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Gerard Piqué

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Gerard Piqué
Personal information
Full name Gerard Piqué i Bernabeu
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 3+1⁄2 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre back
Team information
Current team
 Barcelona
Number 3
Youth career
1997–2004 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2008 Manchester United 12 (1)
2006–2007 → Zaragoza (loan) 22 (2)
2008– Barcelona 72 (5)
International career‡
2002–2003 Spain U16 7 (2)
2004 Spain U17 8 (3)
2006 Spain U19 8 (3)
2007 Spain U20 5 (1)
2006–2008 Spain U21 12 (1)
2009– Spain 29 (4)
2004– Catalonia 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 January 2011
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 November 2010

Gerard Piqué i Bernabeu (Catalan pronunciation: [ʒəˈɾar piˈke]; born 2 February 1987 in Barcelona, Catalonia) is a Spanish footballer, currently playing as a central defender for FC Barcelona.

A product of Barça's cantera, he initially left the club for Manchester United in 2004, where he remained for four years, before returning to Barça under Josep Guardiola's leadership, helping the club become the first Spanish club ever to complete the treble. Piqué is one of four players to have won the UEFA Champions League two years in a row with different teams, the others being Marcel Desailly, Paulo Sousa and Samuel Eto'o.[2]

Piqué has also represented the Spanish national team, making his debut on 11 February 2009, and as of July 2010, he has earned 27 caps, scoring four goals. He was ever-present in the Spain team that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Early career

Piqué started his career in FC Barcelona's youth teams as a left footed defensive midfielder, but before he signed his first professional contract with the club, he decided to join Manchester United. The Premier League side did not pay a fee for Piqué as he was too young to have a professional contract.

Manchester United

Piqué made his debut for Manchester United in October 2004, as a late replacement for John O'Shea in a 3–0 League Cup victory at Crewe Alexandra as a centre back.[3] He made his full debut on 29 March 2006 against West Ham United, in a Premier League match at Old Trafford, playing at right back, as Gary Neville was unavailable through injury.[4]

His performances, most notably in the reserve team, earned him a new contract, which he signed in February 2005 to run until the summer of 2009. On 4 August 2006, however, La Liga side Real Zaragoza secured Piqué on a season-long loan. The conditions of the loan involved Piqué having to feature in at least 20 games for the Aragonese outfit,[5] which he did, as he made 22 first team appearances in a successful spell, alongside Argentine Gabriel Milito (who would sign with Barça for 2007–08), either as a stopper or a holding midfielder.

On 5 May 2007, it was announced that Piqué would be staying at Old Trafford for the following season. Sir Alex Ferguson had intended to assess Pique's form at La Romareda on 6 May, prior to a meeting where the two parties would discuss Pique's future prospects with the club. However, Ferguson was unable to appear on account of airline difficulties.[6]

Piqué's return to Old Trafford saw him make nine league appearances during the 2007–08 season. He scored on his first start in the Champions League, a 4–0 home win against Dynamo Kyiv on 7 November 2007, as Piqué scored the first of Manchester United's four goals in that match.[7] In doing so, he became the 450th player to score at least one goal for the club.[8] His second goal for the club also came in the Champions League with a powerful header from Nani's cross, in an away match to Roma on 12 December 2007.[9]

Return to Barcelona

Piqué during the 2008 Joan Gamper Trophy.

On 27 May 2008, Piqué signed a four-year contract with Barcelona, with a €50 million buy-out clause.[10] Barcelona paid a €5 milion fee for the player.[11] He expressed his joy at re-signing with his boyhood club, although he admitted he had enjoyed his spell at Manchester United:

"I am very happy to be back, I didn't think I would be here again but this is very good for me. Manchester is a great club and I enjoyed winning things. To play with world class players has helped me and now I want to continue this at Barça."

