Oriol Romeu

Oriol Romeu

Romeu with Stuttgart in 2014
Personal information
Full nameOriol Romeu Vidal[1]
Date of birth24 September 1991
Place of birthUlldecona, Spain
Height1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Playing positionDefensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
VfB Stuttgart (on loan from Chelsea)
Number13
Youth career
2001–2004Espanyol
2004–2009Barcelona
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2008–2011Barcelona B45(1)
2010–2011Barcelona1(0)
2011–Chelsea22(0)
2013–2014→ Valencia (loan)13(0)
2014–→ VfB Stuttgart (loan)21(0)
National team
2007–2008Spain U175(0)
2009–2010Spain U1911(1)
2009–2011Spain U208(0)
2011–2012Spain U2110(0)
2012Spain U235(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 March 2015.
† Appearances (Goals).
This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Romeu and the second or maternal family name is Vidal.

Oriol Romeu Vidal (born 24 September 1991) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for German club VfB Stuttgart on loan from Chelsea. Mainly a defensive midfielder, he can also operate as a central defender.[3]

He began his career at Barcelona, playing mainly in its reserves. In 2011, he joined Chelsea for €5 million, who have loaned him to Valencia and Stuttgart.

Romeu has represented Spain up to under-21 level, and was part of their under-17 team which won the 2008 European Championship. He also represented the country at the 2012 Olympics.

Club career

Barcelona

Born in Ulldecona, Tarragona, Catalonia, Romeu arrived in FC Barcelona's youth academy in 2004, from neighbours RCD Espanyol, and progressed through the club's youth academy until breaking into the reserve team. Manager Pep Guardiola handed him his first appearance for the senior side in a friendly against Kuwaiti team Kazma Sporting Club, and subsequently included him in the squad for the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup which took place in Abu Dhabi.[4]

Romeu was included in the nineteen-man Barcelona squad on 13 August 2010, due to the need to rest some of Barça's Spanish internationals. He was to face Sevilla FC in the first leg of the season's Spanish Supercup. He made his official competitive debut in that game, playing the full ninety minutes in the 1–3 away loss.[5][6]

Romeu made his first La Liga appearance on 15 May 2011, playing the last ten minutes of a 0–0 home draw against Deportivo de La Coruña in the place of another club youth graduate, Jonathan dos Santos.[7]

Chelsea

Romeu (far right) with Chelsea against Arsenal in 2012.
Romeu playing for Chelsea in 2012

Reports began to link Romeu with a move to Chelsea on 22 July 2011.[8] The following day he agreed terms for his transfer, pending a medical or personal terms as he was away on international duty at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[3] On 4 August the English club announced the completion of the transfer, with the player signing a four-year contract[9] in a deal worth €5 million – the deal also gave Barcelona first refusal via a buy back option should Chelsea deem him surplus to requirements, seeing Barcelona pay €10 million in 2012 or €15 million in 2013 to bring him back to the Camp Nou;[10] he was given the number 6 shirt for the new campaign.[11]

Romeu made his official debut for Chelsea on 10 September 2011, being brought on as a substitute in the 79th minute of the 2–1 away win against Sunderland.[12] He received his first start on the 21st, in a 0–0 draw (penalty shootout win) against Fulham for the season's Football League Cup.[13]

Romeu's first UEFA Champions League appearance came on 19 October 2011, playing the full 90 minutes in a 5–0 group stage home win against K.R.C. Genk.[14] He also added 76 minutes in the second game between the two teams, a 1–1 draw in Belgium.

The opportunity for his first start for Chelsea in the Premier League was against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 26 November 2011, putting in a solid performance in a 3–0 home win.[15] He retained his position for the following league game, against Newcastle United at St James' Park, which finished with the same score.[16]

In December 2011, Chelsea issued a statement regarding the deal surrounding Romeu's buy back clause with Barcelona. The statement highlighted that the Blaugrana did not have an automatic buy back clause as first suggested, only having first refusal on any deal if the Blues wanted to sell him in the future.[17]

Interview with Romeu after his loan to Valencia (Spanish)

On 25 September 2012 Romeu scored his first goal for Chelsea, taking a penalty in a 6–0 win against Wolves at Stamford Bridge for the season's League Cup.[18] Manager Roberto Di Matteo stated that the departures of Yossi Benayoun, Michael Essien and Raul Meireles would mean more playing opportunities for the Spaniard; however, on 11 December, he suffered a knee injury in a game against Sunderland, being sidelined for the rest of the season.[19]

