Víctor Valdés

Víctor Valdés i Arribas (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbiktor βalˈdes aˈriβas]; born 14 January 1982) is a Spanish football goalkeeper who currently plays for FC Barcelona in La Liga. He is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in Barcelona's history, having won a total of 19 trophies including five La Liga titles, three Champions League titles, and two Copa del Rey titles. He also has won the Zamora Trophy a record five times. He currently holds the club records as goalkeeper with most appearances in the league and in official competition, breaking Andoni Zubizarreta's records during the 2011–12 season. Before joining the full team in 2002–03 season, Valdés played for the youth teams and FC Barcelona B. Contents [hide] 1 Early career 2 Barcelona 3 International career 4 Career statistics 4.1 Club 4.2 International 5 Honours 5.1 Barcelona 5.2 Barcelona 5.3 Spain 5.4 Individual 5.5 Decorations 6 Personal life 7 See also 8 References 9 External links Early career[edit source | editbeta] Born in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia, to José Manuel Valdés and Águeda Arribas and has two brothers, elder Ricardo and younger Álvaro, Valdés started his career with FC Barcelona's youth team when he joined from Peña Cinco Copas on 1 July 1992. But in September, he moved with his family to Tenerife and had to leave the club, rejoining only three years later. After returning, he made quick progress through the youth teams. Barcelona[edit source | editbeta] The early part of the 2002–03 season saw him play deputy to Argentine international Roberto Bonano. The arrival of Radomir Antić as the new manager saw regular first team opportunities for him. In the 2003–04 season, he emerged as first-choice goalkeeper, and in the 2004–05 season, he played in almost all of Barcelona's matches helping Barcelona to their first league title in six years. He also won the Zamora Trophy for the best goalkeeper in Spain. "For me, Valdes is the best in the world. When Barca need calm, he transmits that. He also has great capacity and handling." José Luis Chilavert, February 2012[1] In the 2005–06 season, he helped Barça to the double. He played a big part in Barça's 2005–06 title and in the final against Arsenal, he denied Thierry Henry twice from point-blank range. His efforts saw him singled out for praise from Frank Rijkaard. The "Zamora" title, however, eluded him as Valdés came third after Santiago Cañizares and the winner, José Manuel Pinto. Valdés playing for Barcelona during a match against Mallorca, 2007. On 17 June 2007, the last round in La Liga, Valdés matched a goalkeeping record held by Barcelona legend Andoni Zubizarreta; a record of starting, and never being substituted, in all 38 matches of the La Liga season.[2] Valdés set the Barcelona club record for not conceding a goal in European competition with a clean sheet against Rangers on 7 November 2007, which saw him re-write the Barça record books after not conceding a goal for 466 minutes. Valdés was beaten twice by Olympique Lyonnais' captain Juninho through a 45-yard free kick and a late penalty at the Stade de Gerland, ending his streak.[3] In the 2006–07 and 2007–08 seasons, however, Barça failed to win a major trophy. On 1 April 2008, Valdés made his 250th appearance for Barcelona. On 27 May 2009, Barcelona beat Manchester United 2–0 in the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final to complete an unprecedented Treble of La Liga, Champions League, and Copa del Rey. In the match, Valdés made two crucial saves from attempts by Cristiano Ronaldo in both halves. In the first half, he saved a long-range free kick, and in the second half, he saved the other from Ronaldo, coming from a tight angle following a low cross from Dimitar Berbatov. On 16 May 2010, Valdés won his fourth title as Barcelona clinched a second successive Spanish league title with Pep Guardiola's side, ending the season with 99 points.[4] "For me, the three best goalkeepers in the world are Casillas, Buffon, and Valdes." Bodo Illgner, February 2013[5] On 29 August 2011, Valdés played his 410th match with Barcelona and equaled Andoni Zubizarreta's record as Barcelona's goalkeeper with the most appearances.[6] On 31 May 2013, Valdés announced that he would not renew his contract, which expires at the end of the next summer, with Barcelona.[7] International career[edit source | editbeta] Valdés was a member of Spain's squad at both the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012. On 16 August 2005, Valdés was called up for a friendly game against Uruguay, but he did not make a debut.