Víctor Valdés

Víctor Valdés
Valdés in 2010
Personal information
Full name Víctor Valdés Arribas[1]
Date of birth (1982-01-14) 14 January 1982[2]
Place of birth L'Hospitalet, Spain
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Playing position Goalkeeper
Youth career
1992 Barcelona
1992–1995 Tenerife
1995–2000 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000 Barcelona C 16 (0)
2000–2003 Barcelona B 77 (0)
2002–2014 Barcelona 387 (0)
2015–2016 Manchester United 2 (0)
2016 → Standard Liège (loan) 5 (0)
2016–2017 Middlesbrough 28 (0)
Total 515 (0)
National team
2000–2001 Spain U18 11 (0)
2001 Spain U19 3 (0)
2001 Spain U20 1 (0)
2002–2003 Spain U21 11 (0)
2010–2014 Spain 20 (0)
2001–2014 Catalonia 12 (0)
Teams managed
2018– Moratalaz (youth)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Víctor Valdés Arribas (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbiktoɾ βalˈdes aˈriβas]; born 14 January 1982) is a retired Spanish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and is the current manager of ED Moratalaz's youth setup.[3]

He spent most of his professional career with Barcelona in La Liga, and is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the club's history, having appeared in 535 official games for the club and won 21 major titles, notably six La Liga titles and three UEFA Champions League championships. Valdés also 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. After leaving Barcelona at the end of his contract in July 2014, he joined Manchester United in January 2015. He played rarely at United, and after a brief loan at Standard Liège, he moved on to Middlesbrough. After being released by Middlesbrough at the end of the 2016–17 season, Valdés retired from professional football.

Valdés made his full international debut in 2010 and earned 20 international caps. He was part of the Spain squads which won the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012.

Early career

Born in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia, Valdés started his career with FC Barcelona's youth team when he joined from Peña Cinco Copas on 1 July 1992. That September, he moved with his family to Tenerife and had to leave the club, but returned three years later. After returning, he made quick progress through the youth teams.

Club career

Barcelona

Valdés made his first team debut against Legia Warszawa in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League on 14 August 2002.[4] The early part of the 2002–03 season saw Valdés play deputy to Argentine international Roberto Bonano, but the arrival of Radomir Antić as the new manager in January 2003 saw regular first-team opportunities for Valdés.

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 as the best goalkeeper in Spain that season.

In the 2005–06 season, Valdés helped Barça to the European Double. He played a big part in Barça's 2005–06 UEFA Champions League 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 in 2007

On 17 June 2007, the last round of La Liga, Valdés matched a goalkeeping record held by former Barcelona goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta by starting, and never being substituted, in all 38 matches of the La Liga season.[5]

"For me, Valdes is the best in the world. When Barça need calm, he transmits that. He also has great capacity and handling."

Former Paraguay international goalkeeper José Luis Chilavert, February 2012[6]

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.[7] Valdés was beaten twice by Olympique Lyonnais captain Juninho Pernambucano through a 45-yard free kick and a late penalty kick at the Stade de Gerland, ending his streak.[8] 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 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.

Valdés playing for Barcelona in 2012

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.[9]

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.[10]

"For me, the three best goalkeepers in the world are Casillas, Buffon, and Valdes."

Former Real Madrid goalkeeper Bodo Illgner, February 2013[11]

In 2012, Valdés made a goalkeeping error against Real Madrid in the Supercopa de España that culminated in Ángel Di María scoring a decisive goal and narrowing down Barcelona's two-goal advantage. Real Madrid went on to win the Super Cup in the second leg at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.

On 1 May 2013, in a 3–0 Champions League semi-final loss to FC Bayern Munich at Camp Nou, Valdés made his 100th appearance in the competition, becoming the 17th player to do so.[12] Later that month, Valdés announced that he would not renew his Barcelona contract, which was due to expire at the end of the 2013–14 season. He cited the pressure of representing the club and stated that he had declared his wish to leave early enough for the club to find a replacement.[13]

On 26 March 2014, in a 3–0 victory against Celta de Vigo, Valdés tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the 22nd minute of the match and was substituted off, and was ruled out for the rest of the season, ending his Barcelona career and ruling him out of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[14]

Manchester United

In January 2014, prior to the conclusion of his contract with Barcelona, Valdés signed a pre-contract agreement to join Ligue 1 side Monaco at the end of the season; however, Valdés' injury led to Monaco pulling out of the agreement.[15] On 23 October 2014, Manchester United offered Valdés the chance to complete his rehabilitation from a knee injury and to work his way back to fitness with the club.[16] He was offered a contract in January 2015,[17] and on 8 January signed an 18-month deal, with the option of a further year, as backup for compatriot David de Gea.[18] As part of a compensation package for reneging on their deal with Valdés, Monaco agreed to pay the difference between the £150,000 weekly wage he stood to earn with them and the lower salary offered by Manchester United.[19]

