Ansu Fati
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Anssumane Fati Vieira[1] | ||
Date of birth | 31 October 2002 | ||
Place of birth | Bissau, Guinea-Bissau | ||
Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Winger | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Barcelona | ||
Number | 22 | ||
Youth career | |||
2009–2010 | Herrera | ||
2010–2012 | Sevilla | ||
2012–2020 | Barcelona | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2019– | Barcelona | 30 | (11) |
International career‡ | |||
2019– | Spain U21 | 2 | (0) |
2020– | Spain | 4 | (1) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 06:56, 31 October 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13 October 2020 (UTC) |
Anssumane "Ansu" Fati Vieira (born 31 October 2002) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Barcelona and the Spain national team. He was born in Guinea-Bissau but represents Spain internationally.[3] He is widely considered one of Spain's most exciting football talents, and one of the best young players in the world.[4][5][6]
Early and personal life
Born in Guinea-Bissau, Fati moved to Herrera, Seville, with his family at the age of six, when his older brother Braima signed for Sevilla.[7] His other brother Miguel is also a footballer.[8]
His father is ex-footballer Bori Fati, who was from Guinea-Bissau. After emigrating to Portugal, he set up some teams in the lower leagues. There, he moved to Marinaleda, a small town located near Seville, that was offering work to immigrants. After struggling financially in Marinaleda, he met the mayor Juan Manuel Sánchez Gordillo and found a job as a driver. He then settled in the nearby town of Herrera, where Ansu spent most of his childhood and started his football training. Though born in Guinea-Bissau, Bori has said he is "a Sevillian".[9][10]
Club career
Barcelona
Early career
After representing local side Herrera and the youth teams of Sevilla, he joined Barcelona's La Masia in 2012, aged ten,[11][12] a year after his brother had made the same move.[13]
2019–20 season
On 24 July 2019, Fati signed his first professional contract with Barcelona, agreeing to a deal until 2022.[14] On 25 August, before even appearing with the reserves, Fati made his first team – and La Liga – debut, coming on as a late-game substitute for goalscorer Carles Pérez in a 5–2 home win over Real Betis.[15] Aged 16 years and 298 days, he became the second-youngest player to debut for the club, only 18 days older than Vicenç Martínez in 1941.[16]
On 31 August 2019, he scored his first professional goal in a 2–2 away draw between Barcelona and Osasuna at the age of 16 years and 304 days, becoming the Barcelona senior team's youngest goalscorer ever and the third-youngest scorer in the history of La Liga.[17]
On 14 September 2019, in his first career start, Fati became the youngest player in the history of La Liga to score and assist in the same match, at the age of 16 years and 318 days. Fati scored a goal in the 2nd minute which was assisted by Frenkie de Jong and later assisted Frenkie de Jong's goal in the 7th minute of an eventual 5–2 home win against Valencia.[18][19]
On 17 September, Fati made his Champions League debut in a 0–0 away draw against Borussia Dortmund, becoming the youngest player to feature for Barcelona in the competition at the age of 16 years and 321 days, breaking the previous record held by Bojan Krkić (17 years and 22 days); he also became the third-youngest player ever to appear in the competition.[20] On 10 December, Fati became the youngest goalscorer in UEFA Champions League history at the age of 17 years and 40 days when he scored the game winner in Barcelona’s 2–1 victory over Inter Milan at the San Siro.[21]
On 2 February 2020, Fati became the youngest player to score a brace in La Liga, scoring both goals in Barcelona’s 2–1 win over Levante UD.[22] On 5 July, Barcelona defeated Villarreal away from home and he scored the fourth goal in the 4–1 win. His goal was the 9,000th in Barça's history.[23] On 9 July 2020, Fati was sent off after fouling Fernando Calero in the match against Espanyol. Fati had only just played 5 minutes after substituting Nélson Semedo in second half.
