 Futre holding the1992 Copa del Rey trophy | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Paulo Jorge dos Santos Futre | ||
| Date of birth | (1966-02-28)28 February 1966 (age 59) | ||
| Place of birth | Montijo, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1974–1975 | Montijo | ||
| 1975–1983 | Sporting CP | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1983–1984 | Sporting CP | 21 | (3) |
| 1984–1987 | Porto | 81 | (23) |
| 1987–1993 | Atlético Madrid | 163 | (38) |
| 1993 | Benfica | 11 | (3) |
| 1993 | Marseille | 8 | (2) |
| 1993–1995 | Reggiana | 13 | (5) |
| 1995–1996 | AC Milan | 1 | (0) |
| 1996–1997 | West Ham United | 9 | (0) |
| 1997–1998 | Atlético Madrid | 10 | (0) |
| 1998 | Yokohama Flügels | 13 | (3) |
| Total | 330 | (77) | |
| International career | |||
| 1981–1983 | Portugal U16 | 19 | (6) |
| 1981–1984 | Portugal U18 | 24 | (3) |
| 1983 | Portugal U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 1983–1995 | Portugal | 41 | (6) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Paulo Jorge dos Santos Futre (Portuguese pronunciation:[ˈpawluˈfutɾɨ]; born 28 February 1966) is a Portuguese former professionalfootballer who played as aleft winger.
He started his career withSporting CP, then moved toPorto –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 notablyAtlético Madrid. He also appeared forBenfica during four months in 1993,[1] and his later years were blighted by injury problems.
APortuguese international from the age of 17, Futre earned over 40caps for his country, representing it at the1986 World Cup.
Born inMontijo,Setúbal District, Futre first appeared professionally in1983–84, as a 17-year-old forSporting CP, whoseyouth system he had joined at the age of nine. When he requested a pay raise from presidentJoão Rocha, he was turned down and left forPorto after just one season, as veteransJaime Pacheco andAntónio Sousa moved in the opposite direction as part of the deal.[2]
In the following years, Futre collected twoPrimeira Liga titles, also helping the northerners to the1986–87 European Cup, putting on aPlayer of the match performance inthe final againstBayern Munich.[3]
After that continental win, Futre was traded toAtlético Madrid in Spain, earning a reported annual salary of€650,000.[4] At thecapital 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 hisfifth season, Futre provided countlessassists forstrikerManolo who scored 27 goals for thePichichi Trophy,[5] with him netting inthe campaign'sCopa del Rey, a 2–0 win over rivalsReal Madrid.[6] During most of his spell with theColchoneros, he was alsoteam captain.[7]
In January 1993, Futre moved to Porto and Sporting rivalsBenfica, winning aTaça de Portugal in his short stay (and scoring in the final againstBoavista in a 5–2 victory),[8] as his injury woes persisted. Afterwards, he signed a one-season contract withMarseille, where he teamed up with countrymanRui Barros.[9][10] His time in France was largely disappointing, however, once again due to continual injuries, as well as competition fromDragan Stojković in his position, which limited him to only two goals in eight league games.[11][12]
Halfway through1993–94, despite being linked withAC Milan, Futre eventually transferred to newly promotedSerie A sideReggiana. On his debut, on 21 November 1993, he scored a memorable individual goal which opened the scoring in a 2–0 win overCremonese 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 fromAlessandro 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] He did move to Milan for1995–96 but, due to continuing injury troubles as well as competition from other talented offensive, creative players in his position, he only featured once for theFabio Capello-led team, in the final match of the season against Cremonese at theSan Siro, which ended 7–1 for the hosts who celebrated the league conquest.[9][10][13]
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After his time in Italy, Futre agreed to a one-year deal withWest Ham United, where he infamously refused to play until he was givensquad number 10.[14] Finally, he returned to Atlético Madrid (tenLa Liga matches in1997–98), effectively ending his career withJ1 League clubYokohama Flügels; he ranked joint-98th inWorld Soccer's 100 Greatest Players of the 20th century, published in December 1999.[15]
Futre played 41 times forPortugal in a 12-year span, scoring six goals.[16] His debut came againstFinland for theUEFA 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 the1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, playing 90 minutes in the 3–1 loss toMorocco in an eventual group-stage exit.[18]
A highly talented and creative left-footedwinger whose playing style initiallydrew comparisons withDiego Maradona, Futre was known in particular for his explosive acceleration as well as his excellent technical ability. Hisdribbling 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 asecond striker and as anattacking 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]
Futre worked asdirector 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]
Futre's younger son, Fábio, was also a footballer. Amidfielder, he played for Atlético Madrid's youth teams, and was called up forPortugal under-17s.[24] His nephew,Artur Futre, appeared professionally forAlverca,Maia andAves, without much impact;[25] his older son, Paulo, played in a rock band, "Fr1day".