Valdés played his first match since his knee injury on 26 January, featuring for United's Under-21 team in a 2–1 home win over Liverpool. Before the game, he gave a team talk based on the teachings of his former manager Guardiola.[20] He made his first-team debut on 17 May against Arsenal at Old Trafford, replacing the injured De Gea for the final 16 minutes and conceding an own goal by Tyler Blackett for a 1–1 draw.[21] A week later he made his first start for the team in their last game of the season away to Hull City, keeping a clean sheet in a goalless draw which relegated the opponents.[22]

On 15 July 2015, Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal announced that Valdés had been placed on the transfer list after it was claimed he had refused to play in a reserve game.[23] The following month, he was not given a squad number for the upcoming season.[24] A transfer to Turkey's Beşiktaş fell through as personal terms could not be agreed.[25] Despite subsequently being named in Manchester United's Premier League squad,[26] reports confirmed Valdés was only named to conform to Premier League rules and not being offered a way back.[27][28][29]

Standard Liège

On 23 January 2016, Manchester United announced that Valdés would be moving to Belgian club Standard Liège on a six-month loan deal.[30] He made his debut a week later in a 2–0 win at OH Leuven in the Belgian Pro League.[31] On 20 March, Valdés won the 2016 Belgian Cup Final, beating Club Brugge 2–1.[32] His loan spell was cut short on 29 April after the club decided to allow more youth players the opportunity to play in games at the end of the season.[33]

Middlesbrough

On 7 July 2016, Valdés signed a two-year deal on a free transfer at Premier League newcomers Middlesbrough, managed by compatriot Aitor Karanka.[34] On 13 August 2016, Valdés made his debut in a 1–1 draw against Stoke City.[35] On 22 October 2016, Valdés kept his first clean sheet of the season in a 0–0 draw against Arsenal.[36] The club entered the relegation zone in March 2017 after a 2–0 loss to Stoke City,[37] with Karanka sacked later that month.[38][39] In May 2017, after months of speculation, Valdés confirmed that he would leave the club at the end of the 2016–17 Premier League season, following the club's relegation to the EFL Championship.[40] He, as well as fellow goalkeeper Brad Guzan, left the club on 1 July 2017.[41][42] Although he had offers from several clubs in Spain to prolong his career, Valdés retired from professional football in August 2017;[43] after remaining without a club for the first half of the 2017–18 season, he later confirmed his official retirement in January 2018.[44]

International career

Valdés at UEFA Euro 2012

On 16 August 2005, Valdés was called up for a friendly game against Uruguay, but did not take the field.[45] After being overlooked by various coaches of the Spanish national side for several years,[46][47] on 20 May 2010, he was included by Vicente del Bosque in Spain's final 23-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa as the second-choice goalkeeper behind Iker Casillas wearing the number 12 shirt.[48]

On 3 June 2010, Valdés earned his first cap, starting in a friendly match between Spain and South Korea at Tivoli-Neu in Innsbruck, Austria.[49] Valdés was part of the Spanish squads that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012, despite not playing in either tournament.

He was also in the Spanish squad which reached the final of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil. His sole appearance in a major tournament came in their last group game, keeping a clean sheet in a 3–0 win over Nigeria at the Estádio Castelão in Fortaleza.[50]

Style of play

In his prime, Valdés was considered to be a successful and generally high quality goalkeeper, albeit somewhat inconsistent, and is regarded as one of Barcelona's best ever goalkeepers.[46][51][52] An authoritative presence in the area, with good reflexes, handling, positioning, and shot-stopping abilities, he was known for his agility and composure in goal, as well as his ability to produce decisive saves, in particular after not being tested for long stretches of time.[53] In addition to his goalkeeping abilities, he was known in particular for his vision, footwork, distribution, control and skill with the ball at his feet, which enabled him to play the ball out on the ground or launch an attack from the back; throughout his career, he also stood out for his intelligence, ability to read the game, and his speed and bravery when coming off his line to claim the ball on the ground in one on one situations, and also excelled at anticipating opponents outside his area who had beaten the offside trap, and often functioned as a sweeper-keeper.[51][52][54][55][56]

Personal life

Valdés was born to José Manuel Valdés and Águeda Arribas and has two brothers, Ricardo and Álvaro. He married his long-time partner, Colombian model Yolanda Cardona, in June 2017.[57] The couple have two sons, Dylan and Kai, and a daughter, Vera.[58]

