Luciano Figueroa
Encyclopedia
Luciano Gabriel "Lucho" Figueroa Herrera (born 19 May 1981 in Santa Fe, Argentina
Santa Fe, Argentina
Santa Fe is the capital city of province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It sits in northeastern Argentina, near the junction of the Paraná and Salado rivers. It lies opposite the city of Paraná, to which it is linked by the Hernandarias Subfluvial Tunnel. The city is also connected by canal with the...

) is an Argentine association football player who currently plays as a striker
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...

 for Rosario Central
Rosario Central
Club Atlético Rosario Central is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina. Its football team currently plays in the Primera B Nacional, the second tier of the Argentine football league system, after being relegated in the 2009-10 season....

.

Club career

Figueroa began his professional career with Rosario Central
Rosario Central
Club Atlético Rosario Central is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina. Its football team currently plays in the Primera B Nacional, the second tier of the Argentine football league system, after being relegated in the 2009-10 season....

 of Argentina
Primera División Argentina
The Primera División is a professional football league in Argentina. It is the country's premier football division and is at the top of the Argentine football league system. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Primera B Nacional. The season runs...

, where he formed a partnership with César Delgado
César Delgado
César Fabián Delgado Godoy is an Argentine footballer. He plays for Monterrey. His nickname "El Chelito" is derived from that of Marcelo Delgado because of their same last name.-Career:...

. In the 2003 Clausura
Apertura and Clausura
The Apertura and Clausura tournaments are a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional European football season from August to May is divided in two sections per season, each with its own champion. Apertura and Clausura are the Spanish words for...

, Figueroa finished as Argentina's leading goalscorer with 17 goals,
including scoring five in the last match of the season against an under-strength Boca Juniors.
This was his last season at Rosario Central. Both he and Delgado transferred overseas in the summer of 2003, with Figueroa joining English Premier League club Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

 for a fee of £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

2.5 million.

Controversy arose when Spanish club Osasuna
CA Osasuna
Club Atlético Osasuna, known as Osasuna, is a Spanish football team based in Iruñea-Pamplona, in the autonomous community of Navarre.Founded in 1920, it currently plays in the Spanish first division, holding home games at the 19,553-capacity Estadio Reyno de Navarra...

 claimed that Figueroa had signed a contract with them before his move to Birmingham, thereby invalidating the transfer.
At the end of August 2003 FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

 ruled provisionally in Birmingham's favour,
but it was not until October that this ruling was finally confirmed. Figueroa had been close to joining Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...

 earlier that summer but the Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

 club pulled out of the deal.

Though Figueroa was scoring freely for Birmingham's reserve team
Reserve team
Large professional sports clubs often have far more players under contract than could possibly play in a match. As a result, many of these clubs create second teams composed of players who need playing time, but have little hope of playing on the first team. The players on this second team are...

, manager Steve Bruce
Steve Bruce
Stephen Roger "Steve" Bruce is an English football manager and former player. Born in Corbridge, Northumberland, he was a promising schoolboy footballer but was rejected by a number of professional clubs. He was on the verge of quitting the game altogether when he was offered a trial with Gillingham...

 believed he would struggle in the Premiership due to his physique.
After only one League appearance, as a late substitute in a 2–0 defeat of Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...

, and one outing in the League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

, his contract was annulled
and he signed for Cruz Azul
Club Deportivo Cruz Azul
Club Deportivo, Social, y Cultural Cruz Azul, known simply as Cruz Azul, is a Mexican professional Association football club based in Mexico City, Mexico; after which initially was based in Ciudad Cooperativa Cruz Azul in the Mexican state of Hidalgo...

 of the Primera División de México
Primera División de México
The Primera División Profesional , known simply as the Primera División, is the top level of the Mexican football league system and is administered by the Mexican Football Federation. It was established in 1943 and as of 2011 has 18 clubs. Up to June 2011, it was divided into three groups competing...

, where he was reunited with former teammate Delgado.

After a slow start Figueroa returned to his old form with Cruz Azul, scoring 9 goals in the last 7 games of the 2004 Clausura. He maintained his form in the 2004 Apertura, scoring 10 goals in 14 games for the club.

Villarreal

His exceptional performances for Cruz Azul led to a transfer to Spain, where he signed a five-and-a-half-year contract with Villarreal
Villarreal CF
Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. , usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or just Villarreal, is a Spanish Primera División football club based in Vila-real, a city in the province of Castellón within the Valencian Community...

 in November 2004. The transfer fee was officially undisclosed, but was estimated in the media as
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

3 million.

Figueroa made less of an impact at Villarreal. Even so, he helped the club to a third-place finish in La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...

 in the 2004–05 season
2004–05 La Liga
2004–05 season was composed of the following clubs:* Albacete Balompié* Athletic Bilbao* Atlético Madrid* FC Barcelona* Real Betis* Deportivo de La Coruña* Espanyol* Getafe CF* Levante UD* Málaga CF* Real Mallorca* CD Numancia* CA Osasuna...

 and contributed in the early rounds of Villarreal's progression to the semi-final of the 2005–06 Champions League – including scoring the club's first ever Champions League goal, against Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

 in the third qualifying round.

In January 2006, apparently concerned that his lack of playing time would adversely affect his chances of selection for Argentina at the 2006 World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...

