Antonio Valencia

Ecuadorian Valencia made his debut in 2005 and scored two goals. Luis Antonio Valencia Mosquera, the Ecuadorian footballer who currently plays for Manchester United winger and the Ecuador national team he has. Wigan then signed a three-year contract with Valencia for an undisclosed fee in January 2008. Valencia since winning the 2009-10 Football League Cup, FA Community Shield in 2010, and the 2010-11 English Premier League during his time at Manchester United, along with elected into the PFA Team of the Year in his debut season.

Personal Information
Full name : Luis Antonio Valencia Mosquera
Date of birth : 4 August 1985 (age 26)
Place of birth : Lago Agrio, Ecuador
Height : 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Playing position : Right winger
Right back

Club Information
Current club : Manchester United
Number : 25

 

Early Life

Valencia helped his mother sell drinks outside the stadium of his local club at Lago Agrio and would then search for empty bottles for his father to sell to a bottle-deposit in the capital, Quito.  When Valencia was aged 11, scout Pedro "Papi" Perlaza spotted him playing on a dusty field near his home, and signed him to the local FA-run sports academy in Sucumbíos.

Club career

Early career

Valencia started his career at El Nacional and within a year, he was fast-tracked into the Under 20s, where he played alongside striker Christian "Chucho" 'Benítez and scored 20 goals in 84 matches. Valencia made his debut for El Nacional alonsgside his idol Edison Mendez. Valencia moved to Spanish club Villarreal in 2005. Recreativo helped Valencia gain promotion to La Liga as They finished the season top of the table.

Wigan Athletic

On 3 August 2006, Valencia joined English Premier League club Wigan Athletic, initially on a year long loan deal. Valencia ended his first season with one goal, one assist and one red card in his 22 appearances.

Valencia scored his first goal of the 2007-08 season in a 2-0 win over Derby County on 23 February, before netting a brace in his first Wigan a 2-0 away victory over Aston Villa on 3 May. Valencia ended the season with three goals and three assists in 32 appearances in all competitions.

Valencia's first goal of the season came Following in Wigan's 5-0 away victory over Hull City on 30 August. Valencia scored his final goal for Wigan on 13 December, as he inspired them to a 3-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers. Wigan boss Steve Bruce confirmed That Valencia turned down the chance to join Real Madrid in January 2009. Valencia scored 7 goals in 89 appearances during his time at Wigan.

Manchester United

On 30 June 2009, Valencia Became Manchester United's first summer signing, having cut his holiday short to have a medical with the club. On 29 July, he made his debut for United and scored his first goal in the process, netting United's second in a 2-1 pre-season victory over Boca Juniors in the Audi Cup. 

On 17 October, he scored his first competitive goal for the club, scoring United's second in a 2-1 league victory against Bolton Wanderers. His first UEFA Champions League four days later Followed goal in a 1-0 away victory against CSKA Moscow. Valencia Provided the assist for Wayne Rooney's winning goal in the 2010 League Cup Final against Aston Villa on 28 February 2010, Valencia was named Man of the Match as United won 2-1. On 25 April, Valencia was included in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year in his debut season for the club alongside team-mates Patrice Evra, Darren Fletcher and Wayne Rooney. On 8 August, Valencia scored United's first goal in their 3-1 win over Chelsea in the 2010 Community Shield.

During a Champions League game against Rangers on 14 September, Valencia suffered a break to his left ankle. On 28 February 2011, Valencia returned to training with Manchester United's first-team. Valencia made his first start of the season away at Benfica in the first group stage match of the UEFA Champions League. 

Valencia scored his second goal of the season, the opening goal in Manchester United's Champions League fixture against Otelul Galati, the game finished 2-0. On 26 December 2011 Valencia scored the fourth goal for Manchester United in a 5-0 home win against Wigan Athletic.

International Career

Ecuador team
On 27 March 2005, Valencia's gained his first international cap for Ecuador and netted his first two international goals in the process, coming in a 5-2 World Cup qualifying win against Paraguay. Valencia played in all of Ecuador's 2006 FIFA World Cup matches, and was chosen as a nominee for FIFA's ideal 11 team, the which recognises the top stars for every position in the World Cup. 

On 27 June 2007, Valencia netted Ecuador's first goal of Their Copa América 2007 campaign, however They eventually lost the match 3-2 to Chile and finished the tournament bottom of Their group. On 9 September 2009, Valencia scored his first World Cup qualifying goal, netting in a 3-1 away victory over Bolivia. 

Personal Life

Valencia and his wife, Zoila, have a daughter named Domenica, who was born during the 2006 World Cup finals. Along with former teammates Wigan Maynor Figueroa and Wilson Palacios, Valencia began taking English lessons (although Valencia still requires an interpreter). Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson described Valencia as a quiet and shy boy. His older brother, Eder, is also a professional footballer playing for Independiente Jose Teran in Ecuador.

Honours

 

Club

El Nacional
     Serie A (1) : 2005 Clausura

Recreativo de Huelva
     Segunda División (1) : 2005-06

Manchester United
     Premier League (1) : 2010-11
     Football League Cup (1) : 2009-10
     FA Community Shield (2) : 2010, 2011

Individual
     Alan Hardaker Trophy (1) : 2010
     PFA Premier League Team of the Year (1) : 2009-10

Posted in: Ecuador,El Nacional,Lago Agrio,Manchester United,Recreativo de Huelva