Tribute to Luis Figo: The First Galactico

Even though official competition has not even started yet, it is a bit strange seeing Real Madrid play without Luis Figo. Having chose Inter Milan over the prospect of sitting on the bench under Vanderli Luxemburgo, a sad Figo packed his bags at training camp and headed to Italy.

Football

Luis (Filipe Madeira Caeiro) Figo was born on November 4, 1972. Having grown up in a family of modest means in a town called Almada near Lisbon , he started out as a child playing for a local team called União Futebol Clube Os Pastilhas and was quickly recruited by Sporting Lisbon before he was even 10 years old. As a player for Sporting he went on to win 2 under-21 European championships.

He played with Sporting until an offer arrived from Barcelona in the 1995 season. Shortly after his arrival, Barcelona cashed in with Spanish Cup, Super Cup and European Cup. In 1998 Barcelona again won the Supercup and league title and Figo was named captain of the team and became the symbol for Barcelona 's Football Club.

His career with Barcelona ended with 30 goals in 172 games. He was considered one of Europe 's best wingers and signed to Real Madrid for, at that moment, a record transfer fee of $56 million dollars. His departure to Barcelona 's arch rivals did not go down well with the fans. Upon returning to Camp Nou ( Barcelona 's stadium), he had bottles thrown at him and has been since booed and jeered at.

The same year of his transfer to Real Madrid he received the Golden Ball from France Football and was voted runner-up of Best player in 2000. In 2001, he was then awarded the FIFA Player of the Year award. In 2002, Real Madrid won the Champions League followed by the Spanish league title in 2003.

Aside from his brief (national side) retirement, Figo has been the leader and captain of the Portuguese national team. In 2004, Portugal came just short of winning the Cup of Europe by falling to Greece 1- 0 in the final.

Character

Figo is revered as one the hardest working and most dedicated players on the field. For a young footballer trying to succeed in professional football, hard work and dedication may not be so un-common, but Figo's depth of character, dedication, and commitment hasn't wavered as his status and earnings have grown. Throughout Real's miserable ending to the 2004-2005 season, where they were on their way to another Spanish League title but fell apart with 5 straight losses, Figo continued to shine as the most dedicated and in form player on the field.

A well spoken and reserved Figo is well known for always having a grumpy look on his face during matches, probably due to concentration and desire to win every match. He always gets on well with his teammates, especially David Beckham and Ronaldo.

Off the Field

Figo is very quiet about his personal life. His marriage to Swedish model, Helen Svedin has given him two children.

In 2003, Luis Figo formed the Luis Figo Foundation with the mission of contributing to the creation of conditions and opportunities for less fortunate children to develop their potential through sports activities.

The Future

Figo is meeting up with former clubmates Solari, Cambiaso, and Samuel at Inter. He still has 2-3 year left to play at the top level. Good luck to him in Italy. Real won't be the same without him.