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Gaizka Mendieta

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Spanish footballer (born 1974) In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Mendieta and the second or maternal family name is Zabala.

Gaizka Mendieta
Mendieta in a charity match in 2018
Personal information
Full name Gaizka Mendieta Zabala
Date of birth (1974-03-27) 27 March 1974 (age 50)
Place of birth Bilbao, Spain
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Castellón
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992 Castellón 16 (0)
1992–1994 Valencia B 34 (4)
1993–2001 Valencia 230 (44)
2001–2004 Lazio 20 (0)
2002–2003 → Barcelona (loan) 33 (4)
2003–2004 → Middlesbrough (loan) 31 (2)
2004–2008 Middlesbrough 31 (2)
Total 395 (56)
International career
1991 Spain U18 5 (0)
1993 Spain U20 3 (0)
1992–1996 Spain U21 13 (0)
1996 Spain U23 2 (0)
1999–2002 Spain 40 (8)
1998–2007 Basque Country 6 (1)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Spain
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Runner-up 1996 Spain
Bronze medal – third place 1994 France
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gaizka Mendieta Zabala (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈgajθka menˈdjeta θaˈβala], Basque: [gais̻ka mendieta s̻aβala]; born 27 March 1974) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

A versatile player, with good technique, offensive capabilities and tackling skills, who was capable of creating goals both for his teammates and himself, he played mainly for Valencia, where he won three titles as well as reaching the final of the Champions League in 2000 and 2001 (being voted European Midfielder of the Season in both years), and finished his career with Middlesbrough in England. Over the course of ten seasons, he amassed La Liga totals of 263 games and 48 goals.

Mendieta played 40 times for Spain, appearing for the country at Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup.

Club career

Valencia

Born in Bilbao, Basque Country, Mendieta made his professional debut at just 17 with CD Castellón in the Segunda División, featuring mostly as a full-back.

After just one season he moved to La Liga after signing with Valencia CF for 30 million pesetas, but spent the vast majority of his first year with the reserves, making his first-team debut on 13 June 1993 against Cádiz CF; he played 34 of 42 games during 1995–96 as the latter finished second, their best result since 1990.

Mendieta in 1995

The 1997–98 campaign was Mendieta's breakthrough season, under new manager Claudio Ranieri. Moving to a central midfield role he played 30 league matches and scored ten goals, soon making his debut for the national team. In June 1999 he won his first trophy with the club, beating Atlético Madrid in the Copa del Rey; he found the net in wins over Levante UD, FC Barcelona (both legs) and Real Madrid during the run to the final, where he scored a memorable goal: controlling a cross on his chest, he flicked the ball over his own head and two defenders before turning to volley past the goalkeeper.

Mendieta had an even better year in 1999–2000, with Héctor Cúper now as the coach. He helped Valencia to beat Barcelona 4–3 on aggregate to win the Supercopa de España, and netted a career-best 13 goals on the domestic front as the Che finished third. However, their biggest triumph of the season was to reach the final of the UEFA Champions League, a 3–0 loss to fellow Spaniards Real Madrid; later, he was awarded the "European Midfielder of the Season" award.

Valencia went to the final of the Champions League the following year and lost it again, this time to FC Bayern Munich after a penalty shootout. Mendieta scored an early penalty in normal time to give his team a 1–0 lead, and also converted his attempt in the shootout, being again named "UEFA Best Midfielder of the Year".

Moving abroad

Mendieta was one of the most sought-after players in the 2001 off-season, eventually earning a €47.7 million transfer (or a reported 8 billion pesetas) to Italian club SS Lazio, being at the time the sixth most expensive player of all time. However, he disappointed in Serie A, spending only one year in Rome while failing to match the performances of departed playmakers Pavel Nedvěd and Juan Sebastián Verón.

Mendieta was loaned to Barcelona for the 2002–03 season– he started most of the fixtures, but the Catalans could only finish sixth– and subsequently he moved to Middlesbrough, choosing the Premier League club over offers from his homeland (Atlético Madrid and Athletic Bilbao) due to a desire to play in England.

Middlesbrough

In his first season at Middlesbrough, Mendieta was part of the side that won the Football League Cup, bringing the Teesside club its first ever silverware. In July 2004, the move was made permanent with no transfer fee involved.

In his last two years, a string of injuries (including one which caused him to miss the 2006 UEFA Cup final) and long spells of regaining match fitness relegated Mendieta to the substitutes bench. He fell out of favour with manager Gareth Southgate, who made it clear that the player no longer featured in his plans. Reports suggested that Real Sociedad, Athletic Bilbao and Málaga CF were interested in purchasing the midfielder in the January 2007 transfer window, however no concrete agreement was ever made, and the transfer deadline passed amid speculation that the player was set for a move to Los Angeles Galaxy; towards its end, he was quoted to have said that he would fight for his place at Middlesbrough. A day later, Boro's chief executive Keith Lamb disregarded his comments saying that there was "no chance" of him featuring in the first team. He played his last game on 26 December 2006, against Everton.

