 Mendieta in a charity match in 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gaizka Mendieta Zabala | |||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 27 March 1974[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Bilbao, Spain[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
| 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
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| *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.[2][3] 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.
- ^ a b c "Gaizka MENDIETA". El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Worst players to win the Champions League". ESPN. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2018.