Don Elías Figueroa

Figueroa was born in Valparaíso, Chile on 25 October 1946. He began playing football in Chile with Deportivo Alto Florida and Deportivo Liceo from Quilpué, and later joined the youth system of his hometown club Santiago Wanderers in 1962.

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 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.

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…

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, 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."

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 as a 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.