[8] On 20 May 2010, he was included in Spain's final 23-man squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa as the third-choice goalkeeper behind Iker Casillas and Pepe Reina respectively, wearing the No. 12 shirt.[9] On 3 June 2010, Valdés earned his first cap by starting in a friendly match between Spain and South Korea at Tivoli-Neu in Innsbruck, Austria. Coincidentally it was 10 years to the day since compatriot Iker Casillas made his debut for the national team.[10] In July 2010, he won the 2010 World Cup with Spain. He won his second cap in Spain's 1–1 draw against Mexico, coming on as a second-half substitute for Iker Casillas. Career statistics[edit source | editbeta] Club[edit source | editbeta] As of 28 August 2013.[11][12][13][14] Club Season League Cup Europe Other[15] Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Barcelona B 2000–01 14 — — — — — — — 14 — 2001–02[16] 43 — — — — — — — 43 — 2002–03 20 — — — — — — — 20 — Total 77 — — — — — — — 77 — Barcelona 2002–03 14 0 0 0 6 0 — — 20 0 2003–04 33 0 6 0 5 0 — — 44 0 2004–05 35 0 0 0 8 0 — — 43 0 2005–06 35 0 0 0 12 0 2 0 49 0 2006–07 38 0 0 0 8 0 4 0 50 0 2007–08 35 0 6 0 11 0 — — 52 0 2008–09 35 0 0 0 14 0 — — 49 0 2009–10 38 0 0 0 12 0 5 0 55 0 2010–11 32 0 0 0 11 0 1 0 44 0 2011–12 35 0 0 0 11 0 5 0 51 0 2012–13 31 0 0 0 11 0 2 0 44 0 2013–14 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 4 0 Total 363 0 12 0 109 0 21 0 505 0 Career totals 440 0 12 0 109 0 21 0 582 0 International[edit source | editbeta] [17] Spain national team Year Apps Goals 2010 3 0 2011 4 0 2012 3 0 2013 4 0 Total 14 0 Honours[edit source | editbeta] Barcelona[edit source | editbeta] Valdés celebrating with Barcelona teammates after winning the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup. Barcelona[edit source | editbeta] La Liga: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13 Copa del Rey: 2008–09, 2011–12; Runner-up 2010–11 Supercopa de España: 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013; Runner-up 2012 UEFA Champions League: 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11 UEFA Super Cup: 2009, 2011; Runner-up 2006 FIFA Club World Cup: 2009, 2011; Runner-up 2006 Spain[edit source | editbeta] FIFA World Cup: 2010 UEFA European Football Championship: 2012 Individual[edit source | editbeta] Zamora Trophy: 2004–05, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12 ESM Team of the Year: 2010–11 La Liga Goalkeeper of the Year: 2010–11 Decorations[edit source | editbeta] Prince of Asturias Awards: 2010 Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sporting Merit: 2011[18] Personal life[edit source | editbeta] Valdés has a long-term relationship with his girlfriend, Yolanda Cardona. In 20 August 2009 Cardona gave birth to the couple's first child, son Dylan Valdés Cardona in Barcelona. His second child, Kai Valdés Cardona was born on 16 November 2012. See also[edit source | editbeta] List of one-club men References[edit source | editbeta] ^ [1] Público; 25 February 12; Accessed 25 February 2012 (Spanish) ^ "The long shadow of Zamora". FIFA. 13 September 2007. Retrieved 2 July 2009. ^ /futbol/temporada07-08/11/n071107102115.html "Valdés breaks European unbeaten record". FC Barcelona. 7 November 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2010. ^ "Barça clinch La Liga league title". BBC Sport. 16 May 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2010. ^ [2] Público; 14 February 13; Accessed 14 February 2013 (Spanish) ^ "Victor Valdes 'very proud' to equal Andoni Zubizarreta's record as goalkeeper with most Barcelona appearances". Goal.com. 30 August 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2012. ^ "Barcelona Goalkeeper Victor Valdes Says He Won’t Renew Contract". Bloomberg. 31 May 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2013. ^ Juan Ávila (16 de agosto de 2005). "Reina y Valdés cruzan sus caminos". ABC. ^ "Spain omit Marcos Senna from 2010 World Cup squad". BBC Sport. 20 May 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2010. ^ "Valdés debuts with Spain vs Korea Republic". Marca. 3 June 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2010. ^ Official site statistics ^ Transfermarkt player statistics ^ Historical issues of Mundo Deportivo ^ Statistical data ^ Includes other competitive competitions, including the Supercopa de España, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup ^ Including the 2002 Segunda División B play-offs (6 caps) ^ "Víctor Valdés". National Football Teams. Retrieved 23 December 2010. ^ "Royal Order of Sporting Merit 2011".