:Gaizka Mendieta

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.{{cite news|url=http://futbol.as.com/futbol/2017/03/21/primera/1490120559_579277.html|title=¿Qué fue de Mendieta, el 'murciélago' indie del Valencia?|trans-title=What happened to Mendieta, the indie 'bat' of Valencia?|newspaper=Diario AS|first=Alberto|last=Pérez Sierra|language=es|date=22 March 2017|access-date=6 June 2017}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2003/aug/24/sport.comment2|title=Leaving the pain in Spain|newspaper=The Guardian|first=Guillem|last=Balagué|date=24 August 2003|access-date=7 June 2017}}

After just one season he moved to La Liga after signing with Valencia CF for 30 million pesetas,{{cite news|url=http://www.levante-emv.com/castello/2016/07/26/futbolista-suenos-atleta/1449063.html|title=El futbolista con sueños de atleta|trans-title=The footballer with athlete dreams|newspaper=Levante-EMV|first=Enrique|last=Ballester|language=es|date=26 July 2016|access-date=7 June 2017}} but spent the vast majority of his first year with the reserves, making his first-team debut on 13 June 1993 against Cádiz CF;{{cite web|url=http://www.deportevalenciano.com/2011/12/12/c%C3%A1diz-y-los-malos-recuerdos-del-valencia|title=Cádiz y los malos recuerdos del Valencia|trans-title=Cádiz and Valencia's bad memories|publisher=Deporte Valenciano|first=José|last=Hernández|language=es|date=12 December 2011|access-date=24 April 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://en.valenciacf.com/ver/59175/mendieta-a-cult-hero-for-valencia-fans.html|title=Mendieta: a cult hero for Valencia fans|publisher=Valencia CF|date=21 June 2016|access-date=24 April 2018}} he played 34 of 42 games during 1995–96 as the latter finished second, their best result since 1990.{{cite web|url=https://www.football-espana.net/2020/05/29/mendieta-the-magnificent-magician|title=Mendieta: The magnificent magician|publisher=Football España|first=David|last=Whitworth|date=29 May 2020|access-date=25 January 2023}}

File:Mendieta 95-96.jpg

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,{{cite news|url=https://elpais.com/diario/1999/08/16/deportes/934754414_850215.html|title=El Valencia contesta al Barça|trans-title=Valencia answer Barça|newspaper=El País|first=Àngels|last=Piñol|language=es|date=16 August 1999|access-date=25 January 2023}} 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;{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sport/football/762837.stm|title=Real storm to Cup glory|publisher=BBC Sport|date=24 May 2000|access-date=3 November 2009}} later, he was awarded the "European Midfielder of the Season" award.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/nightmare-draw-for-leeds-as-istanbul-beckons-again-696402.html|title=Nightmare draw for Leeds as Istanbul beckons again|newspaper=The Independent|first=Nesha|last=Starcevic|date=25 August 2000|access-date=24 January 2011}}

Valencia went to the final of the Champions League the following year and lost it again, this time to FC Bayern Munich after a penalty shootout. Mendieta scored an early penalty in normal time to give his team a 1–0 lead, and also converted his attempt in the shootout,{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/champions_league/1346307.stm|title=Bayern crowned European champions|publisher=BBC Sport|date=23 May 2001|access-date=3 November 2009}} being again named "UEFA Best Midfielder of the Year".{{cite web|url=https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2001/0824/158271-liverpool/|title=Liverpool lose out at UEFA awards|publisher=Raidió Teilifís Éireann|date=24 August 2001|access-date=28 April 2020}}

Mendieta was one of the most sought-after players in the 2001 off-season, eventually earning a €47.7 million transfer (or a reported 8 billion pesetas){{cite web|url=http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11837_2213988,00.html|title=Mendieta agrees to Lazio switch|publisher=Sky Sports|first=Jonny|last=Owen|date=2001|orig-year=circa|access-date=2 September 2014}} to Italian club SS Lazio,{{cite press release|url=http://www.sslazio.it/news/visualizza_news.asp?idnews=351&titolo=2|title=Definito l'acquisto di Mendieta|trans-title=Mendieta purchase complete|publisher=S.S. Lazio|language=it|date=20 July 2001|access-date=24 September 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010725042948/http://www.sslazio.it/news/visualizza_news.asp?idnews=351&titolo=2|archive-date=25 July 2001}} being at the time the sixth most expensive player of all time.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/1444929.stm|title=Mendieta agrees to Lazio move|publisher=BBC Sport|date=19 July 2001|access-date=2 November 2009}} However, he disappointed in Serie A, spending only one year in Rome while failing to match the performances of departed playmakers Pavel Nedvěd and Juan Sebastián Verón.

