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Rafa Mir

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Mir and the second or maternal family name is Vicente.
Rafa Mir
Personal information
Full name Rafael Mir Vicente[1]
Date of birth (1997-06-18) 18 June 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth Cartagena, Spain
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Youth career
2004–2006 Javalí Nuevo
2006–2007 ElPozo Murcia
2007–2009 Ranero
2009–2011 Barcelona
2011–2012 Murcia
2012–2015 Valencia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2018 Valencia B 60 (25)
2015–2018 Valencia 2 (0)
2018–0000 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 (0)
2018–2019 → Las Palmas (loan) 30 (7)
2019–2020 → Nottingham Forest (loan) 11 (0)
2020–2021 → Huesca (loan) 56 (22)
International career‡
2018–2019 Spain U21 10 (5)
2021 Spain U23 7 (3)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Spain
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 08:07, 24 May 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:01, 7 August 2021 (UTC)

Rafael Mir Vicente (born 18 June 1997) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Club career

Youth career and Valencia

Born in Murcia, Mir began his career playing futsal with CD Javalí Nuevo. After a 120-goal spell at ElPozo Murcia FS he began playing full football with Ranero CF, scoring 57 and 84 goals in his respective seasons before joining FC Barcelona.[2]

Mir's 32 goals at La Masia earned him a return to his native region and Real Murcia, where a 45-goal haul led to the attention of Valencia CF.[2] He made his senior debut for the reserves on 1 March 2015, as an 88th-minute substitute for Wilfried Zahibo in a 2–1 Segunda División B loss at CE L'Hospitalet.

Mir scored his first senior goal on 7 March 2015, netting the last in a 2–0 win over CF Badalona at the Ciudad Deportiva de Paterna.[3] He finished the campaign with four appearances, as his side narrowly avoided relegation.

The following season, Mir excelled in the UEFA Youth League, scoring consecutive braces in victories over Gent.[4][5] On 14 November 2015, he was given his first start for the B-side, playing the full 90 minutes in a 4–2 loss at another reserve team, Villarreal CF B.[6]

On 24 November 2015, Mir was called up to the main squad by manager Nuno Espírito Santo for a La Liga game against UD Las Palmas;[7] he was an unused substitute in the 1–1 draw at the Mestalla Stadium.[8] He made his professional debut on 25 November, starting in a UEFA Champions League group stage match away to Zenit Saint Petersburg,[9] being substituted for Santi Mina in the 56th minute of an eventual 2–0 defeat.[10]

He made his top-flight debut against Las Palmas on 28 August, replacing Enzo Pérez for the final four minutes of a 4–2 home loss.[11]

Mir began the first half of the 2017–18 season for Valencia B in good form, scoring 15 goals in 19 games, attracting interest from Real Madrid and Wolverhampton Wanderers.[12]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

On 3 January 2018, Mir joined Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers for an undisclosed fee, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract with the club and taking the number 9 shirt. He linked up with former Valencia boss Nuno Espírito Santo, who gave him his first team debut at the club.[13] He made his debut three days later in the FA Cup third round at home to Swansea City, playing the last 13 minutes of a goalless draw in place of Leo Bonatini.[14]

On 23 July 2018, Mir joined Segunda División side UD Las Palmas on loan for one season.[15] A year later, he returned to the Championship, on loan to Nottingham Forest.[16] After struggling for both minutes and goals with Forest, Mir and Forest agreed for him to return to his parent club on 14 January 2020.[17]

Immediately following his departure from Nottingham, Mir was loaned to Segunda División side SD Huesca for 18 months.[18] He was sent off on 8 February in a 1–0 loss at Girona FC for elbowing Álex Granell and banned for one match.[19] On 17 July, he scored twice in a 3–0 home win over CD Numancia to win promotion to the top flight with a game remaining.[20] The following 29 January, he scored a hat-trick in a 3–1 victory at Real Valladolid.[21]

International career

On 29 June 2021, Mir was named in the 22-man squad for the 2020 Summer Olympics by manager Luis de la Fuente.[22] On 31 July, he scored an injury-time equaliser against the Ivory Coast to take their quarter-final to extra-time, in which he added two further goals to complete a hat-trick as Spain won 5–2 .[23]