Career statistics

Club

Sources:[59][60][61]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Europe Other[nb 1] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Barcelona B 2000–01 Segunda División B 140—140
2001–02 43[lower-alpha 1]0—430
2002–03 200—200
Total 770—770
Barcelona 2002–03 La Liga 14000—60—200
2003–04 33060—50—440
2004–05 35000—80—430
2005–06 35000—12020490
2006–07 38000—8040500
2007–08 35060—110—520
2008–09 35000—140—490
2009–10 38000—12050550
2010–11 32000—11010440
2011–12 35000—11050510
2012–13 31000—11020440
2013–14 26000—6020340
Total 3870120—11502105350
Manchester United 2014–15 Premier League 200000—20
2015–16 00000000—00
Total 20000000—20
Standard Liège (loan) 2015–16 Belgian Pro League 5020—1080
Total 5020—1080
Middlesbrough 2016–17 Premier League 2800000—00280
Total 2800000—00280
Career totals 49901300011502206500
Notes
  1. ↑ Includes other competitive competitions, including the Supercopa de España, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup.
  1. ↑ Thirty-eight appearances in Segunda División B, six appearances in Segunda División B playoffs.

International

National teamYearAppsGoals
Spain[62]
201030
201140
201230
201390
201410
Total200

Honours

Club

Valdés celebrating with Barcelona team-mates after winning the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup
Barcelona[63]
Standard Liège

International

Spain[65]

