Antonio Valencia

El Nacional

Valencia started his career at El Nacional and within a year he was fast-tracked into the under-20s, where he played alongside striker Christian "Chucho"’ Benítez. Valencia made his debut for El Nacional alongside his idol Édison Méndez. Valencia won his first club title as part of the El Nacional team that won the 2005 Clausura Tournament, earning him the attention of both the national team's manager and Spanish clubs.

Villarreal and Recreativo

Valencia moved to Spanish club Villarreal in 2005. After failing to break into the first-team, however, he was loaned to Recreativo to gain experience. Valencia helped Recreativo gain promotion to La Liga as they finished the season top of the table.

Wigan Athletic

On 3 August 2006, Valencia 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 away to Newcastle United. His first goal for Wigan came in a 4–0 home win over Manchester City on 21 October 2006. Valencia returned after a three-month absence as he played 78 minutes of a 2–0 home loss to Everton on 21 January 2007. Valencia was sent off for the first time for Wigan on 9 April 2007, receiving a straight red card for a two-footed challenge on Wilfred Bouma during a 1–1 away draw against Aston Villa. 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…

He made his senior international debut for Ecuador in 2004. On 27 March 2005, he scored his first two international goals, coming in a 5–2 World Cup qualifying win against Paraguay. Three days later he scored again in a qualifying match, this time netting in 2–2 draw away to Peru. Valencia played in all of Ecuador's 2006 FIFA World Cup 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. An email broadly circulated in England encouraged votes for Valencia, in an attempt to prevent Cristiano Ronaldo from winning. Valencia ended up receiving the greatest number of votes in the online poll, but since the award's winner is determined by a combination of the fan vote and a judging panel, the award was eventually given to Lukas Podolski. On 27 June 2007, Valencia netted Ecuador's first goal of their 2007 Copa América campaign, however they eventually lost the match 3–2 to Chile and finished the tournament bottom of their group. Valencia received hs first red card for Ecuador on 12 October 2008, during a 1–0 victory over Chile in a World Cup qualifier. On 9 September 2009, Valencia scored his first 2010 World Cup qualification goal, netting in a 3–1 away victory over Bolivia. On 10 October 2009, he netted for the second qualifier in a row, this time netting Ecuador's single goal in a 2–1 defeat to the…

Valencia was born on 4 August 1985 in Lago Agrio, near the city of Nueva Loja, Ecuador, which is located in the Amazon rainforest. Valencia helped his mother sell drinks outside the stadium of his local club at Lago Agrio and would then search for empty bottles for his father to sell to a bottle-deposit in the capital, Quito. Valencia used to play barefoot on the pitch next to the bungalow he shared with his parents, five brothers and sister. When Valencia was aged 11, scout Pedro Perlaza spotted him playing on a dusty field near his home, and signed him to the local FA-run sports academy in Sucumbíos. At the age of 16, Valencia did not tell his father he left home to take up an offer to play for El Nacional, the military-backed club in Quito. Nobody knew about Valencia's decision, except his mother and his elder brother, Carlos Alfredo, who paid the fare for his eight-hour bus journey. Valencia began in central midfield and on a salary of 50 dollars a month.

Valencia and his wife, Zoila, have a daughter named Domenica, who was born during the 2006 World Cup. Along with former Wigan Athletic teammates Maynor Figueroa and Wilson Palacios, Valencia began taking English lessons. Whilst at Wigan his English lessons would be once a week, however since his move to Manchester United they were sometimes every day. Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson described Valencia as a quiet and shy boy. His older brother, Éder, was also a professional footballer who played for Independiente José Terán in Ecuador. Valencia also has a tattoo on his upper arm paying tribute to former international teammate and close friend Christian "Chucho" Benítez, who died in 2013.