Elias Figueroa
Elias Figueroa was born in Valparaíso, Valparaíso Region, Chile on October 25th, 1946 and is the Soccer Player. At the age of 77, Elias Figueroa biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 77 years old, Elias Figueroa has this physical status:
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, at age of just 17, he was called up to the Chile national youth team.
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.
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 Rivelino, Jairzinho, Carlos Alberto Torres, Zico, Nelinho, Marinho Chagas, Teófilo Cubillas, Héctor Chumpitaz, Mario Kempes, Roberto Perfumo, and Daniel Passarella.
Shortly after his time in Brazil, Figueroa returned to his homeland in 1977, joining Palestino, with whom he won the Chilean 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.