2020–21 season
On 23 September 2020, Fati was officially promoted to the first team.[24] Four days later, in Barcelona's first match of the 2020–21 La Liga season and the first under new head coach Ronald Koeman, Fati scored a brace and forced a penalty in a 4–0 win over Villarreal.[25][26] He scored again in the following match, a 3–0 away win over Celta Vigo on 1 October.[27] His performances led to him being named as the La Liga Player of the Month for September 2020.[28] On 20 October, he scored a goal in a 5–1 win over Ferencváros in the Champions League, to become the first player to score more than one goal in the competition before turning 18.[29] On 24 October, he scored a goal in a 1–3 defeat against Real Madrid, to become the youngest scorer in El Clásico, aged 17 years and 359 days old.[30]
International career
Fati was originally eligible to represent Guinea-Bissau at international level, but did not represent the nation of his birth at any level. After his debut in La Liga, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) showed interest in him, with Diario AS reporting that the Spanish government had set its sights on granting Fati citizenship with a view to including him in the squad for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup. He was also reportedly eligible for a Portuguese passport through his grandparents' birth in colonial Portuguese Guinea.[31]
Fati was granted Spanish citizenship on 20 September 2019,[32][33] renouncing his Bissau-Guinean citizenship.[34] He was called up to the Spanish under-21 team on 11 October 2019, following an injury to Carles Pérez.[35] Fati made his debut for the Spanish under-21 team on 15 October 2019 against Montenegro.[36]
Fati received his first call up to the full Spain squad on 20 August 2020, for the initial two matches of the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League.[37] He made his full international debut on 3 September 2020, coming off the bench for the second 45 minutes in a 1–1 draw to Germany.[38] He scored his first goal in his first international start on 6 September 2020, scoring Spain's third goal against Ukraine to be the national team's youngest ever goalscorer at the age of 17 years and 311 days;[39] hence, breaking the 95-year record of Juan Errazquin Tomás , aged 18 years and 344 days.[40] He also became the youngest player to start a match in the UEFA Nations League, breaking the previous record of Welsh player, Ethan Ampadu in 2018, aged 17 years and 357 days.[41]
Career statistics
Club
- As of matches played 31 October 2020.[42]
Club | Season | League | Copa del Rey | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Barcelona | 2019–20 | La Liga | 24 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 8 |
2020–21 | La Liga | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 5 | |
Career total | 30 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 13 |
International
- As of matches played 13 October 2020.[43]
Spain | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Apps | Goals |
2020 | 4 | 1 |
Total | 4 | 1 |
International goals
- As of 6 September 2020. (Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Fati goal)
# | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 September 2020 | Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium, Madrid, Spain | Ukraine | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2020–21 UEFA Nations League A |
Honours
Individual
- [UEFA] La Liga Revelation Team of the Year: 2019–20[44]
- La Liga Player of the Month: September 2020[45]
See also
References
- ^ "Ansu Fati". SEFutbol. Archived from the original on 5 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
- ^ "Ansu Fati". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
- ^ Marsden, Rory. "Barcelona Starlet Ansu Fati Given Spanish Citizenship, National Team Eligibility". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on 15 July 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
- ^ "Top 30 Talents: The best young players in the world (10-1)". eurosport.com. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
- ^ "Barcelona's Andy Fati produced incredible highlights during Spain 4-0 Ukraine". givemesport.com. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
- ^ "Ansu Fati: The Barcelona and Spain record-breaking wonderkid described as Lionel Messi's 'heir' linked to Manchester United with a £360 million release clause". talksport.com. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
- ^ "Ansu Fati's father explains Barcelona signing: "Madrid offered us better terms..."". Diario AS. 26 August 2019. Archived from the original on 2 December 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
- ^ "La saga de los hermanos Fati" [The saga of the Fati brothers] (in Spanish). Sport. 26 November 2017. Archived from the original on 7 December 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
- ^ "El fabulós destí d'Ansu Fati, el fill de guineans que va enamorar al Camp Nou" [The fabulous fate of Ansu Fati, the son of Guineans who fell in love with the Camp Nou]. Ara.cat (in Catalan). 26 August 2019. Archived from the original on 26 August 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
- ^ Lowe, Sid (16 September 2019). "'A star is born': Ansu Fati announces himself and changes his world". www.theguardian.com. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 September 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
- ^ "Así juega Ansu Fati, joya de la cantera del Barça" [This is how Ansu Fati, the pearl of Barça's youth setup, plays] (in Spanish). Diario de Sevilla. 21 August 2019. Archived from the original on 26 August 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