On 5 December 2007, according to a Spanish newspaper, Mendieta announced his retirement from professional football when his Middlesbrough contract expired at the end of the 2007–08 campaign, He was finally released on 13 May 2008, ending a successful 17-year professional career.

Mendieta said in an interview with the BBC on 3 November 2009 that he might be interested in football management: "A part of me can see the excitement and challenge of being a manager, definitely". After retiring, he settled with his family near Middlesbrough, in Yarm.

International career

In March/May 1996, Mendieta was part of the Spain under-21 team which were runners-up in the UEFA European Championship. He made his senior debut on 27 March 1999, coming on as a substitute for Juan Carlos Valerón in a 9–0 rout of Austria for UEFA Euro 2000's qualifying stages; he was included in the list of 22 for the competition in Belgium and the Netherlands, helping the national side to reach the last eight.

Despite his form slump at Lazio, Mendieta was picked for the squad at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, scoring one goal in three matches for the eventual quarter-finalists, against South Africa (3–2 win). The last of his 40 caps was earned in a friendly with Bulgaria in Granada, four months after the World Cup.

Mendieta also featured and scored for the unofficial Basque Country regional team.

Media

Mendieta at a concert (FIB, 2015)

Mendieta was sponsored by sportswear company Nike, and appeared in commercials for the brand. In a global advertising campaign in the run-up to the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, he starred in a "Secret Tournament" commercial (branded "Scorpion KO") directed by Terry Gilliam, appearing alongside footballers such as Luís Figo, Thierry Henry, Hidetoshi Nakata, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Francesco Totti, with former player Eric Cantona the tournament "referee".

Mendieta also worked as a pundit on Sky Sports' UK television coverage of Spanish football.

Personal life

Mendieta's father Andrés was also a footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Originally from Lekeitio, Biscay, he spent his final years as a player at Castellón and later worked on the club's staff, raising his family in the region. Thus, Gaizka emerged through their youth system despite his Basque birthplace.

Fellow Bilbao-born Spain internationals Ander Herrera and Roberto Ríos had similar origins, learning their skills in the cities where their footballing fathers (Pedro and Eusebio respectively) were based professionally. However, both later signed for Athletic Bilbao, while Mendieta never featured for a Basque club; him and his father both represented Spain at the Olympic Games tournament, the latter in 1968 and the former in 1996.

Mendieta was a talented athlete as a youth and came close to pursuing middle-distance running as a career over football. He was a fan of music, and in particular had a passion for DJing; he also appeared on-stage at the Benicàssim festival in 2015 during a set by the band Los Planetas, whose song "Un buen día" referenced him in its lyrics.

Mendieta stated that Ruud Gullit was his footballing hero as an adolescent, due to the Dutchman's unconventional style.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Castellón 1991–92 Segunda División 16 0 0 0 — 0 0 16 0
Valencia 1992–93 La Liga 2 0 0 0 — 0 0 2 0
1993–94 La Liga 20 2 0 0 — 0 0 20 2
1994–95 La Liga 13 1 3 0 — — 16 1
1995–96 La Liga 34 0 8 0 — — 42 0
1996–97 La Liga 30 1 0 0 — 6 0 36 1
1997–98 La Liga 30 10 5 0 — — 35 10
1998–99 La Liga 37 7 7 5 — 10 0 54 12
1999–2000 La Liga 33 13 2 1 — 16 5 51 19
2000–01 La Liga 31 10 0 0 — 16 4 47 14
Total 230 44 25 6 0 0 48 9 303 59
Lazio 2001–02 Serie A 20 0 4 0 — 7 0 31 0
Barcelona (loan) 2002–03 La Liga 33 4 1 0 — 13 2 47 6
Middlesbrough (loan) 2003–04 Premier League 31 2 1 0 6 1 0 0 38 3
Middlesbrough 2004–05 Premier League 7 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 8 0
2005–06 Premier League 17 2 6 1 0 0 6 0 29 3
2006–07 Premier League 7 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 8 0
Total 31 2 6 1 1 0 7 0 45 3
Career total 361 52 37 7 7 1 75 11 480 71

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Spain 1999 9 1
2000 13 3
2001 8 3
2002 10 1
Total 40 8
Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mendieta goal.
List of international goals scored by Gaizka Mendieta
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 5 June 1999 El Madrigal, Villarreal, Spain  San Marino 9–0 9–0 UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
2 7 June 2000 Josy Barthel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg  Luxembourg 1–0 1–0 Friendly
3 21 June 2000 Jan Breydel, Bruges, Belgium  FR Yugoslavia 3–3 4–3 UEFA Euro 2000
4 25 June 2000 Jan Breydel, Bruges, Belgium  France 1–1 1–2 UEFA Euro 2000
5 24 March 2001 José Rico Pérez, Alicante, Spain  Liechtenstein 4–0 5–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
6 5–0
7 1 September 2001 Mestalla, Valencia, Spain  Austria 4–0 4–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
8 12 June 2002 Daegu World Cup, Daegu, South Korea  South Africa 2–1 3–2 2002 FIFA World Cup

