sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Miguel Pérez Cuesta (born 21 March 1986), known as Michu (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmitʃu]), is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker or attacking midfielder.

Michu

Michu training with Swansea City in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Miguel Pérez Cuesta[1]
Date of birth	(1986-03-21) 21 March 1986 (age 36)[2]
Place of birth	Oviedo, Spain[2]
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s)	Striker, attacking midfielder
Youth career
1994–2003	Oviedo
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2003–2007	Oviedo	100	(13)
2007–2008	Celta B	28	(10)
2008–2011	Celta	101	(14)
2011–2012	Rayo Vallecano	37	(15)
2012–2015	Swansea City	52	(20)
2014–2015	→ Napoli (loan)	3	(0)
2015–2016	Langreo	13	(10)
2016–2017	Oviedo	27	(1)
Total		361	(83)
National team
2013	Spain	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He started playing for Real Oviedo, subsequently representing Celta and Rayo Vallecano, making his La Liga debut with the latter in 2011–12. In 2012 he signed with Swansea City, scoring 22 goals across all competitions in his first season and winning the League Cup.

Despite performances that earned him an international debut for Spain in 2013, Michu fell out of favour at Swansea and was released in November 2015.

Club career

Oviedo and Celta

Michu was born in Oviedo, Asturias. After beginning with local Real Oviedo in the lower leagues, he moved to Celta de Vigo B in Segunda División B in the middle of 2007; midway through his first season he received his maiden first-team callup, finishing the season in the starting XI of the Segunda División side.

In mid-January 2010, a transfer to La Liga with Sporting de Gijón in order to replace Birmingham City-bound Míchel was almost arranged, but it eventually fell through and Michu stayed at Celta.[3] In his last two second-level campaigns, he totalled 12 goals for the Galicians.

On 8 June 2011, after helping the club to sixth position in the regular season, Michu netted the game's only goal in the first leg of the promotion play-offs against Granada CF, at home;[4] in the second leg, however, he missed his penalty shootout attempt and his team was eliminated (4–5).

Rayo Vallecano

On 27 July 2011, after his contract with Celta expired, Michu signed a two-year deal with Rayo Vallecano, newly promoted to the top division.[5] He made his debut in the competition on 28 August, in a 1–1 away draw with Athletic Bilbao.[6]

Michu was one of the best national scorers in his first season (joint-ninth overall, best in the midfielder position), notably scoring braces against Real Sociedad (4–0 home win),[7] Racing de Santander (4–2, home),[8] CA Osasuna (6–0, home)[9] and Real Madrid, the latter albeit in a 6–2 away loss.[10]

Swansea City

On 20 July 2012, Michu signed a three-year contract with Premier League side Swansea City for a fee of £2 million.[11] Following the departure of Gylfi Sigurðsson, the club was looking for someone to fill the gap behind the striker in their 4–2–3–1 formation.[12] He was given the number 9 shirt upon his transfer, and subsequently began featuring as a striker.[13]

On his league debut on 18 August, Michu scored twice and provided an assist for Scott Sinclair in a 5–0 away victory over Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road.[14] The first of his goals was also the first scored in the new top-flight season,[15] and he later described his debut as "incredible".[16]

Michu stayed atop the goalscoring charts by netting the second in a 3–0 home defeat of West Ham United on 25 August,[17] and the second in the 2–2 draw against Sunderland the following matchday.[18]

Michu scored his first FA Cup goal on 6 January 2013, coming off the bench in an eventual 2–2 home draw against Arsenal in the third round and finding the net a mere 73 seconds after entering the pitch.[19] He followed this with another in his team's 2–0 win at Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Football League Cup.[20]

On 23 January 2013, Michu signed a new four-year contract.[21] On 24 February he scored the second in a 5–0 victory over Bradford City to help the side win the League Cup for the first time in its history,[22] in what was his 19th official goal of the campaign.[23] he was subsequently named the team's Player of the Year, as well as the supporters Player of the Year.[24]

Michu scored Swansea's first goal of the new season on 1 August 2013, in the club's 4–0 home win against Malmö FF for the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League.[25] In the play-off tie against FC Petrolul Ploiești late in the same month, he netted the second in a 5–1 victory, also at home.[26]

On 17 July 2014, Michu moved on loan to S.S.C. Napoli of Serie A, with the option of a permanent move.[27] He made his debut for his new team on 31 August, coming on as an 85th-minute substitute for Lorenzo Insigne in a 2–1 win at Genoa.[28]

Injury meant that Michu only played six competitive matches for the Italians,[29][30] and having not appeared for Swansea since April 2014, he was released on 9 November 2015 through a financial settlement, with his contract due to expire in the following summer.[31]

