Gaizka Mendieta

Football player infobox
playername = Gaizka Mendieta


fullname = Gaizka Mendieta Zabala
height = height|meters=1.76
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1974|3|27|df=y
cityofbirth = Bilbao
countryofbirth = Basque Country, Spain
currentclub = Free Agent
clubnumber =
position = Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1991–1992
1992–2001
2001–2004
2002–2003
2003–2004
2004–2008
clubs = Castellón
Valencia
Lazio
→ FC Barcelona "(loan)"
→ Middlesbrough (loan)
Middlesbrough
caps(goals) = 016 0(0)
231 (45)
020 0(0)
033 0(4)
031 0(2)
031 0(2)
nationalyears = 1999–2002
nationalteam = Spain
nationalcaps(goals) = 040 0(8)
pcupdate = 10:02, 2 January 2007 (UTC)
ntupdate = 26 September 2007

Gaizka Mendieta Zabala (born 27 March, 1974 in Bilbao) is a Spanish football player of Basque origin. He is a midfielder who used to play for Spanish giants Valencia. He has played 40 games and scored 8 goals for the Spanish national football team, and represented Spain at the 1996 Summer Olympics, 2000 European Championship, and 2002 World Cup tournaments. He is versatile and hard tackling midfielder also capable of creating goals as well scoring a fair amount himself.

Biography

Early career

Mendieta started his club career with CD Castellón in 1991 and moved to Valencia CF in the top-flight La Liga championship a year later. He started his Valencia career in the reserve team, before making his first team debut on June 13 1993. [ [http://www.mfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Squad/ProfilesDetail/0,,1~23675,00.html Middlesbrough profile] ] Mendieta played 34 of 42 games during the 1995-96 La Liga season, as Valencia finished runners-up, its best result since 1990. In the summer 1996, he was a part of the Spanish under-21 national team which ended runners-up at the 1996 European Under-21 Championship.

Breakthrough

The 1997-98 La Liga season was Mendieta's breakthrough season, under new Valencia coach Claudio Ranieri. Mendieta played 30 of 38 games, scoring 10 goals, and he made his debut for the Spanish national team against Austria on March 27, 1999. In June 1999, Mendieta won his first trophy with Valencia, beating Atlético de Madrid in the Copa del Rey tournament.

Under new manager Hector Cuper, Mendieta had an even better 1999-2000 season. He helped Valencia beat FC Barcelona 4-3 on aggregate to win the 1999 Supercopa de España, and by scoring 13 goals in 33 league games, Mendieta helped Valencia finish in third place. However, the biggest triumph of the season was helping Valencia reach the final of the international 1999-2000 UEFA Champions League tournament. Valencia lost the final 0-3 to Real Madrid, but Mendieta was later awarded "European Midfielder of the Season". Mendieta was selected to be part of the Spanish squad at Euro 2000, where he helped Spain reach the quarter-finals.

Valencia reached the UEFA Champions League final again the following year, this time losing to Bayern Munich following a penalty shoot-out. Mendieta was again named "European Midfielder of the Season".

Career end

Mendieta was one of the most sought-after players, which led to a €48 million transfer to Italian club S.S. Lazio in 2001. Mendieta disappointed in Serie A, spending only a year with the Rome club. Despite his slump in form, he represented Spain at the 2002 World Cup. He was loaned out to FC Barcelona for the 2002-03 season, and then to Middlesbrough for the 2003-04 season. In his season at Middlesbrough FC, Mendieta was part of the team which won the 2004 Carling Cup, bringing Middlesbrough their first ever silverware. At the end of the season, the stay at Middlesbrough was made permanent.

In his last two years at Middlesbrough, a string of injuries and long duration of regaining match fitness relegated Mendieta to the substitutes bench. He fell out of favour with current Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate who made it clear that Mendieta no longer featured in his first team plans. Reports suggested that Real Sociedad, Athletic Bilbao and Malaga CF were interesting in purchasing the midfielder in the January 2007 transfer window, however no concrete agreement was ever made. The 2007 summer transfer window passed amid speculation that Mendieta was set for a move to LA Galaxy; however towards the end of the transfer window, Mendieta was quoted to have said that he would fight for his place at Middlesbrough. A day later, Middlesbrough F.C. Chief Executive, Keith Lamb disregarded Mendieta's comments saying that there was "no chance" of Mendieta entering the first team. He played his last game on December 26 2006 against Everton F.C..

On December 6 2007, according to a Spanish newspaper, Mendieta announced his retirement from professional football when his Middlesbrough contract expires at the end of the 2007-08 season. [ [http://www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/display.var.1884726.0.mendieta_decides_to_retire.php Mendieta decides to retire] ] Mendieta rejected this speculation in comments made to the Official Middlesbrough FC Website. In local reports he has stated that he and his family are happy living in the area and wants to play for another north-eastern team. Mendieta was released by Middlesbrough on May 13 2008 and is currently unattached, although he has been linked several times to Championship new boys Nottingham Forest.

References

External links

* [http://www.mendieta.waw.pl Gaizka Mendieta Polish Website]
*soccerbase|id=15926|name=Gaizka Mendieta