Mista (footballer)

Mista

Personal information
Full name	Miguel Ángel Ferrer Martínez
Date of birth	November 12, 1978 (1978-11-12)
Place of birth	Caravaca de la Cruz, Spain
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Retired
Youth career
1990–1994	Peña Madridista Caravaca Cruz
1994–1995	Caravaca Promesas
1995–1996	Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1996–1997	Real Madrid C	28	(9)
1997–1998	Real Madrid B	43	(19)
1999–2001	Tenerife	71	(19)
2001–2006	Valencia	144	(40)
2006–2008	Atlético Madrid	35	(3)
2008–2010	Deportivo La Coruña	26	(2)
2010	Toronto FC	9	(0)
National team
1995	Spain U17	3	(1)
1996–1997	Spain U18	10	(1)
1999	Spain U21	1	(0)
2005	Spain	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Ferrer and the second or maternal family name is Martínez.

Miguel Ángel Ferrer Martínez, aka Mista (born 12 November 1978 in Caravaca de la Cruz, Murcia), is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a striker.

An unsuccessful Real Madrid youth graduate, he would make a name for himself with Valencia, helping the club win a total of four major titles during a five-year spell, and scoring a total of 48 goals in 218 La Liga games in ten seasons, in representation of four teams.

Club career

Spain

Mista was a protégé of Rafael Benítez, who first coached him at Real Madrid Castilla, also working with the player at CD Tenerife and then Valencia CF.

At Tenerife, Mista - along with Curro Torres and Luis García - was a key member of the team that won promotion to La Liga in 2000–01. He subsequently signed for Valencia, and was a prominent member of the successful teams that won two league titles and the 2004 UEFA Cup, where he scored the second goal in the 2–0 win against Olympique de Marseille. On 21 March 2004, he netted a hat-trick for the eventual champions, in a 5–1 home win over RCD Mallorca, but his goal rate decreased drastically after 2004–05.

In 2006, Mista joined Atlético Madrid, playing 29 games in 2006–07, but almost absolutely no part in the following season. In July 2008 he joined Deportivo de La Coruña, on a three-year contract. On his official debut with his new club, he scored the first goal in a 2–1 triumph against Real Madrid, on 31 August 2008. Constantly troubled by injuries and a loss of form, his second league goal came more than a year later (7 November 2009), in a 2–0 win at Getafe CF.

Toronto

After only two league goals for Depor in two seasons, Mista signed with Toronto FC of Major League Soccer on 6 July 2010, in a deal running until the end of the season. He made his unofficial debut for the club in a friendly against Bolton Wanderers, at BMO Field on the 21st, and first appeared in the league in a home match against FC Dallas on July 24; his first and only goal came on 17 August, in a 2–1 home against over Cruz Azul in the CONCACAF Champions League.

On 24 November 2010, in the 2010 MLS Expansion Draft, 32-year old Mista was waived following a poor season with Toronto. He announced his retirement on 14 August of the following year.

International career

Mista made his debut with Spain on 26 March 2005, in a 3–0 friendly win against China, in Salamanca. He added another cap seven months later, in a 6–0 away thrashing of San Marino for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Honours

• Valencia:
  • Spanish League: 2001–02, 2003–04
  • UEFA Cup: 2003–04
  • UEFA Super Cup: 2004

External links

• BDFutbol profile
• National team data (Spanish)
• MLS player profile
• Mista at National-Football-Teams.com
• Mista – FIFA competition record