Paulo Futre

Jorge Paulo dos Santos Futre was born in Montijo, Portugal, on February 28, 1966.

Source Wikipedia

 He was formed as a footballer in the Sporting Lisbon youth sector.

In 1983-84 he joined the first team squad under Josef Vengloš. The Leões finished 3rd and Futre played 29 games (21 in league) with 3 goals.

In 1984 he moved further north and joined Porto. He stayed three successful seasons, winning two league titles (1985, 1986), a European Cup (1987) and the Portuguese Super Cup twice (1984, 1986). He played 118 games with 33 goals. In 1986 and 1987 he was Portuguese player of the year. His manager was Artur Jorge.

Futre was now considered a European star and in 1987 moved to Spain and joined Atletico Madrid. He stayed six seasons with the Colchoneros and won the Copa del Rey twice (1991, 1992). He played a total of 205 games with 52 goals. The Rojiblancos finished 3rd, 4th, 4th, 2nd, 3rd and 6th. His managers included; Cesar Luis Menotti, Ron Atkinson, Colin Addison, Javier Clemente, Joaquin Peiró, Tomislav Ivić and Luis Aragonés. In his last season he started to have physical problems and played less.

In 1992 he returned to Lisbon but joined Benfica. He only played 13 total games (11 in league) but scored 5 goals. The Eagles finished 2nd in the league but won the cup, Taça de Portugal. His manager was first Tomislav Ivić and then Toni.

In 1993-94 Futre played for Marseille but only made 8 league appearances with 2 goals and left in the winter market session. Les Olympiens eventually finished 2nd under Marc Bourrier. His teammates included future Lazio Alen Boksic (1993-96, 1997-2000) plus Fabien Barthez, Jocelyn Angloma, Marcel Desailly, Didier Deschamps and Rudi Völler.

In November 1993 he joined Reggiana in Serie A but an injury kept him out of action for practically the whole season. He played 1 league game with 1 goal (Cremonese) but got injured on his debut. The Granata finished 14th under Giuseppe Marchioro. Futre stayed in Reggio Emilia the following season and played more, 13 games (12 in A) with 4 goals (Genoa, Parma, Cagliari, Cremonese) but still had injuries. Reggiana had a bad season and ended up relegated under three different managers.

In 1995 he joined Milan who hoped he could remain injury free and find his old spark again. He did not, only making 1 league appearance. Milan however won the Scudetto under Fabio Capello.

In 1996 he moved to England and played for West Ham United for a season. He again did not play regularly, 9 league appearances. The Hammers finished 14th in the Premier League, under Harry Redknapp.

In 1997 Futre returned to Atletico Madrid. He played 10 league games under Radomir Antic and the Indios finished 7th and reached the UEFA Cup semi-finals (Lazio 0-1). He played alongside future Lazio Christian Vieri (1998-99).

In 1998 he went for the Japanese experience and signed for the Yokohama Flügels. He played a total of 16 games with 3 goals. The Flugels finished 7th but won the Emperor's Cup. His manager was former Barcelona Carles Rexach.

He then retired at 32, worn down by physical issues.

After retiring he had a spell with Atletico Madrid as sporting director between 2000 and 2003.

For Portugal he played 41 games with 6 goals (Switzerland, Greece, Malta, Malta, Scotland, Estonia). He took part in one World Cup in Mexico 1986 but Portugal were eliminated in the group phase despite beating England 1-0.

Futre was a great footballer but in the long run his body did not support his talent. He was an attacking midfielder. A skillful, left-footed player who could also play up front. He was technical, with great acceleration and outstanding dribbling skills. He had good years at Sporting Lisbon, Porto and Atlético Madrid before his physique and luck turned their backs on him. In 1987 he won the European Cup as a protagonist (9 games, 2 goals) and was 2nd, behind Ruud Gullit, in the Golden Ball award.

A huge talent but unlucky.

Sources

Wikipedia