A young Figo was brought to Barcelona from Sporting Lisbon by Johan Cruyff to follow in the footsteps of the seemingly irreplaceable Michael Laudrup.

Now the Barcelona captain, he has managed to fill Laudrup´s boots and more for the Catalan club, winning two League titles, two Spanish Cups, one Spanish Super Cup, and, in Europe, winners medals in the Cup Winners´ Cup and the European Super Cup.

On a national level Figo has won the Under-20 World Championships with Portugal after already winning the European Championships at Under-16.

Figo had an injury scare before the tournament which probably caused Barcelona's defeat in the Champions League, but fans of all countries will hope he is fully fit at Euro 2000 as he is sure to be one of the stars of the tournament.

If he has one fault, it is a tendency try to 'help' referees' decision making by emphasising any challenges that are made on him.