Fran Mérida: Difference between revisions
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| countryofbirth = [[Spain]] |
| countryofbirth = [[Spain]] |
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| currentclub = [[Athletico Madrid]] |
| currentclub = [[Athletico Madrid]] |
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| clubnumber = |
| clubnumber = 11 |
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| position = [[Midfielder]] |
| position = [[Midfielder]] |
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| youthyears1 = 1998–2005 |youthclubs1 = [[FC Barcelona|Barcelona]] |
| youthyears1 = 1998–2005 |youthclubs1 = [[FC Barcelona|Barcelona]] |
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Revision as of 08:13, 1 February 2011
 |
 Mérida playing for Arsenal | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Francisco Mérida Pérez | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Athletico Madrid | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1998–2005 | Barcelona | ||
| 2005–2007 | Arsenal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2007–2010 | Arsenal | 6 | (1) |
| 2007–2008 | → Real Sociedad (loan) | 17 | (1) |
| 2010– | Atlético Madrid | 14 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2006–2007 | Spain U17 | 17 | (5) |
| 2007–2009 | Spain U19 | 17 | (7) |
| 2009 | Spain U20 | 6 | (3) |
| 2008– | Spain U21 | 5 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:20, 17 January 2011 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 August 2010 | |||
Francisco "Fran" Mérida Pérez (born 4 March 1990 in Barcelona, Catalonia) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Atlético Madrid as a midfielder.
Playing style
A diminutive but strong and with plenty of energy, Fran is a technically gifted left-footed playmaker who is capable to perform either on the wing or behind the striker. His best attributes are passing, ball control and set-pieces. [citation needed]
Career
Barcelona
Mérida joined the youth ranks of FC Barcelona at the age of eight[1] but left the club in September 2005 and was reportedly hidden away by his agent, Joseba Díaz leading to speculation that he would leave for England with no compensation for the Spanish club. Fran Mérida's parents had become uneasy about all the young players joining Barcelona and felt that youngster would have a better chance elsewhere. Therefore, they approached Díaz, also Cesc Fàbregas' agent, and he promptly alerted Real Madrid, Milan, and Arsenal. Barcelona's fears were realized when Mérida joined Arsenal without compensation, as he had not signed a contract with Barcelona.
Contract controversy
On 9 October 2007, Mérida was ordered by the courts to pay a fee around €3.2m to FC Barcelona as compensation for his "failing to meet the terms of a personal pre-contract" with Barcelona. The decision was said to have serious implications for clubs in England, where players can sign professional contracts at 17, one year earlier than in Spain. In response, a Madrid-based lawyer, Rodrigo García, was quoted as saying, "English teams will now think again before signing a young Spanish player ... It's an important ruling."[2]
Arsenal
He signed professional terms with Arsenal after his 17th birthday.[3] He scored on his first team debut for Arsenal in a friendly against Boreham Wood in August 2006.[4] His competitive first-team debut came on 25 September 2007, when he came on as a 91st minute substitute in Arsenal's 2–0 victory over Newcastle in the League Cup third round,[5] and he made further substitute's appearances in a 3–0 win against Sheffield United in the fourth round, and a 3–2 win against Blackburn Rovers in the quarter-finals. On 3 April 2008, Mérida extended his deal with Arsenal by signing a long-term (unspecified) contract, securing his future with Arsenal. He was expected to play an important role in the future as manager Arsène Wenger described him as "an absolutely amazing player". He scored his first goal for the club against Liverpool in the Carling cup.[6]
Loan to Real Sociedad
On 27 December 2007, Iñaki Badiola, then-prospective presidential candidate of the Spanish club Real Sociedad, claimed he agreed a loan deal with Arsenal for Mérida till the end of the Segunda División season. Badiola became Real Sociedad president on 4 January and Mérida's loan to Real Sociedad was confirmed five days later.[7] He made 17 appearances during the loan, scoring once[8] while being credited with six assists.
Return to Arsenal
For the 08/09 season Mérida returned to Arsenal, he made his first start for Arsenal in a 6–0 win over Sheffield United in the League Cup on 23 September 2008. He started on the left wing for the League Cup home tie against Wigan Athletic on November 2008 in which Arsenal won the game 3–0, with Mérida playing the whole match. On 2 March 2009, Arsène Wenger heaped praise on Fran, claiming the reason for him making the bench for the previous few first team games is because "He has been doing very, very well. He looks really good in training and is getting stronger all the time." Mérida made his Premier League debut, coming off the bench for Samir Nasri with just 8 minutes to go in the 3–1 win at West Brom, hours before his 19th birthday. Mérida also finished the season by coming off the bench against Portsmouth.