Later years

Immediately after leaving Swansea, Michu joined Asturian amateurs UP Langreo.[32] On 19 August 2016 he returned to his first club Oviedo, signing a one-year deal.[33]

Michu officially announced his retirement from professional football on 25 July 2017, at the age of 31.[34] The previous week, he commented that he would like to stay connected with football.[35]

On 3 June 2018, Michu was appointed as director of football of Langreo, where his brother acted as head coach.[36] He left the position on 3 April 2019, to become the technical secretary of Oviedo.[37] In December that year, he agreed to terminate his contract to join Burgos CF in the former capacity.[38]

International career

On 22 December 2012, courtesy of his performances with Swansea, Vicente del Bosque said that Michu would play for Spain for the first time in a friendly with Uruguay on 6 February of the following year.[39] However, he did not make the final squad for that match.[40]

On 6 October 2013, Michu was finally called up to the national team, as a replacement for the injured David Villa.[41] He made his debut five days later, starting in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Belarus in Palma de Mallorca (2–1 win).[42]

Personal life

In November 2012, along with fellow Premier League stars Santi Cazorla and Juan Mata, Michu bought shares in former club Oviedo as they struggled to raise €2 million to stay afloat in the Spanish third division.[43] He spoke to the official Swansea website about his love for his former club and the decision saying, "It's my local club, a club I love, so I hope it will be enough."[44]

Michu's older brother Hernán was also a footballer. A midfielder, he too was groomed at Oviedo before playing for local sides and subsequently switching to a managerial role; both worked together at Langreo in 2015–16.[45]

Career statistics

Club

Club statistics

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Oviedo	2003–04[46]	Tercera División	19	3	0	0	—		—		—		19	3
	2004–05[47]	Tercera División	19	4	0	0	—		—		—		19	4
	2005–06[48]	Segunda División B	31	3	3	0	—		—		—		34	3
	2006–07[49]	Segunda División B	31	3	0	0	—		—		—		31	3
	Total		100	13	3	0	—		—		—		103	13
Celta B	2007–08[50]	Segunda División B	28	10	0	0	—		—		—		28	10
Celta	2007–08[50]	Segunda División	14	1	0	0	—		—		—		14	1
	2008–09[51]	Segunda División	26	1	2	0	—		—		—		28	1
	2009–10[52]	Segunda División	30	6	6	2	—		—		—		36	8
	2010–11[53]	Segunda División	31	6	1	0	—		—		2[lower-alpha 1]	1	34	7
	Total		101	14	9	2	—		—		2	1	112	17
Rayo Vallecano	2011–12[54]	La Liga	37	15	2	2	—		—		—		39	17
Swansea City	2012–13[55]	Premier League	35	18	2	1	6	3	—		—		43	22
	2013–14[56]	Premier League	17	2	0	0	0	0	7[lower-alpha 2]	4	—		24	6
	Total		52	20	2	1	6	3	7	4	—		67	28
Napoli (loan)	2014–15[57]	Serie A	3	0	0	0	—		3[lower-alpha 3]	0	—		6	0
Langreo	2015–16[58]	Tercera División	13	10	0	0	—		—		4[lower-alpha 4]	2	17	12
Oviedo	2016–17[59]	Segunda División	27	1	1	2	—		—		—		28	3
Career total			361	83	17	7	6	3	10	4	6	3	400	100

International

International statistics

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Spain[60]	2013	1	0
Total		1	0

Honours

Swansea City

• Football League Cup: 2012–13[22]

References

External links

• Michu at BDFutbol
• Michu at National-Football-Teams.com

На других языках

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[de] Michu (Fußballspieler)

Michu (* 21. März 1986 in Oviedo; bürgerlich Miguel Pérez Cuesta) ist ein ehemaliger spanischer Fußballspieler. Er spielte im Mittelfeld und wurde dort vorrangig zentral eingesetzt.

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- [en] Michu

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[es] Michu

Miguel Pérez Cuesta (Oviedo, España, 21 de marzo de 1986), conocido como Michu, es un exfutbolista español. Actualmente es el director deportivo del Burgos C. F. Su hermano Hernán es entrenador y también fue futbolista.[1]

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[fr] Michu (football)

Miguel Pérez Cuesta dit « Michu », né le 21 mars 1986 à Oviedo, est un footballeur international espagnol qui évolue au poste d'attaquant.

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[it] Michu

Miguel Pérez Cuesta, meglio noto come Michu (Oviedo, 21 marzo 1986), è un ex calciatore spagnolo, di ruolo centrocampista o attaccante.

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[ru] Мичу

Миге́ль Пе́рес Куэ́ста (исп. Miguel Pérez Cuesta; 21 марта 1986, Овьедо, Испания), более известный как Ми́чу (исп. Michu) — испанский футболист, полузащитник.

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