Elías Ricardo Figueroa Brander (born 25 October 1946) is a Chilean former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played for several clubs during his long career, notably his hometown club Santiago Wanderers, Brazilian club Internacional and Uruguayan club

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (), more commonly referred to as Peñarol, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club currently competes in the Uruguayan Primera División, the highest tier in Uruguayan football. The nam ...

. He also represented

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

47 times, appearing in three

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

s, in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

, and

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

. Regarded by many as one of the greatest

defenders Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to: * Defense (military) * Defense (sports) ** Defender (association football) Arts and entertainment Film, television, and theatre Film * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The D ...

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 ''Bola de Ouro'' (Golden Ball) is an annual award given each year, since 1973, by Brazilian sports magazine '' Placar'' to the best player in the Campeonato Brasileiro. A group of sports journalists watch every match of the competition and ra ...

, 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 Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...

in 2004, and was also voted 8th best South American and 37th best player in the world of the 20th Century by the

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

in 1999.

Early life and youth career

Figueroa was born in

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

, 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.

Club career

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

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

Award. He won further acclaim when he succeeded

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 Manoel Rezende de Mattos Cabral (born July 26, 1950), known as Nelinho, is a former Brazilian association footballer who played as right back. He played for several clubs in his home country and abroad, including Belo Horizonte rivals Cruzeir ...

, Marinho Chagas, Teófilo Cubillas, Héctor Chumpitaz,

Mario Kempes Mario Alberto Kempes Chiodi (, ; born 15 July 1954) is an Argentine former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker or Attacking Midfielder, attacking midfielder. A prolific g ...

, Roberto Perfumo, and

Daniel Passarella Daniel Alberto Passarella (born 25 May 1953) is an Argentine former Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager, who is considered one of the greatest Defender (association football), defenders of all time. As a ...

Later career in Chile and the United States

Shortly after his time in Brazil, Figueroa returned to his homeland in 1977, joining

Palestino The term ''Palestino'' is the Spanish word for "Palestinian". The word "''Palestino''" is used in Cuba as a disparaging nickname for illegal migrants within the country. The nickname is used as a rhetorical device, that compares illegal migrants ...

, 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 The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. Finally, he returned to Chile once again later that year, transferring to

Colo-Colo Colo-Colo (), officially Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo, is a Chilean professional football club based in Macul, Santiago. Founded in 1925 by David Arellano, it competes in the Chilean Primera División, from which the club has never been ...

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 Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

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 The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 to 30 July 1966. England defeated West Germany 4–2 in the 1966 FI ...

in England, and also featured prominently in the

1974 FIFA World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the 10th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the ...

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 The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain from 13 June to 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy national footbal ...

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 Franz Anton Beckenbauer (; 11 September 1945 – 7 January 2024) was a German professional football player, manager, and official. Nicknamed ("the Emperor"), he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, and is one of nine p ...

, 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."

After retirement

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 Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

Potential FIFA Presidential Run

On 25 March 2011, Figueroa was chosen as ChangeFIFA's candidate to clean up

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

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 Joseph Sepp Blatter (born Josef Blatter; 10 March 1936) is a Swiss former association football, football administrator who served as the list of Presidents of FIFA, eighth president of FIFA from 1998 to 2015. He has been banned from participatin ...

'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! ''Lance!'' is a daily sports newspaper in Brazil, and its first edition was published in 1997. Its headquarters are located in Rio de Janeiro, and they print regional versions for some of the other Brazilian states. History Its tabloid format a ...

'': "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 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

* Intercontinental Champions' Supercup: 1969 *

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

runner-up:

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

Internacional *

Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho (English: Gaúcho Championship), officially named as Campeonato Gaúcho de Futebol Série A and commonly known as the Gauchão or the Gauchão Ipiranga (company), Ipiranga for sponsorship reasons, is the top-flight profess ...

: 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 *

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian" or "Great Brazilian"), the Série A or the Brazilian Série A (to distinguish it from the I ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

Palestino *

Copa Chile The Copa Chile (''Chile Cup'') is an annual cup competition for Chilean football teams. Due to time constraints and club pressure, the trophy was cancelled in 2000, but returned in 2008. Its precursor was the Campeonato de Apertura (''Opening Ch ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

* Primera División: 1978 Chile *

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...