Antonio Valencia

This is a Spanish name; the first family name is Valencia and the second is Mosquera.

Antonio Valencia
Personal information
Full name	Luis Antonio Valencia Mosquera
Date of birth	August 4, 1985 (1985-08-04) (age 24)
Place of birth	Lago Agrio, Ecuador
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)[1]
Playing position	Right Winger
Club information
Current club	Wigan Athletic
Number	16
Youth clubs
1999–2001	Caribe Junior
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2001–2005 2005–2008 2005–2006 2006–2008 2008–	CD El Nacional Villarreal → Recreativo (loan) → Wigan Athletic (loan) Wigan Athletic	84 (20) 02 0(0) 14 0(1) 37 0(1) 28 0(5)
National team2
2005–	Ecuador	29 0(4)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:41, 15 November 2008 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 16 March 2008. * Appearances (Goals)

Luis Antonio Valencia Mosquera (born August 4 1985 in Lago Agrio) 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.^[2][3]

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.^[4] An email campaign in England encouraged votes for Valencia, in an attempt to avoid Cristiano Ronaldo winning.^[5] Lukas Podolski eventually won the award.

References

External links

• Luis Antonio Valencia career stats at Soccerbase
• Luis Valencia FIFA competition record
• Tim Vickery column on Valencia

Ecuador squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Villafuerte • 2 Guagua • 3 Hurtado • 4 de la Cruz • 5 Perlaza • 6 Urrutia • 7 Lara • 8 Méndez • 9 Borja • 10 Kaviedes • 11 Delgado • 12 Mora • 13 Ambrosi • 14 Castillo • 15 Ayoví • 16 Valencia • 17 Espinoza • 18 Reasco • 19 Saritama • 20 E. Tenorio • 21 C. Tenorio • 22 Lanza • 23 Benítez • Coach: Suárez

Ecuador squad – Copa América 2007 1 Elizaga • 2 Guagua • 3 Hurtado • 4 de la Cruz • 5 Urrutia • 6 Quiñónez • 7 Quiróz • 8 Méndez • 9 Borja • 10 Caicedo • 11 Benítez • 12 Mora • 13 Calle • 14 Castillo • 15 Bagüí • 16 Valencia • 17 Espinoza • 18 Reasco • 19 Ayoví • 20 E. Tenorio • 21 C. Tenorio • 22 Palacios • Coach: Suárez