Honours

Valencia

Middlesbrough

Spain U21

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Gaizka MENDIETA". El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  2. ^ Hernández, José (27 March 2013). "Gaizka Mendieta: 39 años de una leyenda" [Gaizka Mendieta: 39 years of a legend] (in Spanish). Deporte Valenciano. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  3. "Worst players to win the Champions League". ESPN. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  4. ^ Pérez Sierra, Alberto (22 March 2017). "¿Qué fue de Mendieta, el 'murciélago' indie del Valencia?" [What happened to Mendieta, the indie 'bat' of Valencia?]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  5. ^ Balagué, Guillem (24 August 2003). "Leaving the pain in Spain". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  6. ^ Ballester, Enrique (26 July 2016). "El futbolista con sueños de atleta" [The footballer with athlete dreams]. Levante-EMV (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  7. Hernández, José (12 December 2011). "Cádiz y los malos recuerdos del Valencia" [Cádiz and Valencia's bad memories] (in Spanish). Deporte Valenciano. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
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  12. ^ Starcevic, Nesha (25 August 2000). "Nightmare draw for Leeds as Istanbul beckons again". The Independent. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  13. ^ "Bayern crowned European champions". BBC Sport. 23 May 2001. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
  14. ^ "Liverpool lose out at UEFA awards". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 24 August 2001. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  15. Owen, Jonny (2001) . "Mendieta agrees to Lazio switch". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  16. "Definito l'acquisto di Mendieta" [Mendieta purchase complete] (Press release) (in Italian). S.S. Lazio. 20 July 2001. Archived from the original on 25 July 2001. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  17. "Mendieta agrees to Lazio move". BBC Sport. 19 July 2001. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
  18. "Barca seal Mendieta loan deal". BBC Sport. 20 July 2002. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
  19. González, David (6 March 2013). "El último Barcelona oscuro" [The last dark Barcelona] (in Spanish). Martí Perarnau. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
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  21. ^ "Boro lift Carling Cup". BBC Sport. 29 February 2004. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
  22. "Boro's Mendieta could be US bound". BBC Sport. 6 February 2007. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
  23. "Everton 0–0 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 26 December 2006. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
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  28. Ros, Cayetano (28 March 1999). "España vive una noche idílica" [Spain live idyllic night]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 June 2017.
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  32. Sánchez, Guillermo (20 November 2002). "Una pobre España sólo vence por la mínima a Bulgaria" [Poor Spain can only beat Bulgaria by the odd goal]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  33. "Euskadi 5–1 Nigeria" (in Spanish). Basque Football Federation. 29 November 1999. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  34. "A lighter shoe, cooler kits, a faster ball, a Secret Tournament – every touch counts". Nike. Archived from the original on 2 June 2002. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  35. Cozens, Claire (3 April 2002). "Cantona hosts World Cup with a difference". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  36. ^ Fennessy, Paul (4 August 2014). "Here's how Balague and Mendieta see the Premier League and La Liga going this year". The 42. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  37. "El Castellón nombró gerente a Mendieta" [Castellón named Mendieta as manager]. El Periódico Mediterráneo (in Spanish). 1 August 2010. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  38. Fraser, Peter (16 January 2014). "My career: Gaizka Mendieta". Sky Sports. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  39. Gaizka Mendieta at BDFutbol
  40. Pla Díaz, Emilio. "Gaizka Mendieta Zabala – International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  41. ^ "Gaizka Mendieta". European Football. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  42. "Los Héroes de La Cartuja: Gaizka Mendieta" [Heroes of La Cartuja: Gaizka Mendieta] (in Spanish). Valencia CF. 22 April 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  43. Pallàs, Joan Josep; Cubero, Cristina (1 June 1996). "Clemente: "Merecimos vencer sobradamente"" [Clemente: "We deserved to win by far"]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  44. Shtutin, Eugene; Aarhus, Lars. "Games of the XXVI. Olympiad". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  45. Garin, Erik. "Europe U-21 Championship 1994". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  46. Stokkermans, Karel. "ESM XI". RSSSF. Retrieved 25 January 2023.

External links

Spain squads
Spain men's football squad – 1996 Summer Olympics
Spain
Spain squad – UEFA Euro 2000
Spain
Spain squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup
Spain
UEFA Men's Club Football Awards
Best Goalkeeper
Best Defender
Best Midfielder
Best Forward
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