Piqué's first goal for Barcelona came in the club's 5–2 UEFA Champions League group stage win at Sporting CP on 26 November 2008. His first domestic goal for the club followed two months later, on 29 January 2009, in a Copa del Rey match against local rivals Espanyol. The goal, which came from a corner kick in the 57th minute, turned out to be the game winner in a 3–2 victory for Barcelona.[12]

Piqué scored his first league goal for Barcelona on 2 May 2009, in a 6–2 away thrashing of Real Madrid, in El Clásico. On 13 May 2009, he picked up the first trophy of his Barcelona career as he helped his club to a 4–1 victory over Athletic Bilbao in the Copa Del Rey final. Three days later, Barcelona clinched the league title after Real Madrid lost 3–2 to Villarreal, with two games left in the season.

He played against his former club Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League Final on 27 May, which Barcelona won 2–0, hence completing an historic treble. On 26 February 2010, Pique signed a contract extension that will keep him at Barcelona until at least the summer of 2015.[13] On 28 April 2010, Pique scored in Barcelona's semi-final second leg against Internazionale, scoring the only Barcelona goal of the game. Barcelona lost 3–2 on aggregate.[14]

International career

Gerard Piqué in the Palacio de la Moncloa.

Piqué was a member of the Spain under-19 side that won the 2006 U-19 European Championship in Poland.[15] In a 2–1 final win against Scotland, Piqué put in a strong performance in defence, hitting the crossbar with a header, and also providing his team's second goal for striker Alberto Bueno.[16]

Subsequently, he played in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, starting all six of Spain's matches and scoring a goal in the team's come-from-behind 4–2 victory over Brazil in the round of 16.[17] However, Piqué missed the deciding penalty against the Czech Republic and Spain were eliminated at the quarter-final stage.[18]

On 6 February 2009, Piqué was called up to the senior squad for the friendly against England on 11 February.[19] He played the entire match in a 2–0 win, in Seville.[20]

On 28 March 2009, he was called-up as a replacement for injured teammate Carles Puyol, and ended up scoring the only goal in Spain's victory in the 2010 World Cup qualifier against Turkey in Madrid, in what was only his second appearance.[21] Four days later, he also started in Istanbul in a 2–1 win, also in the group stage.[22] Pique played as the first-choice centreback for Spain in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, culminating in victory as World Cup Champions when Spain defeated the Netherlands 1–0 in the Final on 11 July 2010 in South Africa.

No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1[23] 28 March 2009 Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid, Spain  Turkey 1 – 0 1 – 0 2010 World Cup Qualifier
2[24] 12 August 2009 Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia (country)|Macedonia  North Macedonia 2 – 2 2 – 3 Friendly
3[25] 5 September 2009 Estadio Riazor, A Coruña, Spain  Belgium 3 – 0 5 – 0 2010 World Cup Qualifier
4[26] 14 October 2009 Bilino Polje, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina  Bosnia and Herzegovina 0 – 1 2 – 5 2010 World Cup Qualifier Template:Ig footer

Club statistics

As of 16 January 2011[27]

Club Season League Cup League Cup Europe Other[28] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Manchester United 2004–05 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 3 0
2005–06 3 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
Real Zaragoza (loan) 2006–07 22 2 6 1 – 0 0 0 0 28 3
Total 22 2 6 1 – 0 0 0 0 28 3
Manchester United 2007–08 9 0 0 0 1 0 3 2 0 0 13 2
Total 12 0 3 0 4 0 4 2 0 0 23 2
Barcelona 2008–09 25 1 6 1 – 14 1 0 0 45 3
2009–10 32 2 1 0 – 11 2 5 0 49 4
2010–11 15 1 2 0 – 6 0 1 0 24 1
Total 72 4 9 1 – 31 3 6 0 118 8
Career total 106 6 18 2 4 0 35 5 6 0 169 13

Personal life

Piqué was raised in a wealthy Catalan family. His father is a lawyer, and his mother is the director of a medical institute.[29] His grandfather, Amador Bernabeu, is the former vice-president of Barcelona.

