's victory over Cruzeiro in the 1975 "Brasileirao" final. He was elected the Brazilian league's best central defender during the 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1976 seasons, winning the Bola de Prata, and was voted the Brazilian League's Player of the Year in 1975 and 1976, winning the Bola de Ouro Award. He won further acclaim when he succeeded Pelé in being named the South American Footballer of the Year in 1974, 1975 and 1976, fighting off competition from several other world class South American footballers, such as his teammate Falcão, as well as Rivellino, Jairzinho, Carlos Alberto Torres, Zico, Nelinho, Marinho Chagas, Teófilo Cubillas, Héctor Chumpitaz, Mario Kempes, Roberto Perfumo, and Daniel Passarella.

Later career in Chile and the United States
Shortly after his time in Brazil, Figueroa returned to his homeland in 1977, joining Palestino, with whom he won the Chile National Championship in 1977 and 1978, also being named the Best Player in Chile in both of those seasons. Like many prominent ageing figures in world football at the time, in 1981 he went to the United States, where he played in the North American Soccer League for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. Finally, he returned to Chile once again later that year, transferring to Colo-Colo in Santiago, where he ended his career. In 1982, after a 20-year career, he officially retired from professional football. In total he amassed an impressive 22 titles.

International career
Figueroa earned 47 caps and scored two goals for the Chilean senior national team between 1966 and 1982.

He was the captain of the Chile national side on many occasions, and even 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, and also featured prominently in the 1974 FIFA World Cup in Germany, where he was elected the best central defender of the tournament, despite Chile's poor performance in the competition. He also later took part in the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. In 1974 Figueroa was elected the best central defender of the tournament and member of the all-star team of World Cup.

He was also captain when they finished third in the South American Championship 1967 and a remarkable second place in the Copa América 1979.

Playing style
Known as "Don Elías", Figueroa was noted for having a keen ability to anticipate attacks as a defender with his great reading of the game and tight marking ability. Figueroa also had the ability to start counter-attacks from the back-line thanks to his composure on the ball, vision, and good range of passing. His playing style as a sweeper was frequently compared to Franz Beckenbauer, but while the German often looked for long, killer balls upfield, Figueroa typically used shorter, incisive passes to spring his teammates forward. Figueroa was also a threat in the final third of the pitch, often marauding forward to lay on goals for other players or strike on goal with his powerful shot. Figueroa remembers: "when I played in Brazil, I always did a play in which the wing back and the winger retained the ball while I would advance unmarked and make a central attacking run". Possessing good technical skills, Figueroa was also a physical presence, good in the air, and strong in one-on-one situations as a central defender. Known for his leadership, he also had a reputation of being a clean and fair player. Only once in his entire career was he shown a red card and was selected as captain for every team he played for. According to journalist Nelson Rodrigues, Figueroa was "elegant, as an earl dressed in suit, and dangerous as a Bengal Tiger. Elias Figueroa was the perfect defender."

Punditry
After retiring, Figueroa later became a television sports commentator for Chilean and Brazilian football, and was also successful in his new profession.

Coaching career
In December 2006, Figueroa served as coach when Chile played a friendly game against Aragon.

Potential FIFA Presidential Run
On 25 March 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 1 June 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 31 March 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".

Legacy
In 1999 Figueroa received the honorable mention of being one of the top eleven players from Latin America and in the same year he was part of a select group of the Great Masters Cup in a ceremony held in Cannes, France.

His time playing in 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.

Honours
'''Peñarol
 * Primera División: 1967, 1968
 * Intercontinental Champions' Supercup: 1969
 * Copa Libertadores runner-up: 1970

Internacional
 * Campeonato Gaúcho: 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976
 * Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 1975, 1976

Palestino
 * Copa Chile: 1977
 * Primera División: 1978

Chile
 * Copa América runner-up: 1979

Individual