Gaizka Mendieta Zabala (born 27 March 1974 in Bilbao) is a Spanish football player of Basque origin. He is a midfielder who currently plays for English club Middlesbrough in the FA Premier League. He has played 40 games and scored 8 goals for the Spanish national football team, and represented Spain at the international 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. is the 86th day of the year (87th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... La Muy Noble y Muy Leal e Invicta (The most noble and most loyal and undefeated) Location Location of Bilbao in Spain and Biscay Coordinates : , Time zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer : CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Bilbao (Basque) Spanish name Bilbao Nickname El Botxo (the hole) Founded 15... Soccer redirects here. ... Basque may refer to: Look up Basque in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Midfield in relation to the football positions In association football, a midfielder is a player whose position of play is midway between the attacking strikers and the defenders (highlighted in blue on the diagram). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Middlesbrough Football Club (commonly known as Boro) are an English football club based in Middlesbrough. ... For the Scottish equivalent see Scottish Premier League The FA Premier League (often referred to as the Barclays Premiership in England and the Barclays English Premier League or just simply The EPL internationally) is a league competition for football clubs located at the top of the English football league system... First international  Spain 1 - 0 Denmark  (Brussels, Belgium; 28 August 1920) Biggest win  Spain 13 - 0 Bulgaria  (Madrid, Spain; 21 May 1933) Biggest defeat  Italy 7 - 1 Spain  (Amsterdam, Netherlands; 4 June 1928)  England 7 - 1 Spain  (London, England; 9 December 1931) World Cup Appearances 12 (First in 1934) Best... Final results for the Football competition at the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Birmingham, Alabama; Washington, D.C; Orlando, Florida; Miami, Florida; and Athens, Georgia. ... The 2000 UEFA European Championship, or Euro 2000, was the 11th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a competition between the national football teams of Europe held every four years and organised by UEFA, footballs governing body in Europe. ... 2002 World Cup redirects here. ...

Biography

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.^[1] 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. Club Deportivo Castellón is a Spanish football team formed in 1922 and based in Castellón. ... Valencia Club de Fútbol (also known as Valencia or Los Che) are a Spanish professional football club based in Valencia. ... (Professional Football League), commonly known as the Primera División, is the professional football league in Spain. ... The Reserve team is what many european football clubs have as a backup behind their regular first team, its main purpose is to give young talented players a chance to prove themselves without risking them in more high profile matches with the main squad. ... The first team is the colloquial name given to the most senior team fielded by a football club. ... is the 164th day of the year (165th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... La Liga 1995/1996 season started September 9, 1995 and finished May 26, 1996. ... First International U-23: Yugoslavia 3-0 Spain Novi Sad, June 18, 1969 U-21:Yugoslavia 4-1 Spain Zagreb, October 9, 1976 Biggest win Spain 14-0 San Marino El Ejido, February 8, 2005 Biggest defeat Netherlands 5-0 Spain Utrecht, February 16, 1983 Records for competitive matches only. ... The UEFA U-21 Championship 1996, which spanned two years (1994-96), had 44 entrants. ...

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. La Liga 1997/1998 season started August 30, 1997 and finished May 16, 1998. ... Claudio Ranieri (born October 20, 1951 in Rome) is a former Italian football player and manager, current manager of Juventus. ... is the 86th day of the year (87th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events of 2008: (EMILY) Me Lesley and MIley are going to China! This article is about the year. ... Club Atlético de Madrid is a Spanish football club based in Madrid. ... Copa del Rey won by FC Barcelona in 1978. ...

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 a part of the Spanish squad at the 2000 European Championship, helping Spain reach the quarter-finals of the tournament. Héctor Raúl Cúper (born November 16 1955 in Chabas, Santa Fe Province, Argentina) is a former football defender and current coach. ... Futbol Club Barcelona, known familiarly as Barça (pronounced ), is a sports club based in Barcelona, Spain. ... Look up Aggregate in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Supercopa de España is a Spanish football championship contested by the winners of the La Liga and the Copa del Rey. ... The 1999-2000 season of the UEFA Champions League was won by Real Madrid, who had clinched an historic 8th title win, against fellow La Liga side, Valencia. ... Real Madrid Club de Fútbol is a Spanish sports club most widely known for its professional football team based in Madrid. ... The UEFA Club Football Awards are awards given by UEFA to the most outstanding performers of the European club football season. ...

Valencia reached the UEFA Champions League final again the following year, this time losing to Bayern Munich on penalty shoot-out. Mendieta was once more named "European Midfielder of the Season". He 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. FC Bayern Munich (German: FC Bayern München) is a German football club based in Munich, the capital of the state of Bavaria. ... Kicks from the penalty mark (commonly referred to as a penalty shootout) are sometimes used to decide the winner of a tied match of association football (soccer). ... Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to SS Lazio or simply Lazio, is an Italian professional sports club most noted for its football section, founded in 1900 and based in Rome. ... This article is about the Italian football league. ... 2002 World Cup redirects here. ... Futbol Club Barcelona, known familiarly as Barça (pronounced ), is a sports club based in Barcelona, Spain. ... The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup, is an English football competition. ...

In the last two years, a string of injuries and long duration of regaining match fitness relegated Mendieta to the substitutes bench. He is out of favour with current Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate and some of the Middlesbrough fans causing a divide within supporters. 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 will 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. This has sparked concern over his treatment at Middlesbrough as he rarely features in the reserve team but continues to train with the senior squad. Gareth Southgate (born 3 September 1970 in Watford, Herts) is a former English footballer, currently manager of Middlesbrough in the English Premiership. ... Real Sociedad is a Spanish football club from the Basque city of San Sebastián/Donostia in Guipúzcoa/Gipuzkoa. ... Athletic Club is a Spanish football club from Bilbao in Biscay, Basque Country, Spain. ... Málaga Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club who were founded in 1994, two years after the demise of the citys traditional major club, Club Deportivo Málaga. ... Transfer window is the term given to the period in football when a football club can transfer players either in or out of their playing staff. ... Year Founded 1995 League Major League Soccer Stadium Home Depot Center Coach Steve Sampson, 2004- All-Time Leaders* Games Cobi Jones, 223 Goals Cobi Jones, 59 Assists Mauricio Cienfuegos, 80 Points Cobi Jones, 194 Shutouts Kevin Hartman, 47 First Game Los Angeles Galaxy 2 - 1 MetroStars (Rose Bowl; April 13...

On 6 Dec 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.^[2] However according to the Official Middlesbrough Football Club Website, Mendieta has denied this alledged announcement, expressing his desire to play after his contract expires. December 6 is the 340th day (341st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... The 2007–08 Premier League season (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) is the sixteenth since its establishment. ...

References

External links

• Gaizka Mendieta Polish Website
• Gaizka Mendieta career stats at Soccerbase

v • d • e Spain squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup
1 Casillas • 2 Torres • 3 Juanfran • 4 Helguera • 5 Puyol • 6 Hierro • 7 Raúl • 8 Baraja • 9 Morientes • 10 Tristán • 11 de Pedro • 12 Luque • 13 Ricardo • 14 Albelda • 15 Romero • 16 Mendieta • 17 Valerón • 18 Sergio • 19 Xavi • 20 Nadal • 21 Luis Enrique • 22 Joaquín • 23 Contreras • Coach: Camacho