Mikel Arteta
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| Mikel Arteta | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mikel Amatriain Arteta | |
| Date of birth | March 26, 1982 (age 25) | |
| Place of birth | San Sebastián, Spain | |
| Height | 1.76 m | |
| Nickname | Mikky / Our Tater | |
| Playing position | Midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Everton | |
| Number | 6 | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 1997-2002 | FC Barcelona B | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 2000-2002 2002-2004 2004-2005 2005 2005- |
Paris Saint-Germain Rangers F.C. Real Sociedad → Everton (loan) Everton |
31 (2) 50 (12) 15 (1) 12 (1) 56 (9) |
| National team2 | ||
| Spain U-21 | ||
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Mikel Amatriain Arteta (born March 26, 1982 in San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain) is a professional Spanish footballer. He is an attacking midfield player, currently playing for English Premiership Everton.
He began his football career at FC Barcelona B squad at 15 years of age. After 3 years of mediocrity he had a loan spell in 2000 with Paris Saint-Germain (where he played alongside Ronaldinho). He joined Scottish club Rangers in 2002 for £6 million where he remained for two seasons, winning the 2003 Scottish Premier League title as well as the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup. He enjoyed a successful first season at Rangers and quickly established himself as a first team regular and a fans favourite. But unfortunately injuries and loss of form blighted his second season and he was forced to move on once again.
He joined Real Sociedad in 2004 as a replacement for Liverpool bound Xabi Alonso but failed to establish himself in the team and was loaned out to Everton in the 2005 January transfer window with a view to a permanent transfer if the loan went well.
He played a vital part of helping Everton reach UEFA Champions League qualification and after the departure of Thomas Gravesen, Arteta filled the gap left by the Danish midfielder. He capitalised on his half-season form scoring with a free kick in the 4-0 demolition of Crystal Palace, and sealed his permanent transfer to Everton that summer, putting pen to paper on a five year deal on the 15 July 2005 - Arteta was signed permanently by the Merseyside club for a fee of £2 million.
On May 2, 2006, at the Everton end of season awards ceremony, Mikel Arteta picked up the Player of the Season Award as voted by the fans on the Everton website. He also was voted the Player's Player of the Season by his teammates. He had this to say; "It means a lot when it comes from your teammates. It is a very special club, with special fans and special players. It is very difficult to find players like we have here and I am very happy to play at this club."
Arteta has also played for Spain U21s, and his current form for Everton has been met with calls from manager David Moyes for him to be selected for the full national squad.[1]
Arteta's form has been extended into the 2006-2007 season, and as well as retaining his starting place, has turned in some man-of-the-match displays, as underlined in the Premier League match against Bolton in which Arteta, sensing a scoring opportunity, fired the ball into the top corner of the Bolton goal to give Everton a 1-0 win.
Although Arteta is already appreciated greatly by fans and players alike; underlined by the awards picked up by the end of 2005/2006, the injured Tim Cahill recently took time to watch Mikel play and commented on how much he made an impact on Everton's game.
Endeared himself to Everton fans by declaring "I see a lot of Evertonians in the city but don't know if there are any Liverpool fans here".
[edit] Miscellaneous
- He is close friends with Xabi Alonso, who plays for Everton's rivals Liverpool[2][3][4].
- He is dating Lorena Bernal, former Miss Spain.
[edit] References
- ^ Moyes: Spain should call on Arteta. Retrieved on 31 December 2006.
- ^ Arteta Aims To Reign For Spain. Retrieved on 28 November 2006.
- ^ Arteta puts friendship on hold as Everton eye Europe. Retrieved on 28 November 2006.
- ^ Atletico Madrid to make £10M bid for Everton's Arteta. Retrieved on 12 February 2007.
[edit] External links
- Profile at evertonfc.com
- Profile at Yahoo! Sports
- Profile at 4thegame.com
- Profile at premierleague.com
- Statistics at soccerbase.com
- Photos and stats at sporting-heroes.net
| Everton F.C. - Current Squad |
|---|
|
1 Wright | 2 Hibbert | 3 Naysmith | 4 Yobo | 6 Arteta | 7 Van der Meyde | 8 Johnson | 9 Beattie | 11 McFadden | 15 Stubbs | 16 Lescott | 17 Cahill | 18 Neville | 19 Valente | 21 Osman | 22 Vaughan | 23 Pistone | 24 Howard | 26 Carsley | 28 Anichebe | 30 Ruddy | 36 Boyle | 37 Fernandes | 38 Anderson | 41 Viðarsson | Manager: Moyes |
