A Mendieta story!!! (fókuszban a Planetfootball.com-on)
A phenomenal response to our returning Opta Jury saw Arsenal's Jens Lehmann voted a hit - but can Gaizka Mendieta win over the 12 angry men?
When Lazio paid Valencia just under Ł29 million for the services of Gaizka Mendieta in the summer of 2001, they beat off a host of top clubs who were after the Basque-born midfielder's signature.
Having narrowly missing out on the winning the Champions League after losing to Bayern Munich on penalties, Mendieta arrived in Rome looking for similar success.
The season that followed was a nightmare. Lazio finished bottom of their Champions League group and were eliminated. Domestically they finished sixth in the league, missing out on the lucrative Champions League qualification for the following season and Mendieta completed 90 minutes on just six occasions in the league.
With Lazio in financial turmoil Mendieta was allowed to return to his native Spain and joined Barcelona on a year-long loan. Once again the Mendieta found himself at a club performing well below it's capabilities.
Despite reaching the Champions League quarter finals, and being beaten in extra time by Juventus, Barcelona were always struggling in the league and only an end of season rally saw Barcelona finish sixth. Mendieta was Barcelona's top crosser and committed the most number of fouls as he appeared 33 times in the league.
With the failure to qualify for the Champions League for the second year running Mendieta returned to Lazio.
As the new season started Mendieta's immediate future was subject to much speculation. Having seen his side lose the first two games, Middlesbrough's Steve McClaren signed the 29-year old on a season long loan.
Since arriving on Teeside, Mendieta has made eight appearances to date. For the first time since leaving Valencia, Mendieta has been playing 90 minutes on a regular basis. So far this season he is the leading Middlesbrough player in shots, fouls won, crosses and dribbles and runs.
McClaren has struggled to accommodate both Mendieta and fan's favourite Juninho into his team but if he can help the recapture Spanish international's form for Valencia then it could be the bargain of the season for Middlesbrough and spell trouble for England in Euro 2004 should Spain qualify and call upon the undoubted talents of Middlesbrough's number 14.
Hát látva az összefoglalót szerintem a hét gólja volt! Nem szabadrúgásból lőtte, hanem legurították neki gyorsan amig a másik csapat reklamált, ő még tolt egyet rajta ezzel kicselezett egy védőt és egy iszonyatos löketet küldött a jobbfelsőbe 25-ről!
grat
Ha a következő fordulóban idegenben a Boro verné az Aston Villát már ott lennének a táblázat közepén
MENDIETA HAPPY WITH BORO CHOICE
Saturday 1st November 2003
Gaizka Mendieta insists he has no regrets in joining Middlesbrough despite the club languishing near the relegation zone.
The Spain international arrived at The Riverside Stadium on an initial one-year loan from Lazio, which will become a permanent arrangement at the end of the season.
Mendieta has impressed in the midfield for Boro but has yet to appear on the winning side in The Premiership.
He did notch his first goal for the club in midweek by grabbing the winner in Boro's Carling Cup victory at Wigan Athletic.
The 29-year-old remains confident he made the right decision in moving to Teesside as it fulfilled his ambition of playing in The Premiership.
"I am happy that I chose to come to Boro because I always wanted to play in England and we have a great project going here," said Mendieta.
After poaching the decisive goal against First Division Wigan, Mendieta is now looking for Boro to translate their cup form in to the league.
He added: "From now on everything is going to change. It is important that the team plays well so the results will come.
"The confidence and spirit is there. We have got a couple of wins in the cup and now it has got to happen in the league."
Mendi meglőtte első gólját a Boróban! Egyelőre mégcsak kupameccsen
Wigan Athletic (0) 1 v Middlesbrough (1) 2 FT
Bullard 75; Maccarone 36 Mendieta 66
Boro's second also had a touch of fortune about it as Juninho charged down an attempted clearance and beat the advancing Walsh 35 yards from goal before running wide and crossing for Mendieta to whack home the decider.
10/24/2003. Middlesbrough chief executive Keith Lamb has explained that a deal to sign Gaizka Mendieta permanently is already agreed.
The Spanish midfielder joined Boro on a year-long loan deal from Lazio at the start of the season with an agreement of a new four-year contract to follow.
The former Valencia star has made an impressive start to his career at the Riverside and may hope to move on to a larger club if he succeeds to get his career back on track this season.
However, Lamp explained: "He's signed a one-year contract and is effectively on a one-year loan from Lazio, which at the end of the season automatically converts to a permanent four-year contract.
"It's a complicated arrangement I know, but it's one that Lazio wanted and not Mendieta or Middlesbrough.
"Lazio wanted it because of financial difficulties they have in Italy.
"We were happy to accommodate them, but everything is signed and sealed ready for filing with The Premier League and The FA at the end of the season."
Nem, nem mondott abszolut csődöt!
Az őszi szezonban katasztrófa volt, Van Gaal ide oda rakta és labda nélkül szaladgált a pályán!