On 12 July 2013 Romeu returned to Spain and joined Valencia CF, in a season-long loan deal.[20] He made his debut for the club on 15 September, in a 1–3 defeat at Real Betis.[21]

On 17 July 2014 Romeu signed a new contract with Chelsea, keeping him at the club until 2017.[22] On 4 August, however, he was loaned to VfB Stuttgart from Germany.[23]

International career

After making his professional début for Barça in 2009, Romeu became a mainstay in the under-19 and under-20 national teams, featuring heavily in the 2010 UEFA Under-19 Championship elite qualification round.[24]

He was part of the Spanish squad which was eliminated from its group at the 2012 Olympics, coming on as a substitute in their first match and starting the last.

Honours

Club

Barcelona
Chelsea

Country

Spain U17

Club statistics

As of 17 January 2015[25]
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Barcelona B 2008–09 5000––50
2009–10 22000–4[lower-alpha 1]0260
2010–11 18100––181
Total 45100–40491
Barcelona 2010–11 1000001[lower-alpha 2]020
Total 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0
Chelsea 2011–12 16 0 5 0 3 0 – 24 0
2012–13 6 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 9 1
Total 22 0 7 1 4 0 0 0 33 1
Valencia 2013–14 13 0 1 0 4 0 0 0 18 0
Total 13 0 1 0 4 0 0 0 18 0
VfB Stuttgart 2014–15 16 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 17 0
Total 16 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 17 0
Career totals 97 1 9 1 8 0 5 0 119 2
  1. ↑ Appearances in Segunda División B play-offs
  2. ↑ Appearance in Supercopa de España

References

  1. ↑ "Premier League clubs submit squad lists" (PDF). Premier League. 1 February 2013. p. 7. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  2. ↑ "Player profile: Oriol Romeu". Premier League. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Villas-Boas: Why i want Oriol; Chelsea's official website, 23 July 2011
  4. ↑ Stoke City plot shock swoop for Barcelona starlet Oriol Romeu; Goal.com, 4 January 2010
  5. ↑ "Nine B team players in squad for Seville". Barcelona's official website. 13 August 2010. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
  6. ↑ "Debutan Miño, Sergi Gómez, Romeu y Adriano" [Debut for Miño, Sergi Gómez, Romeu and Adriano] (in Spanish). Barcelona's official website. 14 August 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  7. ↑ "Barca back-ups draw blank". ESPN Soccernet. 15 May 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  8. ↑ Chelsea close in on Barcelona midfielder Oriol Romeu; The Daily Telegraph, 22 July 2011
  9. ↑ "Oriol deal completed". Chelsea's official website. 4 August 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  10. ↑ Chelsea sign midfielder Oriol Romeu from Barcelona; BBC Sport, 4 August 2011
  11. ↑ "Squad numbers announced". Chelsea's official website. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  12. ↑ "Sunderland 1–2 Chelsea". BBC Sport. 10 September 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  13. ↑ "Chelsea 0–0 Fulham". BBC Sport. 21 September 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  14. ↑ "Chelsea 5 v 0 Genk". Chelsea's official website. 19 October 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  15. ↑ "Blues cruise past Wolves to ease pressure on AVB". ESPN Soccernet. 26 November 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  16. ↑ "Chelsea victorious in Toon cracker". ESPN Soccernet. 3 December 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  17. ↑ "Villas-Boas: Our Oriol". Chelsea's official website. 11 December 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  18. ↑ "Chelsea 6–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers". Chelsea's official website. 25 September 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  19. ↑ "Oriol Romeu: Chelsea midfielder out for six months". BBC Sport. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  20. ↑ "Official VCF statement". Valencia's official website. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  21. ↑ "Betis bag victory". Sky Sports. 15 September 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  22. ↑ "Chelsea: Oriol Romeu signs new three-year deal at Stamford Bridge". BBC Sport. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  23. ↑ "Romeu loaned to Stuttgart". Chelsea's official website. 4 August 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  24. ↑ "Thiago and Romeu to participate in the European U-19 Championship". FC Barcelona news. 20 July 2009. Archived from the original on 25 September 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  25. ↑ "Oriol Romeu". Soccerway. Retrieved 28 January 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oriol Romeu.