PAULO FUTRE
| Position: Winger Clubs: Sporting Lisbon, Porto, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Marseille, Reggiana, AC Milan, West Ham, Yokohama Flugels | Injury: Knee Age at first injury: 21 Age at decline: 26 Age at retirement: 32 |
Games per season after decline: 10
Few players have been able to bring a crowd to their feet like Portuguese wing-wizard Paulo Futre. An international at 17, the left-footed wideman was near-unstoppable in full flight down the flank - as he showcased to stunning effect in Porto's 1987 European Cup final win over Bayern Munich. It was this blistering style of play that ignited the interest of Atletico Madrid, whom Futre joined after that success. It was to be a move with damaging consequences.
The relentless physicality of the Spanish game left Futre a shadow of his former self by the time he left La Liga in 1993, with knee trouble having taken away his famous turn of pace. Typically always on the bike, Futre traveled back to Portugal before a succession of ill-fated moves to Italy, England, Spain again, and then Japan concluded a career that should have offered so much more.
