Manuel Almunia
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| Manuel Almunia | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Manuel Rivero Almunia | |
| Date of birth | May 19, 1977 (age 29) | |
| Place of birth | Pamplona, Spain | |
| Height | 1.91m (6'3") | |
| Position | Goalkeeper | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Arsenal | |
| Number | 24 | |
| Professional clubs* | ||
| Years | Club | Apps (goals) |
| 2000-2001 2002-2003 2003-2004 2003-2004 2004- |
CE Sabadell Recreativo Huelva Celta Vigo Albacete loan Arsenal |
25 (0) 1 (0) 24 (0) 11 (0) |
|
* Professional club appearances and goals |
||
Manuel Rivero Almunia (born May 19, 1977 in Pamplona) is a Spanish football player who currently plays for Arsenal as a goalkeeper.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early career
Manuel made his professional debut for was Spanish side Recreativo de Huelva. He then joined Celta Vigo, for whom he stayed for nearly a year without making a first team appearance, before moving to Albacete Balompié on a loan deal on November 1, 2003, forging his way quickly into the first team squad and making 24 league appearances.
[edit] Arsenal career
He was signed for Arsenal on July 14, 2004 and made his debut in a 2-1 League Cup win over Manchester City on October 27, 2004. He played in all the Gunners' League Cup matches that season, including the quarter-final against Manchester United on December 1, 2004; Almunia fumbled a save from David Bellion after 19 seconds, gifting him the only goal of the game.
Despite his occasional mistakes, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger has not given up faith in the keeper, and he has since played in some important matches for Arsenal when Jens Lehmann was not available. He is usually selected as Arsenal's goalkeeper for Cup matches, where he has been able to show his penalty-stopping abilities. This includes a win over Sheffield United in the 2004-05 FA Cup, where Almunia made two saves in a penalty shootout after the game finished 0-0, to take the Gunners through to the quarter-finals. Another successful shootout win with Almunia in goal came at Doncaster Rovers in the League Cup in 2005-06. Unfortunately his goalkeeping prowess or lack of, led fans to nickname him 'Fawlty Manuel', in homage to the clumsy Spanish waiter Manuel on the British comedy programme Fawlty Towers.
In the 2006 Champions League final against Barcelona, Almunia started on the bench but came on as a substitute after Jens Lehmann was sent off. Almunia made a crucial save early on, tipping Samuel Eto'o's shot onto a post. However, Almunia could not keep Barcelona at bay; late in the second half, Eto'o was put clean through and beat Almunia at his near post with the equaliser, and with 10 minutes left Juliano Belletti poked the ball through Almunia's legs to score the winner.
In September 2006 he revealed that should he not be selected for the Spanish national team, in 2008 he would be eligible for British citizenship and would play for England if selected. He quoted, "If someone wants me, I do not care about the nationality."[1]
[edit] Honours
- FA Cup Winner 2005
- UEFA Champions League Finalist 2006
[edit] External links
- Statistics at soccerbase.com
- Photos and stats at sporting-heroes.net
[edit] References
- ^ Almunia's England dream. Alex Dunn. Retrieved on September 23, 2006.
| Arsenal F.C. - Current Squad |
|---|
|
1 Lehmann | 2 Diaby | 4 Fàbregas | 5 Touré | 6 Senderos | 7 Rosický | 8 Ljungberg | 9 Baptista | 10 Gallas | 11 van Persie | 12 Lauren | 13 Hleb | 14 Henry | 15 Denílson | 16 Flamini | 17 Song | 19 Gilberto | 20 Djourou | 21 Poom | 22 Clichy | 24 Almunia | 25 Adebayor | 27 Eboué | 30 Aliadière | 31 Hoyte | 32 Walcott | Manager: Wenger |
