The sixth most expensive footballer in the world, then the decline began »the story of the emblematic number 6

• On September 15, 22:00, GSP.ro will transmit exclusively in Romania to clarify some of the biggest footballers: Legends Charity Game aims to gather donations of over one million euros for the victims of wars and conflicts held worldwide;
• Three reporters of the newspaper, Ionuț Iordache, George Nistor and Daniel Grigore, will provide from Lisbon images, real -time information, reports and interviews;

Long hair, number 6 on the back, thick t -shirt. Camp Nou, the Champions League semifinals, 85,377 people in the stands. It was May 10, 2000, the return of the semifinal between Barcelona and Valencia, with the “bats” moved to the heart of Catalonia with a reassuring advance, 4-1.

Minute 69. Claudio Lopez is looking for Mendieta on the edge of the big box, the captain of Valencia takes inward with the right foot and ends with the left. 1-5 generally, any hope of returning the shattered blagrah breath.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfqmz1pQytu

In the final, the “bats” were defeated by Real Madrid, 0-3, thus missing all the trophies in a season in which they finished the championship on the 3rd place, and from the cup removed early.

Gaizka Mendieta, the heart of “bats”

A year later, Valencia reached the final of the European competition again, but she saw again defeated, this time by Bayern Munich, at the break.

Double finalist in the Champions League, Mendieta failed to pick up the big trophy // Photo: Imago Images

The catalyst of that team capable of getting to the thunder with the continent's heavy was Gaizka Mendietaa footballer with a unique story.

In childhood, Mendieta flirted with several sports (basketball and athletics, besides football), deciding to go “all in” with the ball at the foot only at the age of 13. In Valencia he arrived in 1992, at the age of 18, bought for 180,000 euros from Castellon. It would prove to be one of the most inspired in the history of football.

In the first years, Mendieta was not able to impose in Valencia. He started in the tape, even as a right -handed defender, but he felt he had the qualities needed to be the heart of the team, “the technical midfielder to score goals”.

The heart of the “bats”. Collaborated with Adrian Ilie for a legend goal

The installation of Hector Nunez on the team's bench, at the end of '93, changed everything. “He told me that I will play every match in the middle, that I am enjoying all his confidence,” the mendieta recalled in a material published by UEFA, for which she plays the role of ambassador.

“Then I came back to what I loved, to have more ball, create opportunities and participate more in the game. I have not scored many goals, but I will never forget them. “I mentioned that success against Barcelona, ​​but another goal against the Catalan team was imprinted on the retina of Valencia's supporters.

On February 18, 1999, in the quarters of the Cup, on Camp Nou, the table displayed 2-2. The Romanian Adrian Ilie La Vărit Liber on Mendieta at the edge of the big box and was looking for a corner. Mendieta has been impeccably connected to the balloon and scored one of the most beautiful volleyballs in football history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nnxd_qxcte

In the semifinals, the “bats” eliminated Real Madrid; In the end, they defeated Atletico to lift the trophy, the only one for the 9-year-old in Valencia.

Gaizka Mendieta, the artist of Valencia, executes Kahn from the point with lime, image from 2001. Photo: Imago Images

In the summer of 2001, Lazio did the sixth most expensive footballer in history, paying 48 million euros to buy from Valencia. It was the transfer that triggered the decline.

“At that time, Italy had a very strong championship and I wanted to try my luck there. But it didn't come out as I expected. Looking back, I think I didn't have the time to adapt to a new situation.

I played very little, the club transferred 6 or 7 new players, I had two presidents, 3 coaches, it simply did not go as I thought it would happen, “recalls Mendieta.

After a single season in Italy, Lazio borrowed at Barcelona, ​​recovering one fifth of the amount paid for him. “In that season, Barça was like Lazio: three coaches, two presidents, but I played constantly and I felt good there.”

He returned to Rome a year later, but did not continue in Lazio's shirt. The last 5 years of his career spent at Middlesbrough, England.

“I was eager to try to play in England, in the Premier League, and I was looking at the big clubs there for the next transfer, when Middlesbrough entered the landscape. They were not among the big teams, they did not win many trophies and they did not play in the Champions League, but the idea smiled, so I thought, “Why not?”.

I was excited about the idea of ​​trying to build something special there. I won the League Cup in my first year, I played the UEFA Cup final in my third year, after an amazing route to the final ”. A route that included FCSB, then dramatically eliminated after a return of the English story, from 0-3 to 4-3!

When he pulls the line, the mendiet says that “It came out better than it would have come out as an athlete. And anyway I wasn't tall enough to play basketball”.

40 matchesAnd 8 goals has the Mendieta at the first representative of Spain. Played at Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup

At 17 after withdrawal, now ambassador to Liga and UEFA, occasionally DJ, Mendieta will enter the field again, and will display its technical quality within the Legends Charity Game. It will be part of the team of legends of the world, shoulder to shoulder with our Gică Hagi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wh_7LCUKBLW

Team composition at Legends Charity Game

The legends of Portugal: Vitor Baia, Beto, Pepe, Ricardo Carvalho, Fabio Coentrao, Bosingwa, Jorge Andrade, Eliseu, Bruno Alves, Luis Figo, Deco, Dani, Simao, Maniche, Tiago Mendes, Nani, Quaresma, Nuno Gomes, Helder Postiga, Hugo Almeida
Coach: Costinha

The legends of the world: Petr Cech, Edwin van der Sar, Cafu, Marco Materazzi, Javier Zanetti, Carles Puyol, John Terry, Roberto Carlos, Kaka, Youri Djorkaeff, Christian Karembeu, Gaizka Mendieta, Krassimir Balakov, Gheorghe HagiGiorgos Karagounis, Marek Hamsik, Alessandro del Piero, Henrik Larsson, Michael Owen, Javier Saviola, Hristo Stoichkov, Oleksandr USYK
Coach: Peter Schmeichel
Second coach: Diego Lugano