Paulo Jorge dos Santos Futre (Portuguese pronunciation:[ˈpawluˈfutɾɨ]; born 28 February 1966) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a left winger.
Widely considered as one of the best players of his generation, after starting his professional career with Sporting, he moved to Porto – winning the 1987 European Cup – after which he embarked in an extensive professional career, having represented clubs in Spain, France, Italy, England and Japan, most notably Atlético Madrid. He also appeared for Benfica during four months in 1993,[1] and his later years were blighted by injury problems.
After that continental win, Futre was traded to Atlético Madrid in Spain, earning a reported annual salary of €650,000.[4] At the capital club, he quickly rose to fan favourite status, but his physical weakness left him with several knee injuries which tormented his career in the 1990s.[4]
In January 1993, Futre moved to Porto and Sporting rivals Benfica, winning a Taça de Portugal in his short stay (and scoring in the final against Boavista in a 5–2 victory),[8] as his injury woes persisted. Afterwards, he signed a one-season contract with Marseille, where he teamed up with countryman Rui Barros.[9][10] His time in France was largely disappointing, however, once again due to continual injuries, as well as competition from Dragan Stojković in his position, which limited him to only two goals in eight league games.[11][12]
Halfway through the 1993–94 season, despite being linked with AC Milan, Futre eventually transferred to newly promoted Serie A side Reggiana. On his debut, on 21 November 1993, he scored a memorable individual goal which opened the scoring in a 2–0 win over Cremonese and gave the hosts their first ever win in the top flight; during the second half, however, he suffered a serious injury after an aggressive challenge from Alessandro Pedroni, which kept him out for the rest of the season as his team narrowly avoided relegation.[9][10]
The following campaign, Futre managed only 12 appearances and netted four times, which were not enough to save Reggiana from relegation.[9][10] For the 1995–96 season, he did move to Milan but, due to continuing injury troubles as well as competition from other talented offensive, creative players in his position, he only featured once for the Fabio Capello-led team, coming on as a substitute for Roberto Baggio in the final match of the season against Cremonese at the San Siro, which ended 7–1 for the hosts who celebrated the league conquest.[9][10][13]
After his time in Italy, Futre agreed to a one-year deal with West Ham United, where he infamously refused to play until he was given squad number 10.[14] Finally, he returned to Atlético Madrid (ten La Liga matches in 1997–98), effectively ending his career with J1 League club Yokohama Flügels; he ranked joint-98th in World Soccer's 100 Greatest Players of the 20th century, published in December 1999.[15]
International career
Futre played 41 times for Portugal in a 12-year span, scoring six goals.[16] His debut came against Finland for the UEFA Euro 1984qualifiers, on 27 April 1983 – he was only 17 years and 204 days old, breaking a national team record.[17]
Futre was a member of the national team that competed in the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, playing 90 minutes in the 3–1 loss to Morocco in an eventual group-stage exit.[18]
Style of play
A highly talented and creative left-footed winger whose playing style initially drew comparisons with Diego Maradona, Futre was known in particular for his explosive acceleration as well as his excellent technical ability. His dribbling skills, pace, agility and quick feet enabled him to be extremely fast with the ball at his feet and allowed him to take on several opponents.[19][20]
Due to his vision and work-rate, Futre was capable both of creating and scoring goals, and was a versatile player who was also deployed as a second striker and as an attacking midfielder on occasion during his time in Italy.[9] Despite the precocious talent he demonstrated in his youth, he was also prone to injuries which greatly affected his career, leading to increasingly inconsistent performances, a poorer goalscoring rate, and a premature retirement at the age of 32.[9][10]
Post-playing career
Futre worked as director of football at Atlético Madrid from 2000 to 2003,[21] subsequently becoming a real-estate developer in his hometown.[22] In May 2011, he was part of Dias Ferreira's team in an unsuccessful run for Sporting's presidency.[23]
Personal life
Futre's younger son, Fábio, was also a footballer. A midfielder, he played for Atlético Madrid's youth teams, and was called up for Portugal under-17s.[24] His nephew, Artur Futre, appeared professionally for Alverca, Maia and Aves, without much impact;[25] his older son, Paulo, played in a rock band, "Fr1day".
^ abCoelho, João Nuno; Pinheiro, Francisco (November 2002). A Paixão do Povo [The People's Passion] (in Portuguese) (816 ed.). Edições Afrontamento. p. 587. ISBN972-36-0624-0.
^Malheiro, João (July 2006). Memorial Benfica 100 Glórias [Benfica Memorial, 100 glories] (in Portuguese) (Third ed.). QuidNovi. p. 110. ISBN978-972-8998-26-4.
^Gabrielli, Fabrizio (27 July 2020). "L'eterna attesa di Paulo Futre" [The eternal wait for Paulo Futre] (in Italian). L'Ultimo Uomo. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
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