Manuel Almunia
| Manuel Almunia | ||
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| Personnel | ||
|---|---|---|
| Surname | Manuel Almunia Rivero | |
| birthday | May 19, 1977 | |
| place of birth | Pamplona , Spain | |
| size | 191 cm | |
| position | goalkeeper | |
| Juniors | ||
| Years | station | |
| until 1999 | CA Osasuna | |
| Men's | ||
| Years | station | Games (goals) 1 |
| 1999-2000 | → FC Cartagena (loan) | 3 (0) |
| 2000-2001 | CE Sabadell | 25 (0) |
| 2001-2004 | Celta Vigo | 0 (0) |
| 2001-2002 | → SD Eibar (loan) | 35 (0) |
| 2002-2003 | → Recreativo Huelva (loan) | 2 (0) |
| 2003-2004 | → Albacete Balompié (loan) | 24 (0) |
| 2004–2012 | Arsenal FC | 109 (0) |
| 2011 | → West Ham United (Loan) | 4 (0) |
| 2012-2014 | Watford FC | 76 (0) |
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1 Only league games are given. Status: end of career |
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Manuel Almunia Rivero (* 19th May 1977 in Pamplona ) is a former Spanish football - goalkeeper .
Career
Almunia belonged to the teams of Recreativo de Huelva (2002/03) and Celta Vigo (2003/04) for a year until he was loaned to the southern Spanish club Albacete Balompié , for which he played 24 first division appearances. In 2004 he moved to Arsenal, where he was second behind Jens Lehmann . In the same season he managed to oust the German for a short time, but lost his place between the posts again after ten games. Lehmann made a serious mistake in the first two games of the 2007/08 Premier League season. When he pulled a capsule strain in his ankle , Almunia moved into the starting line-up. He played flawless games and thus fought for his regular place, which he kept even after Lehmann's recovery.
A sporting highlight of his career was playing in the Champions League final of the 2005/06 season . Almunia came on in the 19th minute after Jens Lehmann was sent off with red . Despite his best efforts, his team lost 2-1 to FC Barcelona in this game .
Almunia did not play a game for the Spanish national team , nor did he represent the country in the youth field. For this reason, he could have played for the English national team after being naturalized in the United Kingdom . In this regard, he had expressed his interest in the “Three Lions” on the club's own broadcaster “Arsenal TV” in January 2008. However, there was no such commitment.
On September 30, 2011, Manuel Almunia was loaned to West Ham United for a month .
For the 2012/13 season Almunia moved to Watford FC . He received a contract until the end of the season, which was extended after the season for the 2013/14 season. After his contract expired, Almunia Cagliari Calcio wanted to join. At the medical check-up, a heart disease was diagnosed, whereupon Almunia ended his career.
Achievements / titles
society
- FA Cup : 2005
- FA Community Shield : 2004
- Champions League finalist: 2005/06
- League Cup Finalist: 2007, 2011
Personal awards
- Trofeo Zamora (Segunda División): 2001/02
Web links
- Manuel Almunia in the database of soccerbase.com (English)
- Manuel Almunia in the database of weltfussball.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ "Almunia eyes international call" (Sky Sports)
- ↑ Almunia arrives ( Memento of the original from October 1, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (whufc.com on September 30, 2011)
- ↑ Heart disease: Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia ends his career
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Almunia, Manuel |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Almunia Rivero, Manuel (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Spanish soccer goalkeeper |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 19, 1977 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Pamplona , Spain |