Paulo Futre
Paulo Jorge dos Santos Futre (Montijo, Portugal, February 28, 1966), better known as Paulo Futre, is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a winger. He played for Atlético de Madrid, a team where he is a historic player.
Career
He began playing in the Portuguese First Division with Sporting Clube de Portugal, although he recognizes that his idol was Fernando Chalana from Benfica. In 1984 he signed for another Portuguese team, F. C. Porto. With this team he played three seasons and won several titles: two Leagues, two Portuguese Super Cups and a European Cup. He was also named the league's best player on two occasions, and for this reason he was nicknamed the Pearl of Montijo.
In 1987 he arrived at Atlético de Madrid as an electoral promise of the then elected president Jesús Gil y Gil. That season Futre won the Silver Ball trophy which accredited him as the second best player in Europe (after his performance in the European Cup), only behind Ruud Gullit. His debut in the Spanish First Division was on August 30, 1987 in the match Atlético de Madrid 1:0 Sabadell CF. He remained at Atlético for six seasons, winning two Copas del Rey (one of them against the eternal rival, Real Madrid in his stadium, in which he scored his team's second goal) and achieving a runner-up finish in the League.
In 1993 he returned to Portugal to play for S. L. Benfica, where he won the Portuguese Cup. At the end of the season he went to play in Ligue 1, specifically for Olympique de Marseille.
In the following season he played in the Italian Serie A with A. C. Reggiana. In 1995 he signed for A. C. Milan, a team in which he remained for one season and won a Scudetto.
In the 96-97 season he went to the Premier League to play for West Ham.
In the 97-98 season he returned to Atlético de Madrid to play his last season in Spain. In that season he played 10 league games. He played a total of 173 matches in the First Division, scoring 38 goals.
Before retiring as a footballer, he played one season for the Yokohama Flugels in Japan.
After his retirement, he returned to Atlético de Madrid to be the team's sports director. He managed to get the team out of the hell of the second division. He was in office until 2003.
In 2011 he joined Días Ferreira's candidacy for the presidency of Sporting C.P. in the role of sporting director, and reached an agreement with Dutch coach Frank Rijkaard to take control of the team. But the results did not meet expectations (16.54%) against the most voted (Godinho Lopes and Bruno de Carvalho with 36.55% and 36.15% respectively).
National team
He was international with the Portugal national football team 41 times and scored a total of six goals for his team.
He participated in the 1986 Soccer World Cup in Mexico, playing three matches against England, Poland and Morocco, only starting in the latter.
Clubs
| Club | Country | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Sporting C. P. | Portugal | 1983-1984 |
| F. C. Porto | Portugal | 1984-1987 |
| Atletico de Madrid | Spain | 1987-1993 |
| S. L. Benfica | Portugal | 1993 |
| Olympique de Marseille | France | 1993-1994 |
| A. C. Reggiana | Italy | 1994-1995 |
| A. C. Milan | Italy | 1995-1996 |
| West Ham United F. C. | England | 1996-1997 |
| Atletico de Madrid | Spain | 1997-1998 |
| Yokohama Flügels | Japan | 1998-1999 |
Palmarés
National titles
| Title | Club | Country | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supercopa de Portugal | F. C. Porto |  Portugal
| 1984 |
| Primeira Divisão | 1985 | ||
| Primeira Divisão | 1986 | ||
| Supercopa de Portugal | 1986 | ||
| Copa del Rey | Atletico de Madrid |  Spain
| 1991 |
| Copa del Rey | 1992 | ||
| Portugal Cup | S. L. Benfica | Portugal
| 1993 |
| Series A | A. C. Milan |  Italy
| 1996 |
International titles
| Title | Club | Country | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| European Cup | F. C. Porto | Portugal
| 1987 |
Individual distinctions
| Distinction | Year |
|---|---|
| Best SuperLiga player (×2) | 1985-1986,
1986-1987 |
| Silver Ball (2nd Best in Europe) | 1987 |