,
Figueroa returned to his home country. He joined River Plate
Club Atlético River Plate
Club Atlético River Plate is an Argentine sports club based in the Nuñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently competes in Nacional B, the second tier of Argentine football....

, who bought 50% of the rights to the player. He started well there, scoring three goals in his first seven games of the 2006 Clausura, but on 5 March 2006 he suffered a cruciate ligament injury
Anterior cruciate ligament injury
An injury to the anterior cruciate ligament can be a debilitating musculoskeletal injury to the knee, seen most often in athletes. Non-contact tears and ruptures are the most common causes of ACL injury....

 which effectively put an end to his career with River.

Genoa

On 1 August 2006, Villarreal sold Figueroa to Genoa
Genoa C.F.C.
Genoa Cricket and Football Club, commonly referred to simply as Genoa , is a professional Italian football club based in the city of Genoa, Liguria...

 of Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...

 for a reported $13-million fee. He signed a four-year contract with the club. Though still not fully recovered from his injury, medical opinion was that Figueroa should have been able to play again by mid-October. However it became clear that the knee reconstruction had not been completely successful and that another operation would be needed. It was predicted that this further surgery would keep him from playing that season.

Figueroa eventually made his debut for Genoa, by this time in Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...

, on 28 October 2007 as a second-half substitute against Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as simply Fiorentina, is a professional Italian football club from Florence, Tuscany. Founded by a merger in 1926, Fiorentina have played at the top level of Italian football for the majority of their existence; only four clubs have played in more Serie A...

,
and scored his first goal for the club some six weeks later, a stoppage time consolation in a 3–1 defeat at home to Siena
A.C. Siena
Associazione Calcio Siena is an Italian football club based in Siena.The club currently plays in Serie A, having gained promotion from Serie B at the end of the 2010-2011 season....

.

Luciano was loaned from Genoa to Boca Juniors
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently plays in the Primera División....

 in October 2008. He played an important role during the Torneo Apertura by scoring important goals as the title race was between Boca Juniors, Tigre
Club Atlético Tigre
Club Atlético Tigre is a football club from Victoria, San Fernando Partido, Buenos Aires, Argentina. At the end of the 2006-2007 season the club was promoted to the Primera Division Argentina...

 and San Lorenzo, who were level on points at the top of the table. Eventually, Figueroa's performances helped Boca to win the Torneo Apertura.

Rosario Central

After Genoa released the player, he returned to his first club, Rosario Central
Rosario Central
Club Atlético Rosario Central is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina. Its football team currently plays in the Primera B Nacional, the second tier of the Argentine football league system, after being relegated in the 2009-10 season....

. After passing a medical examination on his knee, he signed a two-and-a-half-year contract on 20 January 2010.

International career

Figueroa has appeared for the Argentina national football team
Argentina national football team
The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...

, performing impressively in the Copa América 2004
Copa América 2004
The Copa América 2004 was the 41st edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body, and was held in Peru, who hosted the tournament for the sixth time,...

 and the 2005 Confederations Cup
2005 FIFA Confederations Cup
-Group B:---------------------Knockout stage:-Semi-finals:-----Third place playoff:-Final:-Awards:-Goal scorers:5 goals Adriano4 goals Luciano Figueroa John Aloisi Michael Ballack...

 - where only the Brazilian Adriano
Adriano Leite Ribeiro
Adriano Leite Ribeiro , commonly known as simply Adriano, is a Brazilian footballer who played striker who currently plays for Corinthians...

 outscored him - and was part of the gold medal-winning Argentina team at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Football at the 2004 Summer Olympics
The football tournament at the 2004 Summer Olympics started on 11 August, , and ended on 28 August.The men's tournament is played by U-23 national teams, with up to three over age players allowed per squad...

. At international level, he boasts a strike-rate of 60%, with 9 goals from 15 appearances. The cruciate injury deprived him of the chance to represent his country at the 2006 World Cup.

Club

  • Boca Juniors
    Boca Juniors
    Club Atlético Boca Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently plays in the Primera División....

    • Primera División: 2008 Apertura

International

  • Argentina U-23
    Argentina Olympic football team
    Argentina Olympic football team represents Argentina in international football competitions in Olympic Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage players...

    • Olympic Games
      Summer Olympic Games
      The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Olympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that...

      : 2004
      Football at the 2004 Summer Olympics
      The football tournament at the 2004 Summer Olympics started on 11 August, , and ended on 28 August.The men's tournament is played by U-23 national teams, with up to three over age players allowed per squad...

       Gold Medal
      Gold Medal
      Gold Medal is the sixth studio album by the American hard rock band The Donnas, released in 2004 on Atlantic Records. It was one of the first albums released in the DualDisc format, but was recalled due to a mastering error which resulted in the final track being partially omitted from the CD...



Individual

  • Rosario Central
    Rosario Central
    Club Atlético Rosario Central is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina. Its football team currently plays in the Primera B Nacional, the second tier of the Argentine football league system, after being relegated in the 2009-10 season....

    • Primera División Top Scorer
      Primera División Argentina topscorers
      This is a list of Argentine Primera División top scorers, that enumerates all players that have finished a season as top goalscorers in the top level of the Argentine football league system. These statistics only include seasons from the professional era of Argentine football...

      : 2003 Clausura

External links

Argentine Primera statistics
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