2009-10 Season
Mérida returned from the 2009 UEFA U19 European Championships for the 2009/10 season and was named as a substitute in the Emirates Cup 2009. He came off the bench for Aaron Ramsey in the 67th minute in Arsenal's first match against Atlético Madrid and he started and created a goal for Eduardo against Rangers. Arsenal then went on to win the match 3–0 and regain the Emirates Cup. He was then included in Arsenal's first team for the season and handed shirt number 46 and subsequently came on in the 70th minute against Portsmouth in Arsenal's second Premier League match of the season. He was then upgraded to shirt number 32, formerly worn by Theo Walcott. In a Carling Cup game against Liverpool F.C, Mérida scored from the edge of the area, hitting the post on its way past Liverpool F.C goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri.[9] After the game, Arsène Wenger confirmed how Mérida was close to joining Levante on loan at the start of the season, but changed his mind at the last minute because he had "too much quality" to let him leave for a season.[10] With Mérida's contract due to expire in June 2010,he said he was having talks with the club over a new deal and hoped they could come to an agreement,[11] while Atlético Madrid president Enrique Cerezo showed his interest in bringing the youngster back to Spain if something isn't worked out between player and club.[12] On November 5, Arsenal confirmed that Mérida had verbally agreed a deal with the club, but it had yet to be signed.[13] Arsène Wenger then accused Atletico of tapping up Mérida after announcing their public interest of talking to the youngster, saying "I can't say I'm annoyed by other clubs going after our players because we do it as well. But we do it legally." "The difference is that we do not do what is not allowed by the law. We try to get the best players everywhere when it is allowed by the rules."[14]
Mérida played against West Ham in the FA Cup which Arsenal won 2–1. On 17 January 2010 he came on as a 62nd minute substitute for Craig Eastmond and scored in the 77th minute of Arsenal's 2–0 victory over Bolton Wanderers – his first Premier League goal for Arsenal.
2010-11 Season
Atlético Madrid
Atlético Madrid officially announced on May 28 that Fran was on his way to the Vicente Calderón Stadium on a free transfer after refusing Arsenal's contract offer at the end of the season. He scored his first Atlético goal on October 27 in a 5-0 Copa del Rey win against Universidad Las Palmas. On December 16, Mérida scored with his first touch in a 1-1 draw against Bayer Leverkusen. It was his third goal for the club, but could not prevent Atlético from exiting the Europa League.
International career
Mérida was part of the Spanish U-17 squad, which won the 2007 UEFA U-17 Championships.[1] In July 2007, he also played for the Spain U-17 squad in the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup in South Korea but, they finished runners up,[4] losing to a dominant Nigeria in a penalty shootout, with Mérida missing the second penalty of the three taken.
Mérida was called up to the Spanish squad and took part in the 2009 U-20 World Cup held in Egypt during September and October 2009. He starred in an 8–0 drubbing of Tahiti, scoring the fifth goal and providing an assist. In the next group game he continued his fine form and scored 2 goals in a 2–0 win for Spain over Nigeria. Mérida was rested for the final group game against Venezuela, in which Spain won 3–0. He played 76 minutes in Spain's last 16 tie with Italy where they were knocked out of the competition.
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | Domestic Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | ||
| Arsenal | 2007–08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Real Sociedad (loan) | 2007–08 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 6 |
| Arsenal | 2008–09 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 2009–10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 0 | |
| Atlético Madrid | 2010–11 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 3 | 3 |
| Career total | 37 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 57 | 6 | 10 | |
Honours
Club
- Atletico Madrid
Country
References
- ^ a b Saffer, Paul (2 May 2007). "Mérida to make Spain proud". UEFA. Archived from the original on 29 June 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
- ^ Fran Merida hit for £2m by Barcelona
- ^ "Fran Merida signs professional terms". arsenal.com. 8 March 2007. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
- ^ a b Harris, Chris (7 August 2006). "Banfield – We have high hopes for Merida". arsenal.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007. Cite error: The named reference "arsenal408364" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Sky Sports – Match facts (Arsenal v. Newcastle)
- ^ "Wenger delight at Merida deal". Sky Sports.
- ^ "Mérida: "Aportaré mi granito de arena para intentar ascender"". RealSociedad.com (in Spanish).
- ^ "Real Sociedad - Liga Adelante Squad season 2007-2008". Liga Profesional de Fútbol (LFP). Retrieved 11 July 2010.
- ^ "Arsenal 2 – 1 Liverpool". BBC. 28 October 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
- ^ Wilson, Steve (28 October 2009). "Arsenal starlet Mérida was heading out on loan". London: Daily Mail. Retrieved 28 October 2009. [dead link]
- ^ "Mérida – I hope I get new contract". Arsenal.com. 29 October 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
- ^ "Aletico Madrid confirm interest in Arsenal's Fran Mérida". ESPN. 30 October 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
- ^ "Wenger – Mérida deal ready to be signed". Arsenal. 5 November 2009. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
- ^ "'Mérida deal would be 'massive' for us'". Arsenal. 6 November 2009. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
External links
- Fran Merida Perez Profile
- Fran Merida at Soccerbase
- Fran Mérida web
- ESPN Profile
- Fran Mérida – FIFA competition record (archived)
- Fran Merida – Who is Arsenal's newest star?