Mendieta was loaned to Barcelona for the 2002–03 season{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/2138712.stm|title=Barca seal Mendieta loan deal|publisher=BBC Sport|date=20 July 2002|access-date=3 November 2009}}– he started most of the fixtures, but the Catalans could only finish sixth{{cite web|url=https://www.martiperarnau.com/el-ultimo-barcelona-oscuro/|title=El último Barcelona oscuro|trans-title=The last dark Barcelona|publisher=Martí Perarnau|first=David|last=González|language=es|date=6 March 2013|access-date=25 January 2023}}– and subsequently he moved to Middlesbrough,{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/middlesbrough/3162989.stm|title=Boro sign Mendieta|publisher=BBC Sport|date=21 August 2003|access-date=3 November 2009}} choosing the Premier League club over offers from his homeland (Atlético Madrid and Athletic Bilbao) due to a desire to play in England.

In his first season at Middlesbrough, Mendieta was part of the side that won the Football League Cup, bringing the Teesside club its first ever silverware.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/league_cup/3507795.stm|title=Boro lift Carling Cup|publisher=BBC Sport|date=29 February 2004|access-date=3 November 2009}} In July 2004, the move was made permanent with no transfer fee involved.

In his last two years, a string of injuries (including one which caused him to miss the 2006 UEFA Cup final) and long spells of regaining match fitness relegated Mendieta to the substitutes bench. He fell out of favour with manager Gareth Southgate, who made it clear that the player no longer featured in his plans. Reports suggested that Real Sociedad, Athletic Bilbao and Málaga CF were interested in purchasing the midfielder in the January 2007 transfer window, however no concrete agreement was ever made, and the transfer deadline passed amid speculation that the player was set for a move to Los Angeles Galaxy;{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/middlesbrough/6335681.stm|title=Boro's Mendieta could be US bound|publisher=BBC Sport|date=6 February 2007|access-date=3 November 2009}} towards its end, he was quoted to have said that he would fight for his place at Middlesbrough. A day later, Boro's chief executive Keith Lamb disregarded his comments saying that there was "no chance" of him featuring in the first team. He played his last game on 26 December 2006, against Everton.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/6200111.stm|title=Everton 0–0 Middlesbrough|publisher=BBC Sport|date=26 December 2006|access-date=3 November 2009}}

On 5 December 2007, according to a Spanish newspaper,{{cite news|url=http://www.levante-emv.com/secciones/noticia.jsp?pRef=3742_11_379038__Deportes-Gaizka-Mendieta-retira|title=Gaizka Mendieta se retira|trans-title=Gaizka Mendieta retires|newspaper=Levante-EMV|first=José Manuel|last=Bort|language=es|date=5 December 2007|access-date=4 February 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120704183956/http://www.levante-emv.com/secciones/noticia.jsp?pRef=3742_11_379038__Deportes-Gaizka-Mendieta-retira|archive-date=4 July 2012}} Mendieta announced his retirement from professional football when his Middlesbrough contract expired at the end of the 2007–08 campaign,{{cite news|url=http://www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/display.var.1884726.0.mendieta_decides_to_retire.php|title=Mendieta decides to retire|newspaper=The Northern Echo|first=Scott|last=Wilson|date=6 December 2007|access-date=7 December 2007}} He was finally released on 13 May 2008, ending a successful 17-year professional career.{{cite news|url=http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/boro-fc/boro-fc-news/2008/10/09/i-m-glad-i-came-to-boro-mendieta-84229-21998950/|title=I'm glad I came to Boro – Mendieta|newspaper=Teesside Gazette|first=Eric|last=Paylor|date=9 October 2008|access-date=13 October 2008}}

Mendieta said in an interview with the BBC on 3 November 2009 that he might be interested in football management: "A part of me can see the excitement and challenge of being a manager, definitely". After retiring, he settled with his family near Middlesbrough, in Yarm.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/8323143.stm|title=What became of Gaizka Mendieta?|publisher=BBC Sport|first=Jonathan|last=Stevenson|date=3 November 2009|access-date=25 January 2023}}

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;{{Cite news|url=http://elpais.com/diario/1999/03/28/deportes/922575601_850215.html|title=España vive una noche idílica|trans-title=Spain live idyllic night|newspaper=El País|first=Cayetano|last=Ros|language=es|date=28 March 1999|access-date=6 June 2017}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/euro2000/805574.stm|title=Raul miss sends France through|publisher=BBC Sport|date=25 June 2000|access-date=3 November 2009}}