A tavaszi szezon 5 fokkal jobbra sikerült neki! voltak jó meccsei, az utolsó 5 meccsen pedig majdnem mindig a meccs legjobbja volt!
Sajnos az ára irreálisan magas volt, tehát ezért kellett távoznia! Ha 5 milla alatt lett volna Laportáék éltek volna az opcióval, már a 4 millás bünti miatt is!
sajnos a csapata nagyon peches 4 meccs 1 pont!
de jók lesznek! mert ilyen focistákkal muszály jók lenniük: Mendieta,Zenden,Juninho,Doriva,Mills,Boateng
Looking for the true Mendieta
Monday, 25 August 2003
By Trevor Haylett
Two years ago, he was arguably the best midfield player in Europe, with a number of the continent's top clubs keen to sign him. Now he has gone out on loan to a Premiership side who have never quite been a major force in English football. The rapid diminishment of the reputation of Gaizka Mendieta has been both spectacular and surprising.
Search for form
Most people in the game will be wishing the Spanish midfield player well as he makes the move to the north-east of England to begin a season-long loan with Middlesbrough FC in an attempt to recapture the scintillating form that persuaded S.S. Lazio to pay €47m for his services two summers ago.
New phase
The high point in the 29-year-old's career so far came in 2001 when, for the second successive year, he was voted best midfield player in UEFA's annual awards. His switch to the Rome club seemed to have heralded a new phase in his career after nine years with Valencia CF, with whom he suffered the heartbreak of defeat in the UEFA Champions League final in two consecutive seasons, losing to Real Madrid CF in 2000 and FC Bayern München a year later.
Major disappointment
Although Spanish players do not have a record of success in Italy, it was thought that Mendieta's talent, his appetite for hard work and tactical appreciation would smooth over any potential bumps. Yet his season in Rome proved a major disappointment, as he made just 12 starts for Lazio, and 2002/03 proved little better. Mendieta returned to Spain, spending the season on loan at FC Barcelona, but despite playing more regularly, he seemed a shadow of his former self. So now to Middlesbrough, where the onus is on the former England assistant manager Steve McClaren to succeed where both major clubs failed, and rediscover the true Mendieta.
There is no doubt that, at his best, Mendieta is a top-quality player, but he has lost his way
Gerry Armstrong on Mendieta
'Finding the key'
uefa.com analyst Gerry Armstrong says it will be fascinating to see how he fares in the Premiership. "There is no doubt that, at his best, Mendieta is a top-quality player, but he has lost his way and there is a question mark over whether players in that situation can ever recapture their best form," he said. "He has the ability, now it is down to whether the coach can get the best out of him. So far, since his time at Valencia, nobody has been able to find the key."
'Lack of confidence'
Armstrong believes Mendieta's problems have mainly stemmed from a lack of confidence. "I know from my own experience that it can take you three or four months in a foreign country to get used to the different culture and to begin to feel comfortable about your situation," the former Northern Irish international striker said. "It could be that the style of football did not suit him in Italy. Serie A does tend to be more defensive and negative, whereas it is a much more open game in Spain."
'Infernal pace'
The view that his style of play was out of place in Serie A is one to which the player himself concurs. Talking last week about his Italian experience, he said: "You have no time on the ball, defence is the priority and the pace is infernal. [In England] I'm going to find the time to forget about the problems I have had in recent years and enjoy football again. I lost my confidence. Coming to this team and this league renews my batteries and my love for the game."
Draga eggyetlen gaizka Mendieta,te vagy nekunk eggyetlen nagy jatekos.Sirok,szakadnak konnyeink amikor rad gondolunk,mennyi balszerencse,balsors tortent veled,de te nekunk maradsz a draga eggyetlen Mendietank.
Gyere vissza Valenciaba regi sikereid helyere,es 50-ezer nezo fogja ertesd hullajtani a konny csepjeit,ha meglatnak,es eggyut fognak koszonteni!
Draga Mendieta!Valenciat ujra felrozsaztatod,es te is ujra pompaba,es nagyon hires leszel!Amilyen szereny vagy!
Mendietara gondol ejszakakent tobb ezer Valencia drukker,es kerdezgetik miert ment el draga eggyetlen Mendieta?ki oly sokat tett ezert a kis klubbert.de miert ment el?visszajon meg egyaltalan ?
Őszintén megmondom nem tudom miért választotta, az angol középcsapatot az Atletico és az Athletic ellenében, de biztos meg volt az oka és én tiszteletben tartom a döntését!
Mindenesetre ma délután Gaizka bemutatkozik új klubjában és én nagyon drukkolok neki!
Végülis nem rossz kis csapat, nekem mindig a szimpatikus angol csapatok közé tartozott!
Doriva,Juninho,Southgate,Boateng és Mendieta!
Ráadásul állítólag megegyeztek Zendennel és Munitis-al is