Personal life

Mir, who idolised German forward Mario Gómez, is the son of former defender Magín Mir, whose clubs included RCD Mallorca and Murcia.[2]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 22 April 2021.[24]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season Division League National Cup League Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Valencia B 2014–15 Segunda División B 4 1 — — 4 1
2015–16 Segunda División B 2 0 — — 2 0
2016–17 Segunda División B 35 9 — — 35 9
2017–18 Segunda División B 19 15 — — 19 15
Total 60 25 0 0 0 0 60 25
Valencia 2015–16 La Liga 0 0 1 0 — 1 0
2016–17 La Liga 2 0 3 0 — 5 0
Total 2 0 4 0 0 0 6 0
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2017–18 Championship 2 0 2 0 — 4 0
2018–19 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 2 0 2 0 0 0 4 0
Las Palmas (loan) 2018–19 Segunda División 30 7 0 0 — 30 7
Nottingham Forest (loan) 2019–20 Championship 11 0 0 0 2 0 13 0
Huesca (loan) 2019–20 Segunda División 18 9 0 0 — 18 9
2020–21 La Liga 38 13 1 3 — 39 16
Total 56 22 1 3 0 0 57 25
Career total 161 54 7 3 2 0 170 57

Honours

Club

SD Huesca

International

Spain Olympic

References

  1. ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Nottingham Forest" (PDF). English Football League. p. 49. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Rafa Mir, el ´gigante´ de los mil goles del Valencia CF" [Rafa Mir, Valencia CF's 1000-goal 'giant'] (in Spanish). Superdeporte. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  3. ^ "El Mestalla sufre pero se impone" [Mestalla suffer but impose themselves] (in Spanish). Levante EMV. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  4. ^ "Perfect Arsenal forge on in Youth League". UEFA. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  5. ^ "Holders Chelsea assured of top-two finish". UEFA. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  6. ^ "El Valencia Mestalla naufraga ante el Villarreal B" [Valencia Mestalla sink against Villarreal B] (in Spanish). Super Deporte. 14 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  7. ^ Gimeno, Manu (20 November 2015). "Nuno se lleva a Rafa Mir y recupera a pesos pesados" [Nuno brings in Rafa Mir and regains heavyweights] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  8. ^ "Viera gets the point for Las Palmas as Valencia are left frustrated". ESPN. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  9. ^ Rocha Rodrigues, Luís; Sousa, Vasco (24 November 2015). "Para sacudir a crise, Nuno estreia Rafa Mir, de 18 anos" [To end the crisis, Nuno chooses, Rafa Mir, 18] (in Portuguese). ZeroZero. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  10. ^ "Zenit stay perfect at Valencia's expense". UEFA. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  11. ^ "El Las Palmas desnuda al Valencia" [Las Palmas expose Valencia] (in Spanish). El Periódico. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  12. ^ "Wolves close to signing Rafa Mir from Valencia". Sky Sports. 3 January 2018.
  13. ^ "Welcome Rafa". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 3 January 2018.
  14. ^ Dicken, Alex (10 January 2018). "Rafa Mir scouting report: How the Wolves new boy's brief but eventful debut unfolded". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  15. ^ "Mir Departs Molineux On Loan". Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  16. ^ "Rafa Mir: Nottingham Forest sign Wolves striker on season-long loan". BBC. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  17. ^ Clapson, Sarah (14 January 2020). "Breaking: Flop leaves Nottingham Forest as loan spell is terminated". Nottingham Post. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  18. ^ Puyuelo, Jorge (24 August 2020). "Rafa Mir será el '9' del Huesca" [Rafa Mir will be Huesca's '9']. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  19. ^ Ralla, Emilio (12 February 2020). "La sanción a Rafa Mir se queda en un partido" [Rafa Mir's punishment stays at one match]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  20. ^ Delgado, José Domingo (17 July 2020). "Rafa Mir lleva a la SD Huesca a Primera y hunde al Numancia" [Rafa Mir takes SD Huesca to Primera and sinks Numancia] (in Spanish). Be Soccer. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  21. ^ "Rafa Mir Shines With Hat Trick To Give Huesca Win Over Valladolid". beIN Sports. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  22. ^ "Spain Names Six From Euro Squad to Olympic Roster". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  23. ^ "Rafa Mir scores hat-trick as Spain overpower Ivory Coast in extra time to reach semi-finals". Sky Sports. 31 July 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  24. ^ "Rafa Mir". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
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