Piqué has been rumoured to have dated model turned Bollywood actress and Miss Universe UK 2008, Lisa Lazarus.[30]

He is very good friends with fellow club collegues Carles Puyol, Bojan Krkić, and Spanish national teammate Cesc Fàbregas.[31] [32]

Piqué was also featured in the music video for Shakira's Waka Waka (This Time for Africa), to celebrate South Africa hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2010.

Honours

Club

Manchester United
Barcelona

International

Spain
Spain U19

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Gerard Piqué Bernabeu". fcbarcelona.com. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  2. ^ Bogunyà, Roger (28 May 2009). "Three titles and personal records". FCBarcelona.cat. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  3. ^ "Crewe 0–3 Man Utd". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 26 October 2004. Retrieved 27 May 2008.
  4. ^ "Report: United 1 West Ham 0". ManUtd.com. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
  5. ^ "Zaragoza's Pique: My future is with Man Utd". ontheminute.com. Retrieved 30 January 2007.
  6. ^ Hibbs, Ben (5 April 2005). "Pique set for OT return". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 18 May 2008.
  7. ^ McNulty, Phil (7 November 2007). "Man Utd 4-0 Dynamo Kiev". BBC News. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  8. ^ "All Goalscorers In All Competitive Matches". StretfordEnd.co.uk. 2007. p. 5. Retrieved 8 November 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  9. ^ Herbert, Ian (13 December 2007). "Roma 1 Manchester United 1: Pique's joy on pitch marred by violence off it". London: Independent.co.uk. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  10. ^ "Piqué comes back home". Fcbarcelona.com. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  11. ^ "Gerard Piqué is back at Camp Nou, the man with Barcelona in his DNA". The Guardian. 25 May 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
  12. ^ "Barcelona 3 - 2 Espanyol". Soccernet.espn.go.com. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  13. ^ "Pique signs new Barcelona deal". Ontheminute.com. 26 February 2010. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  14. ^ Barcelona 1 - 0 Internazionale ESPN Soccernet
  15. ^ Spain sweep into U19 final[dead link]
  16. ^ Bueno double gives Spain glory[dead link]
  17. ^ "Spain-Brazil Match Report". FIFA. Archived from the original on 14 February 2008. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
  18. ^ "Spain - Czech Republic Match Report". Fifa.com. Retrieved 25 June 2010. [dead link]
  19. ^ "Lista de convocados para el amistoso ante Inglaterra". rfef.es. Real Federación Española de Fútbol. 6 February 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2009. Template:Es icon
  20. ^ byNick Iliev (12 February 2009). "International Friendly: Spain completely outclass England". Sofiaecho.com. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  21. ^ Spain (29 March 2009). "Del Bosque Analyses Spain's Turkey Win". Goal.com. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  22. ^ "Turkey 1-2 Spain: Riera earns comeback victory". Soccernet.espn.go.com. 1 April 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  23. ^ "Spain 1-0 Turkey: Pique debut, scored his first international goal at the Bernabeu (video)". rtve.es. 28 March 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  24. ^ "Macedonia 2-3 Spain: Pique scored the tying goal (video)". rtve.es. 12 August 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  25. ^ "Spain 5-0 Belgium: Pique scored the third goal (video)". rtve.es. 5 September 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  26. ^ "Bosnia 2-5 Spain: Pique opened the scoring with a great header (video)". rtve.es. 14 October 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  27. ^ "Statistics 2008–09 — Gerard Piqué Bernabeu". FCBarcelona.cat. FC Barcelona. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  28. ^ Includes other competitive competitions, including the FA Community Shield, Supercopa de España, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, FIFA Club World Cup
  29. ^ Lowe, Sid (25 May 2009). "Gerard Piqué is back at Camp Nou, the man with Barcelona in his DNA". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
  30. ^ Beanland, Chris (24 July 2008). "Miss UK's sexy pageant plea". The Sun. London. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  31. ^ http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=177772308905465&set=a.170050133011016.40660.168375189845177
  32. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNo5uRxYYPQ
  33. ^ "Bumper Go Figure: Season In Numbers". Football365.com. 12 May 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
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