- ^ "Ansu Fati, el sueño de un guineano criado en Herrera se hace realidad" [Ansu Fati, a dream of a Guinean raised in Herrera becomes true] (in Spanish). Diario de Sevilla. 26 August 2019. Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
- ^ "El Calahorra va lanzado: Braima Fati cambia La Masía por La Planilla" [Calahorra is boosted: Braima Fati swaps La Masía for La Planilla] (in Spanish). NueveCuatroUno. 21 August 2019. Archived from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ^ "Ansu blaugrana fins al 2022" [Ansu blaugrana until 2022] (in Catalan). FC Barcelona. 24 July 2019. Archived from the original on 26 August 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
- ^ "Griezmann throws a big Barcelona party". Marca. 25 August 2019. Archived from the original on 26 August 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
- ^ "Teenager Fati makes Barcelona history in debut La Liga game". Goal.com. 25 August 2019. Archived from the original on 14 September 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
- ^ "Ansu Fati becomes Barcelona's youngest-ever goalscorer with Osasuna strike". Metro. 31 August 2019. Archived from the original on 14 September 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ^ Shapiro, Michael (14 September 2019). "16-Year-Old Ansu Fati Shines in First Start With Barcelona". SI.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ "FC Barcelona 5–2 Valencia: Wow!". FC Barcelona. 14 September 2019. Archived from the original on 23 September 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ "Dortmund 0–0 Barcelona". BBC Sport. 17 September 2019. Archived from the original on 29 November 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
- ^ "Ansu Fati Makes History: What We Learned From FC Barcelona Versus Inter Milan". Forbes. Forbes. 10 December 2019. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ "Ansu Fati becomes youngest player to score LaLiga double". AS. 2 February 2020. Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- ^ "Ansu Fati scored 9,000th goal of Barça's history vs Villarreal". SPORT. 5 July 2020. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
- ^ "Ansu Fati joins first team". FC Barcelona. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
- ^ Train, Rob (27 September 2020). "Koeman era begins with Ansu Fati-inspired 4-0 rout of Villarreal". AS. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
- ^ West, Andy (27 September 2020). "Barcelona 4-0 Villarreal: Lionel Messi and Ansu Fati score in win". BBC. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
- ^ "Celta Vigo 0–3 Barcelona: Ansu Fati scores again in Barca win". BBC. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- ^ "Ansu Fati named LaLiga Santander Player of the Month for September". La Liga. 10 October 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- ^ "Barcelona 5–1 Ferencvárosi TC". BBC Sport. 20 October 2020.
- ^ "Ansu Fati becomes youngest Clasico scorer in 21st century to break Vinicius Jr's record". Goal.com. 24 October 2020.
- ^ "Ansu Fati: Spain want to fast-track Barça star into World Cup squad". Diario AS. 29 August 2019. Archived from the original on 29 October 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
- ^ Quixano, Jordi (20 September 2019). "Ansu Fati ya es español" [Ansu Fati is already Spanish]. El País. Archived from the original on 26 September 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
- ^ "Ansu Fati: Barcelona forward granted Spanish citizenship". 20 September 2019. Archived from the original on 14 October 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ [1] Archived 2019-09-24 at the Wayback Machine "renunciando a su nacionalidad anterior".
- ^ "Carles Pérez, baja; Ansu Fati, alta" [Carles Pérez, out; Ansu Fati, called up]. SEFutbol (in Spanish). 11 October 2019. Archived from the original on 11 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- ^ "Montenegro 0–2 Spain". UEFA. 15 October 2019. Archived from the original on 6 September 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
- ^ "OFICIAL | Lista de convocados de la Selección española para los partidos de la UEFA Nations League ante Alemania y Ucrania" [OFFICIAL | List of called-up players by the Spain national team for the UEFA Nations League matches against Germany and Ukraine] (in Spanish). SEFutbol. 20 August 2020. Archived from the original on 30 August 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
- ^ "Germany 1-1 Spain". UEFA. 3 September 2020. Archived from the original on 6 September 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
- ^ "Ansu Fati becomes the youngest ever scorer for Spain". www.fcbarcelona.com. Archived from the original on 6 September 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ "Ansu Fati breaks 95-year record to become Spain's youngest ever scorer". CNN. 7 September 2020.
- ^ "Spain 4–0 Ukraine". BBC Sport. 6 September 2020.
- ^ "Anssumane Fati". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 28 November 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ Ansu Fati at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ "Equipo Revelación de La Liga 2019/20". UEFA. 21 July 2020.
- ^ "Ansu Fati named LaLiga Santander Player of the Month for September". La Liga. 10 October 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
- Ansu Fati at cfwsports.com
- Ansu Fat Fan site
- Ansu Fati at BDFutbol
- Ansu Fati at Soccerway
- 2002 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Bissau
- Spanish footballers
- Spain under-21 international footballers
- Bissau-Guinean footballers
- Association football wingers
- FC Barcelona players
- La Liga players
- Bissau-Guinean emigrants to Spain
- Naturalised citizens of Spain
- Andalusian footballers
- People from Sierra Sur (Seville)
- Spain international footballers