Luciano Daniel (Gabriel) "Lucho" Figueroa (born May 19, 1981 in Santa Fé, Argentina) is an Argentine football striker, who currently plays for Genoa C.F.C. of Serie B.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Luciano Gabriel Figueroa | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Genoa C.F.C. | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of ? | |||
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Football | ||
 |
2004 Athens | Team |
Figueroa began his professional career with Rosario Central of Argentina, where he formed a partnership with César Delgado. Both he and Delgado left after the 2003 Clausura, however, with Figueroa being bought by Birmingham F.C. of England for 2.5 million pounds. He only made one appearance for Birmingham, however, before he was loaned to Cruz Azul of Mexico, acquired on the recommendation of former teammate Delgado.
Figueroa immediately found his old form with Cruz Azul, scoring 11 goals in 19 games in the 2004 Clausura. He maintained his form in the 2004 Apertura, scoring 10 goals in 15 games for the club. His exceptional performances for Cruz Azul led to a transfer to Spain, as Villarreal bought his contract for 2.1 million pounds. In January 2006 he loaned to River Plate until 2007. [1]
Figueroa has made appearances for the Argentina national football team, greatly impressing with his performance in the Copa América 2004, and was part of the gold medal Argentinian team at the 2004 Summer Olympics. At international level, 'Lucho' has 15 caps and 9 goals boasting a strike-rate of 60%. Unfortunately, he damaged his cruciate ligaments in one of his first games at River, losing all chances to go to the World Cup.
On 1 August, 2006, Luciano joined Genoa C.F.C. for an undisclosed fee signing a 4 year contract with the club.