Individual

Decorations

References

  1. ↑ "FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 4 June 2010. p. 29. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Player profile: Victor Valdes". Middlesbrough F.C. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  3. ↑ "Valdés joins Escuela Deportiva Moratalaz" (in Spanish). Escuela Deportiva Moratalaz. 22 June 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  4. ↑ "A decade on from Víctor Valdés' debut". FC Barcelona. 14 August 2012.
  5. ↑ "The long shadow of Zamora". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 13 September 2007. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  6. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 April 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2012. Público; 25 February 12; Accessed 25 February 2012 (in Spanish)
  7. ↑ "Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes says the best atmosphere he's ever played in was at Ibrox.. and it's noisier than Parkhead". Daily Record. 11 January 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  8. ↑ "Valdés breaks European unbeaten record". FC Barcelona. 7 November 2007. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  9. ↑ "Barça clinch La Liga league title". BBC Sport. 16 May 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  10. ↑ "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.
  11. ↑ Público; 14 February 13; Accessed 14 February 2013 (in Spanish)
  12. ↑ "Valdés brings up century against Bayern". UEFA. 1 May 2013.
  13. ↑ "Barcelona Goalkeeper Victor Valdes Says He Won't Renew Contract". Bloomberg. 31 May 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  14. ↑ "Victor Valdes: Spain goalkeeper suffers serious knee injury". BBC Sport. 28 March 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  15. ↑ Sheen, Tom (7 January 2015). "Victor Valdes: Why are Manchester United signing the goalkeeper?". independent.co.uk. Independent Digital News & Media. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  16. ↑ "Victor Valdes: Ex-Barcelona goalkeeper to train with Man Utd". BBC Sport. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  17. ↑ Stone, Simon (7 January 2015). "Victor Valdes: Man Utd to sign former Barcelona goalkeeper". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  18. ↑ "Victor Valdes: Man Utd sign former Barcelona goalkeeper". BBC Sport. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  19. ↑ Jefferson, Ben (8 December 2014). "Monaco set to pay chunk of Victor Valdes' £150k-a-week wages at Man Utd". Express.co.uk. Express Newspapers. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  20. ↑ Stone, Simon (27 January 2015). "Victor Valdes delivers 'brilliant' speech before Man Utd debut". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  21. ↑ McNulty, Phil (17 May 2015). "Man Utd 1–1 Arsenal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  22. ↑ Stone, Simon (24 May 2015). "Hull 0–0 Man Utd". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  23. ↑ "Man Utd: Victor Valdes for sale – Louis van Gaal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  24. ↑ Amako, Uche (7 August 2015). "Victor Valdes edges closer to Manchester United exit after shirt snub". Daily Express. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  25. ↑ "Victor Valdes: Manchester United keeper's Besiktas move off". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 30 August 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  26. ↑ "Victor Valdes named in Manchester United league squad". Sport. 4 September 2015.
  27. ↑ Mathieson, Stuart (4 September 2015). "Manchester United: No way back for Victor Valdes". Manchester Evening News. MEN Media.
  28. ↑ Mathieson, Stuart (6 September 2015). "Victor Valdes NOT in Manchester United plans despite selection in Premier League squad". Mirror Online.
  29. ↑ "Victor Valdes 'not back in Louis van Gaal's plans' despite being named in Manchester United Premier League squad". The Independent.
  30. ↑ "Loan move agreed for Victor Valdes".
  31. ↑ Luckhurst, Samuel (31 January 2016). "Manchester United goalkeeper Victor Valdes aims parting shot at Van Gaal". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  32. ↑ "Late header hands Standard victory in Belgian Cup final". Mail Online. 20 March 2016.
  33. ↑ "Ioannis Maniatis and Victor Valdes". standard.be. Royal Standard de Liège. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  34. ↑ "Boro Sign Barcelona Legend Victor Valdés". 7 July 2016.
  35. ↑ "Middlesbrough 1–1 Stoke: Xherdan Shaqiri's free-kick cancels out Alvaro Negredo's opener". SkySports. 13 August 2016.
  36. ↑ "Arsenal 0–0 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 22 October 2016.
  37. ↑ Shaw, Dominic (4 March 2017). "Stoke City 2–0 Middlesbrough RECAP: Desperately disappointing afternoon as Boro drop into relegation zone". Gazette Live. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  38. ↑ "Aitor Karanka: Middlesbrough sack manager after three and a half years". BBC Sport. 16 March 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  39. ↑ "Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson says tired Aitor Karanka 'sacrificed himself'". Sky Sports. 17 March 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  40. ↑ Blackburn, Martin (13 May 2017). "Victor Valdes will quit Middlesbrough after Premier League relegation as Manchester City eye deal". The Sun. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  41. ↑ "Victor Valdes To Leave Boro". Middlesbrough FC. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  42. ↑ "Brad Guzan Set For Summer Return To The USA With Atlanta United". Middlesbrough FC. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  43. ↑ Garcia, Adriana (18 August 2017). "Former Barcelona and Man United keeper Victor Valdes retires – report". espn.co.uk. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  44. ↑ Sam Marsden (4 January 2018). "Former Barcelona and Manchester United keeper Victor Valdes retires". ESPN FC. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  45. ↑ Ávila, Juan (16 August 2005). "Reina y Valdés cruzan sus caminos" [The paths of Reina and Valdés cross] (in Spanish). ABC.
  46. 1 2 Sid Lowe (10 March 2014). "Barcelona's Víctor Valdés: fans are chanting his name but it is too late". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  47. ↑ "Víctor Valdés". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  48. ↑ "Spain omit Marcos Senna from 2010 World Cup squad". BBC Sport. 20 May 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  49. ↑ "Valdés debuts with Spain vs Korea Republic". Marca. 3 June 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  50. ↑ Magowan, Alistair (23 June 2013). "Nigeria 0–3 Spain". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  51. 1 2 "Speciale Goal.com – La Top 5 dei portieri-Liga: Casillas=Zamora!" (in Italian). Goal.com. 22 April 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  52. 1 2 Ben Welch. "Victor Valdes' guide to distribution". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  53. ↑ "Victor Valdés". www.fcbarcelona.com. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  54. ↑ "Barcelona: The greatest ever XI". The Telegraph. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  55. ↑ Luis F. Rojo; Rafa Molina (10 June 2012). "A 'classic' goalkeeper". Marca. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  56. ↑ Adam Crafton (8 January 2015). "Victor Valdes plays like an outfield player and has a huge fan in Manchester United coach Frans Hoek... David de Gea has some serious competition at Old Trafford". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  57. ↑ Winehouse, Amitai. "Victor Valdes gets married and his ex-Barcelona team-mates Xavi, Carles Puyol and Samuel Eto'o attend". MailOnline. Daily Mail. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  58. ↑ "Víctor Valdés becomes a father for a third time". fcbarcelona.com. FC Barcelona. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  59. ↑ "All Baras football". Archived from the original on 2013-01-23.
  60. ↑ "La hemeroteca de Mundo Deportivo".
  61. ↑ "Víctor Valdés, Víctor Valdés Arribas – Futbolista".
  62. ↑ "Víctor Valdés". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  63. ↑ "Manchester United sign Víctor Valdés". Manutd.com. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  64. ↑ "Standard redt seizoen met bekerwinst" [Standard saves season with Cup victory]. sporza.be. 20 March 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  65. ↑ "Victor Valdes". Soccerway. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  66. ↑ "FifPro announces reserve Teams of the Year – but Luis Suarez and Arjen Robben won't be laughing while Iker Casillas is somehow named the second best goalkeeper of 2013". Independent.co.uk. 15 January 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  67. ↑ http://www.mfc.co.uk/news/article/2016/middlesbrough-fc-victor-valdes-ramsdens-potm-3457327.aspx
  68. ↑ "Royal Order of Sporting Merit 2011".
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