Antonio Valencia

Football player infobox
playername = Antonio Valencia


fullname = Luis Antonio Valencia Mosquera
nickname = Maravilla
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1985|8|4
cityofbirth = Lago Agrio
countryofbirth = Ecuador
height = height|m=1.80
currentclub = Wigan Athletic
clubnumber = 16
position = Right Winger
youthyears = 1999–2001
youthclubs = Caribe Junior
years = 2001–2005
2005–2008
2005–2006
2006–2008
2008–
clubs = CD El Nacional
Villarreal
→ Recreativo (loan)
→ Wigan Athletic (loan)
Wigan Athletic
caps(goals) = 084 0(20)
002 00(0)
014 00(1)
037 00(1)
023 00(5)
nationalyears = 2005–
nationalteam = Ecuador
nationalcaps(goals) = 029 00(4)
pcupdate = 23:21, 27 May 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = 16 March 2008

Luis Antonio Valencia Mosquera (born August 4 1985 in Lago Agrio,Ecuador) is an Ecuadorian football winger, who currently plays for English side Wigan Athletic, and the Ecuadorian national team.

Career

Club career

Valencia started his career at CD El Nacional, and moved to the Spanish league team Villarreal in 2005. However, he was loaned to Recreativo de Huelva for most of the 2005–06 season.

At the beginning of the next season, he joined English Premier League club Wigan Athletic, initially on a year long loan deal. He made his debut for Wigan on 19 August 2006, in a 2–1 loss to Newcastle United, and scored his first goal for them against Manchester City on 21 October 2006. The loan was extended into the following season, and on 18 January 2008 he transferred for an undisclosed fee, signing a three and a half year contract. [cite news
title = Wigan finalise swoop for Valencia | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wigan_athletic/7195636.stm
publisher = "BBC Sport" | date = 2008-01-18 | accessdate = 2008-01-18] [cite news | title = Wigan complete permanent capture of Valencia | url = http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=499396&cc=5901 | publisher = ESPNsoccernet | date = 2008-01-18 | accessdate = 2008-01-18]

International career

Valencia's first international cap was in a FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Paraguay on 27 March 2005, scoring twice in a 5–2 in for Ecuador. He played in Ecuador's 2006 FIFA World Cup finals matches, and was chosen as a nominee for FIFA's ideal 11 team, which recognises the top stars for every position in the World Cup. He was also shortlisted as one of the six potential candidates for the Gillette Best Young Player award. [cite news | title= Six Gillette Best Young Player nominees chosen | url= http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/germany2006/news/newsid=24742.html#six+gillette+best+young+player+nominees+chosen | date= 2006-07-04 | accessdate= 2008-03-21] An email campaign in England encouraged votes for Valencia, in an attempt to avoid Cristiano Ronaldo winning. [cite news | title=Supporters 'hijack' Ronaldo vote | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/5153870.stm | publisher="BBC Sport" | date=2006-07-06 | accessdate=2008-04-25] Lukas Podolski eventually won the award.

References

External links

*soccerbase|id=40454|name=Luis Antonio Valencia
*FIFA player|202544|Luis Valencia
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_football/4789953.stm Tim Vickery column on Valencia]

Persondata
NAME = Luis Antonio Valencia Mosquera
ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Antonio Valencia
SHORT DESCRIPTION = footballer
DATE OF BIRTH = 4 August 1985
PLACE OF BIRTH = Nueva Loja, Sucumbios, Ecuador
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF DEATH =