Gaizka Mendieta

Valencia

Born in Bilbao, Basque Country, Mendieta made his professional debut at just 17 with CD Castellón in the Segunda División, featuring mostly as a full-back. After just one season he moved to La Liga after signing with Valencia CF for 30 million pesetas, but spent the vast majority of his first year with the reserves, making his first-team debut on 13 June 1993 against Cádiz CF; he played 34 of 42 games during 1995–96 as the latter finished second, their best result since 1990.

The 1997–98 campaign was Mendieta's breakthrough season, under new manager Claudio Ranieri. Moving to a central midfield role he played 30 league matches and scored ten goals, soon making his debut for the national team. In June 1999 he won his first trophy with the club, beating Atlético Madrid in the Copa del Rey; he found the net in wins over Levante UD, FC Barcelona (both legs) and Real Madrid during the run to the final, where he scored a memorable goal: controlling a cross on his chest, he flicked the ball over his own head and two defenders before turning to volley past the goalkeeper. Mendieta had an even better year in 1999–2000, with Héctor Cúper now as the coach. He helped Valencia to beat Barcelona 4–3 on aggregate to win the Supercopa de España, and netted a career-best 13 goals on the domestic front as the Che finished third. However, their biggest triumph of the season was to reach the final of the UEFA Champions League, a 3–0 loss to fellow Spaniards Real Madrid; later,…

In March/May 1996, Mendieta was part of the Spain under-21 team which were runners-up in the UEFA European Championship. He made his senior debut on 27 March 1999, coming on as a substitute for Juan Carlos Valerón in a 9–0 rout of Austria for UEFA Euro 2000's qualifying stages; he was included in the list of 22 for the competition in Belgium and the Netherlands, helping the national side to reach the last eight. Despite his form slump at Lazio, Mendieta was picked for the squad at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, scoring one goal in three matches for the eventual quarter-finalists, against South Africa (3–2 win). The last of his 40 caps was earned in a friendly with Bulgaria in Granada, four months after the World Cup. Mendieta also featured and scored for the unofficial Basque Country regional team.

Club

International

Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mendieta goal.

Mendieta's father Andrés was also a footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Originally from Lekeitio, Biscay, he spent his final years as a player at Castellón and later worked on the club's staff, raising his family in the region. Thus, Gaizka emerged through their youth system despite his Basque birthplace. Fellow Bilbao-born Spain internationals Ander Herrera and Roberto Ríos had similar origins, learning their skills in the cities where their footballing fathers (Pedro and Eusebio respectively) were based professionally. However, both later signed for Athletic Bilbao, while Mendieta never featured for a Basque club; he and his father both represented Spain at the Olympic Games tournament, the latter in 1968 and the former in 1996. Mendieta was a talented athlete as a youth and came close to pursuing middle-distance running as a career over football. He was a fan of music, and in particular had a passion for DJing; he also appeared on-stage at the Benicàssim festival in 2015 during a set by the band Los Planetas, whose song "Un buen día" referenced him in its lyrics. Mendieta stated that Ruud Gullit was his footballing hero as an adolescent, due to the Dutchman's unconventional style.