Background and career
Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo (Portuguese pronunciation: [luˈiʃ ˈfiɣu]; born 4 November 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a winger for Sporting CP, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Inter Milan. He won 127 caps for the Portugal national team, a one-time record. Figo is widely regarded as one of the best players of his generation and one of the greatest wingers in the history of the sport. He ranks second for the all-time Portuguese top assist providers in the UEFA Champions League (15).
Figo won the 2000 Ballon d'Or, 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year, and in 2004 Pelé named him in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players. Figo is one of the few football players to have played for both Spanish rival clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid. His transfer from Barcelona to Real Madrid in 2000 set a world record fee of €62 million.
Figo had a very successful career highlighted by several trophy wins, including the Portuguese Cup, four La Liga titles, two Spanish Cups, three Spanish Super Cups, one Champions League title, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, two UEFA Super Cups, one Intercontinental Cup, four Serie A titles, one Italian Cup, and three Italian Super Cups. At international level, he scored 32 goals for Portugal, representing the nation at three European Championships and two World Cups, helping them reach the final but finish as runners-up at Euro 2004, as well as reaching the semi-finals at the 2006 World Cup.
The only child of António Caeiro Figo and Maria Joana Pestana Madeira who moved from Alentejo to Lisbon in the early 1970s, Figo grew up in the working-class district of Cova da Piedade, Almada. He began his career as a street footballer at Os Pastilhas, before joining the academy of Sporting CP at the age of 12. In his youth, Figo played futsal from which he learned a lot of skills that helped him later in his career.
Figo started his career at Sporting CP, making his league debut on 2 April 1990 during the 1989–90 season as a substitute for Marlon Brandão in a 1–0 home win against Marítimo. On 7 December 1991, Figo scored his first goal against Torreense in the 1991–92 season, equalising as Sporting won 2–1. He won his first senior international cap in 1991. Prior to that, he won the 1991 FIFA Under-20 World Championships and Under-16 European Championships with Portugal junior sides alongside Rui Costa and João Pinto. He was also a significant part of Portugal's "Golden Generation". In his final season at Sporting he won the 1994–95 Portuguese Cup.