Paulo Sr. was also atelevision presenter, hosting theTVI 24late night talk showA Noite do Futrebol.[26]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sporting CP | 1983–84 | Primeira Divisão | 21 | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | 3[c] | 0 | — | 29 | 3 | ||
| Porto | 1984–85 | Primeira Divisão | 30 | 6 | 7 | 2 | — | 2[d] | 1 | 4[e] | 1 | 43 | 10 | |
| 1985–86 | Primeira Divisão | 26 | 7 | 4 | 1 | — | 3[f] | 0 | 2[e] | 0 | 35 | 8 | ||
| 1986–87 | Primeira Divisão | 25 | 10 | 4 | 1 | — | 9[f] | 2 | 2[e] | 2 | 40 | 15 | ||
| Total | 81 | 23 | 15 | 4 | — | 14 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 118 | 33 | |||
| Atlético Madrid | 1987–88 | La Liga | 35 | 8 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | 39 | 9 | |||
| 1988–89 | La Liga | 28 | 5 | 7 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 1 | — | 37 | 6 | |||
| 1989–90 | La Liga | 27 | 10 | 2 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 0 | — | 31 | 10 | |||
| 1990–91 | La Liga | 26 | 3 | 6 | 1 | — | 2[c] | 0 | — | 34 | 4 | |||
| 1991–92 | La Liga | 31 | 6 | 6 | 5 | — | 6[d] | 5 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 16 | ||
| 1992–93 | La Liga | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | 3[d] | 1 | 2[g] | 0 | 21 | 7 | ||
| Total | 163 | 38 | 25 | 7 | — | 15 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 205 | 52 | |||
| Benfica | 1992–93 | Primeira Divisão | 11 | 3 | 2 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 13 | 5 | ||
| Marseille | 1993–94 | Ligue 1 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 2 | ||
| Reggiana | 1993–94 | Serie A | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | |||
| 1994–95 | Serie A | 12 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 13 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 14 | 5 | |||||
| AC Milan | 1995–96 | Serie A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| West Ham United | 1996–97 | Premier League | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| Atlético Madrid | 1997–98 | La Liga | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | ||
| Yokohama Flügels | 1998 | J.League | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 330 | 77 | 48 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 32 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 423 | 103 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | 1983 | 1 | 0 |
| 1984 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1985 | 4 | 1 | |
| 1986 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1987 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1988 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1989 | 4 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1991 | 8 | 2 | |
| 1992 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1993 | 8 | 2 | |
| 1994 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1995 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 41 | 6 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 January 1985 | Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal |  Romania | 1–0 | 2–3 | Friendly |
| 2 | 20 September 1989 | Stade de la Maladière, Neuchâtel, Switzerland |  Switzerland | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 23 January 1991 | Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece |  Greece | 2–1 | 2–3 | UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying |
| 4 | 9 February 1991 | Ta' Qali National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta |  Malta | 1–0 | 1–0 | UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying |
| 5 | 28 April 1993 | Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal |  Scotland | 3–0 | 5–0 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6 | 10 November 1993 | Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal |  Estonia | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Porto
Atlético Madrid
Benfica
AC Milan
Individual
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| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
