Antonio Valencia Ecuadorian Footballer From Nueva Loja

Early life

Luis Antonio Valencia Mosquera was born on 4 August 1985 in Nueva Loja, in the Amazon region of Ecuador. He grew up in a household with five brothers and a sister, and as a boy he helped his mother sell drinks outside the local stadium. A scout noticed him playing on a dirt field near his home and enrolled him at a sports academy run by the provincial football association in Sucumbíos. As a teenager he travelled by bus to Quito to join El Nacional, where he initially played in central midfield.

Career

Valencia made his name at El Nacional, and in 2005 he won the Ecuadorian Clausura title with the club. The same year he moved to Spain with Villarreal, though he spent the 2005–06 season on loan at Recreativo de Huelva, who finished top of the table and earned promotion to La Liga. In August 2006 he joined Wigan Athletic in the Premier League on loan. The move was made permanent in January 2008, and his performances there drew interest from larger clubs.

On 30 June 2009 Manchester United signed him as their first summer recruit of that year. He made his competitive debut in the 2009 Community Shield, scored his first goal in a league win over Bolton Wanderers in October 2009, and set up the winning goal in the League Cup final against Aston Villa in February 2010. In the 2010–11 season he became the first Ecuadorian player to collect a Premier League winner's medal. He was a starter in the 2011 Champions League final against Barcelona.

Over the next decade he moved from the right wing into the right-back position, a change that became permanent under Louis van Gaal. In 2012 he took the number 7 shirt for a season before returning to number 25. He played the full 120 minutes of the 2016 FA Cup final against Crystal Palace, and he captained United in the 2017 Europa League final. At the start of the 2018–19 season José Mourinho named him the club's first captain. When his contract ended in June 2019, he had made 325 Premier League appearances, which stands as a record for a South American player.

Valencia then returned to Ecuador with LDU Quito, won the inaugural Copa Ecuador in his first season, and in November 2020 signed with Querétaro in Mexico. He announced his retirement on 12 May 2021.

Public roles

Valencia made his senior debut for Ecuador in 2004 and scored his first two international goals in March 2005, against Paraguay in a World Cup qualifier. He played in every match of the 2006 World Cup and also represented the country at the 2007 and 2011 Copa América, the 2014 World Cup, the 2016 Copa América Centenario and the 2019 Copa América. He captained the team through all three of its matches at the 2014 tournament in Brazil. Across his international career he won 99 caps and scored 11 goals.

Recognition

At club level Valencia won two Premier League titles (2010–11 and 2012–13), the FA Cup in 2015–16, two League Cups, three Community Shields and the 2016–17 Europa League with Manchester United. He also won the Ecuadorian Serie A with El Nacional in 2005, and the Copa Ecuador and Supercopa Ecuador with LDU Quito.

His individual honours include a place in the PFA Team of the Year in his debut season in England, the Alan Hardaker Trophy for 2010, the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year awards at Manchester United for 2011–12, and a second Players' Player award for 2016–17. He was also included in the UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season for 2016–17. In addition, he shares a Guinness World Record with Matteo Darmian for the most goals scored from a corner in one minute, with six.

Personal life

Valencia is married to Zoila, and the couple have a daughter, who was born in 2006. During his years in England he took English lessons together with other Latin American teammates from Wigan. His older brother Éder also played professional football in Ecuador.