A reputation on the line

Their place in the last eight already assured, tonight's game against Germany in Rotterdam might look at first glance like a chance to take it easy for Humberto Coelho and his Portuguese squad. But with major championships like these enabling players to build their international reputations and so add substantially to their values and salaries it's hard to see anyone selected for the Group A leaders this evening willingly passing up the opportunity to impress.

For Luis Filipe Madeira Caeiro (Figo) in particular the stakes could scarcely be higher. With a new contract not long under his belt at the Nou Camp, the 27year-old's outstanding midfield performance against England last week has sparked widespread speculation about a possible move to Italy.

The figures involved are dazzling - a £50 million fee is being talked about as well as a hefty rise on the £250,000 after tax he earns each month at Barcelona. Every minute he is on the pitch at these championships will count when the negotiations begin in earnest, however, something the player himself is all too keenly aware of in the wake of a rather anonymous display over the weekend against Romania.

Before that game Figo made it clear that he was happy to stay at his current club despite the major disappointments of the past season and the resulting change in management. When the prospect of offers from Rome, Milan and Turin was mentioned, though, he certainly wasn't ruling out listening to what was on the table.

Leaving Barcelona, where he is the vice-captain and idolised by the locals would, of course, be tough but then Figo has always been a man with an eye for an opportunity off the pitch as well as on it.

Having started his footballing days with his local side Os Pastilhas in Lisbon he was quickly snapped up by the club he has always supported as a child - Sporting.

He made his first division debut at 18 and his name as a key figure in the Portuguese side that retained the under-20 World Cup in 1991 when, after a 0-0 draw with Brazil in the final Figo scored from the spot in a penalty shoot-out which his side won 4-2.

After 134 games and 15 goals at Sporting the then 23-year-old looked all set for a move to Parma but having signed a precontractual agreement with the club he then accepted an invitation from his friend Paolo Sousa to come along and see Juventus play in a UEFA Cup match. Back in the team hotel afterwards the painfully naive young player was charmed by club officials into signing for the Turin giants as well.

The mess took a bit of sorting out with the Italian league ruling in favour of Parma but then banning Figo from Serie A for two seasons. Parma promptly loaned him out to Barcelona but when the Catalans realised what they had acquired they quickly coughed up the £2 1/2 million required to buy him out of his contract. Five years later, if they do lose him, they stand to get 20 times that amount for him.

The extent of his impact in Spain can be gauged by a recent poll of coaches at the leading clubs in which they were asked to pick the best player from overseas. While Rivaldo, often talked about as the world's leading player, was the choice of two, his team-mate was selected by no fewer than 11.

"The thing about Figo," says former Real Madrid boss Jorge Valdano, "is that we are so used to him being exceptional that when he plays normally we think that he has been bad".

Neither is his standing amongst the men he plays with in any doubt. Patrick Kluivert said before these championships started: "Strikers love Luis because he gives us attacking solutions. He reads the game wonderfully and takes the pressure off us by creating so many goals."

He scores a few too. Fifteen in 63 senior appearances for his country to date, nine in 32 for Barcelona during the season just finished. All in all it's the sort of package that doesn't come onto the market all that often which explains why the Italians, once bitten as they might have been, are anything but shy about their interest in him now.

A strong showing against the Germans this evening would help, of course, in any possible talks and a stronger one than Saturday's is important if he is to be remembered from this tournament as one of the truly outstanding talents but in that his manager will also have a key part to play.

Against Romania Coelho asked his most influential player to switch flanks for prolonged periods, as he had first done in a pre-tournament friendly against Italy. Despite Figo's ability to play with either foot, the ploy didn't work in either game and it seems unlikely that the coach would repeat it.

Not when the player's performances over the next week or so could have such a strong bearing on Portugal's fortunes at these championships and Figo's over the remainder of his career.