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).{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/matches_wallchart/south_africa_v_spain/default.stm|title=Heartbreak for South Africa|publisher=BBC Sport|date=12 June 2002|access-date=3 November 2009}} The last of his 40 caps{{cite web|url=https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/025e-0fbe249782a5-f5d1044b8c75-1000--a-time-to-reflect-gaizka-mendieta/|title=A time to reflect – Gaizka Mendieta|publisher=UEFA|date=26 June 2020|access-date=25 January 2023}} was earned in a friendly with Bulgaria in Granada, four months after the World Cup.{{cite news|url=https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/deportes/2002/11/20/pobre-espana-solo-vence-minima-bulgaria/0003_1330535.htm|title=Una pobre España sólo vence por la mínima a Bulgaria|trans-title=Poor Spain can only beat Bulgaria by the odd goal|newspaper=La Voz de Galicia|first=Guillermo|last=Sánchez|language=es|date=20 November 2002|access-date=25 January 2023}}

Mendieta also featured and scored for the unofficial Basque Country regional team.{{cite web|url=http://www.eff-fvf.eus/pub/verFichaPartido.asp?idioma=ca&idPartido=139|title=Euskadi 5–1 Nigeria|publisher=Basque Football Federation|language=es|date=29 November 1999|access-date=11 June 2017}}

File:Planetas y Mendieta.jpg, 2015)]]

Mendieta was sponsored by sportswear company Nike, and appeared in commercials for the brand. In a global advertising campaign in the run-up to the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, he starred in a "Secret Tournament" commercial (branded "Scorpion KO") directed by Terry Gilliam, appearing alongside footballers such as Luís Figo, Thierry Henry, Hidetoshi Nakata, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Francesco Totti, with former player Eric Cantona the tournament "referee".{{cite web|url=http://www.nikebiz.com/story/stry_scorpion.shtml|title=A lighter shoe, cooler kits, a faster ball, a Secret Tournament – every touch counts|publisher=Nike|access-date=26 May 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020602055510/http://www.nikebiz.com/story/stry_scorpion.shtml|archive-date=2 June 2002}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/apr/03/advertising.worldcupfootball2002?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487|title=Cantona hosts World Cup with a difference|newspaper=The Guardian|first=Claire|last=Cozens|date=3 April 2002|access-date=26 May 2015}}

Mendieta also worked as a pundit on Sky Sports' UK television coverage of Spanish football.{{cite web|url=https://www.the42.ie/how-guillem-balague-gaizka-mendieta-see-premier-league-1603631-Aug2014/|title=Here's how Balague and Mendieta see the Premier League and La Liga going this year|publisher=The 42|first=Paul|last=Fennessy|date=4 August 2014|access-date=1 September 2020}}

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,{{cite news|url=http://www.elperiodicomediterraneo.com/noticias/castellon/castellon-nombro-gerente-mendieta_583845.html |title=El Castellón nombró gerente a Mendieta|trans-title=Castellón named Mendieta as manager|newspaper=El Periódico Mediterráneo|language=es|date=1 August 2010|access-date=7 June 2017}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11837/9115953/my-career-gaizka-mendieta|title=My career: Gaizka Mendieta|publisher=Sky Sports|first=Peter|last=Fraser|date=16 January 2014|access-date=7 June 2017}}

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

Valencia

• Copa del Rey: 1998–99{{cite web|url=https://www.valenciacf.com/es/article/es-los-heroes-de-la-cartuja-gaizka-mendieta-2022-04-22|title=Los Héroes de La Cartuja: Gaizka Mendieta|trans-title=Heroes of La Cartuja: Gaizka Mendieta|publisher=Valencia CF|language=es|date=22 April 2022|access-date=25 January 2023}}
• Supercopa de España: 1999
• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1998
• UEFA Champions League runner-up: 1999–2000, 2000–01

Middlesbrough

• Football League Cup: 2003–04
• UEFA Cup runner-up: 2005–06

Spain U21

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship runner-up: 1996;{{cite news|url=http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1996/06/01/pagina-4/1308838/pdf.html|title=Clemente: "Merecimos vencer sobradamente"|trans-title=Clemente: "We deserved to win by far"|newspaper=Mundo Deportivo|first1=Joan Josep|last1=Pallàs|first2=Cristina|last2=Cubero|language=es|date=1 June 1996|access-date=2 July 2013}}{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tableso/ol1996q.html|title=Games of the XXVI. Olympiad|publisher=RSSSF|first1=Eugene|last1=Shtutin|first2=Lars|last2=Aarhus|access-date=2 July 2013}} Third place 1994{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/eur-u21-94.html|title=Europe U-21 Championship 1994|publisher=RSSSF|first=Erik|last=Garin|access-date=2 July 2013}}

Individual

• UEFA Club Football Awards: Best Midfielder 1999–2000, 2000–01
• ESM Team of the Season: 2000–01{{cite news|url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/esm-xi.html|title=ESM XI|publisher=RSSSF|first=Karel|last=Stokkermans|access-date=25 January 2023}}

{{reflist}}

• {{BDFutbol|926}}
• [http://www.ciberche.net/histoche/jugador?player=70 CiberChe biography and stats] {{in lang|es}}
• {{Soccerbase}}
• {{NFT|6248}}
• {{FIFA player|168776}}

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