A striker from Santa Fe, Argentina, Luciano Gabriel ‘Lucho’ Figueroa Herrera began playing professional football with Rosario Central, an Argentine club. Forming a formidable partnership with Cesar Delgado, Figueroa went on to score 17 goals, in the 2003 Clausura, bagging himself the top spot amongst goal scorers. After this successful season, Delgado & Figueroa moved abroad and Figueroa joined Birmingham City, an English Premier League club, for 2.5 million Pounds.
His move to England was marked with controversy when Osasuna, a Spanish club, claimed to have a contract with Figueroa, making his move to Birmingham City invalid. But this claim was annulled by FIFA in October, 2003 and Figueroa began playing for the English club. With Birmingham though he mostly remained with the reserve team, and performed quite well there. Team manager, Steve Bruce, doubted his performance in the Premiership, mainly due to his physique, and after just one League appearance, his contract with the club was annulled.
| Position | Forward |
| Height / weight | 1.83 m / |
| Born | 19 May 1981 |
| Nationality |
Argentina
|
| Nickname | Lucho |
| Team History | |
| Johor Darul Ta'zim F.C. | 2018 |
| Johor Darul Ta'zim F.C. | 2013 - 2015 |
Club Sport Emelec
|
2012 - 2013 |
|
Panathinaikos
|
2013 |
|
Club Atletico Rosario Central
|
2010 - 2012 |
Genoa
|
2006 - 2010 |
Club Atletico Boca Juniors
|
2008 - 2009 (loan) |
Villarreal
|
2004 - 2006 |
|
Club Atletico River Plate
|
2006 |
| Club Deportivo Cruz Azul | 2004 |
|
Club Atletico Rosario Central
|
2001 - 2003 |
Birmingham City
|
2003 |
Figueroa moved to Mexico, where he joined forces with former partner Delgado, joining Cruz Azul. In the 2004 Clausura, Figueroa scored 9 goals for the club, in the last seven games. Keeping up the upward climb, he further scored 10 goals in the 14 games he played for the 2004 Apertura. After this exceptional performance, Figueroa was soon transferred to Villarreal in the same year, for 1.2 million pounds.
The move to Villarreal was not the highlight of Figueroa’s career, and even though he scored many important goals for the club he was not able to make a significant impact with his performance. Finally in 2006, he returned to River Plate on loan. This move seemed like a good one for the footballer, with three goals in his first seven matches in the 2006 Clausura. But this start was followed by tragedy when he suffered ligament damage in March, which marked the end of his stint with River Plate.
The same year, Villarreal sold Figueroa to Genoa, a Serie B club, consisting of a contract for four years for a fee of $13 million. But due to the injury, he was able to play his first match for the team only in October, 2007, where he appeared as a second-half substitute. He scored for the team after another six weeks, helping them defeat Siena. Currently Figueroa is on loan to Boca Juniors.
