THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LEGENDS(Pt 5) - Chijioke Bernard Onyekwere

  5. Luis Figo- Sound familiar? The first of the 'Galacticos' during the 'Galactico era' and the leader of Portugal's 'Golden Generation',the 2001 FIFA world player of the year amassed a total of 22 trophies in his time.Born 4th November,1972,he played for Sporting CP between 1989 and 1995 and scored 16 goals in 137 appearances.He played for Barcelona between 1995 and 2000 and scored 30 goals in 172 appearances.For Real Madrid he scored 38 goals in 164 appearances between 2000 and 2005,and during his days at Inter Milan,he scored 9 goals in 105 appearances, bringing it to a total of 93 goals in 577 appearances.

 

For his country Portugal,he scored 32 goals in 127 appearances between 1991 and 2006.Despite having no trophies to show for the 'Golden Generation',the one time UEFA champions league winner with Real Madrid in 2002,managed to captain the Portuguese team to their best world cup performance by reaching the semi-final since the Eusebio(Remember him?Another great player)era in 1966.He scored 24 goals in 103 appearances in the UEFA champions league.He holds the record for most appearances with the Portuguese national team; he is also Portugal's fourth-highest all time goal-scorer and one of the greatest Portuguese players of all time.Figo is regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation,and to many,the greatest winger to ever play the game of football.At his physical peak,Figo was a quick,elegant and highly skillful player with a dribbling ability that allowed him to frequently take on and beat defenders in one on one situations.

 

He is capable of providing several assists due to his ability to provide curling crosses to team-mates.He made 106 assists in La Liga,the second highest in La Liga history,behind only Lionel Messi.As he lost his pace with age advancement,he was deployed as a playmaker,where he excelled with vision and varied passing ability.Also capable of contributing offensively with goals,due to his powerful stricking ability from distance as well as his accuracy from freekicks and penalties.Figo was also highly regarded for his leadership qualities.'Our plan was simple:give the ball to Luis.He never ever hid',said one of his teammates.While Figo's legacy lives on,he will be greatly remembered by Inter Milan's fans for the freekick he scored in extra time against Roma during the Suppercoppa Italiana in Italy.