Happy 26th Birthday Antonio Valencia! A Timeline of his United Career So Far

June 30th 2009 –  Antonio Valencia joins Man United from Wigan

Manchester United complete the signing of Antonio Valencia from Wigan Athletic on a four-year deal. Valencia’s transfer is reported to have cost United up to £16million.

Sir Alex had this to say on the signing of the Ecuadorian:

“Antonio is a player we have admired for some time now, having spent the last two years in the Premier League with Wigan, I am sure his pace and ability will make a significant contribution to the team.”

Upon signing, Valencia stated:

“I have enjoyed my time at Wigan, but I am thrilled to have the chance to challenge for the biggest honours in club football here, playing in front of 76,000 fans alongside players like Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs will be an amazing experience. I can’t wait to get started.”

August 9th 2009 – Manchester United debut for Valencia

Antonio Valencia comes off the bench in the 2009 FA Community Shield, as Manchester United are beaten by Chelsea on penalties.

August 16th 2009 – Full debut for Antonio Valencia at Old Trafford

Antonio Valencia makes his Premier League bow for Manchester United in a 1-0 Home win to Birmingham on the opening day of the 2009/10 premier league season. Wayne Rooney notching the game’s only goal.

August 19th 2009 – First loss for Valencia in a Manchester United shirt

Antonio Valencia comes off from the bench past the hour mark, replacing Anderson, but he couldn’t prevent United from losing 1-0, away to newly promoted Burnley in the league.

August 22nd 2009 –  Valencia faces former club Wigan in the league

Antonio Valencia starts and plays the full 90 minutes against his former club, as Manchester United cruise to a 5-0 away victory against Wigan at the JJB. Valencia made a notable contribution crossing for Wayne Rooney early in the 2nd half to score his 100th goal for the club

September 15th 2009 –  Antonio Valencia makes his first every appearance in the Champions league for Man United

Valencia started as Man United got off to a winning start in their Champions league group. Away to Besiktas and Valencia certainly impressed, with his pace and trickery giving the Besiktas left back a torrid time all game. Paul Scholes eventually heading in the winner in a hard fought victory for the Reds.

October 17th 2009 –  Valencia scores his 1st goal for Manchester United

Manchester United beat Bolton 2-1 at home in the league as Valencia scores his first goal for the club. It came about after the Ecuadorian played a neat 1-2 with Gary Neville, before smashing a powerful strike past the hapless Jaaskelainen in the Bolton goal.

October 21st 2009 – CSKA Moscow 0-1 Man Utd

Valencia gets his 2nd goal in two games for his new club, this time in the Champions league. Manchester United edge past CSKA Moscow 1-0 to put themselves on the brink of qualifying.  Gary Neville had this to say about Valencia’s impact after game:

“He’s got a lot of quality. Strong, quick, an old fashioned winger, puts crosses in and he’s a constant threat to a defender. He’s always on his shoulder and in the 2nd half tonight, he was going in behind him them all the time, and we played quite a lot of balls in behind their left back, and it was difficult for him”

December 5th 2009 –  Man United brush aside West Ham 4-0 at Upton Park

Antonio Valencia scores his first away goal for the club in the premier league, as an injury hit Manchester United side made light work of West Ham. Other scorers included; Scholes, Gibson & Wayne Rooney respectively.

December 30th 2009 –  Valencia scores against Ex club, Wigan Athletic

Antonio Valencia played the full 90 minutes against his former club, as Manchester United demolished Wigan 5-0. Valencia was instrumental all game, as he provided the assist for the 2nd goal, and capped off a routine win, with the 5th and final goal.

January 3rd 2010- Valencia makes FA Cup debut for Manchester United

Manchester United Crashed out of the FA Cup with a shock 1-0 defeat at home to Leeds. Valencia came on as a substitute just before the hour mark, but couldn’t prevent Man United from going crashing out in the early rounds of the biggest domestic cup competition in England.

February 28th 2010 – Antonio Valencia and Manchester United win the Carling Cup

Ecuadorian Winger Valencia wins his 2nd trophy since signing for Manchester United, as  they beat Aston Villa 2-1 in the League Cup final. Valencia played the full 90 minutes, and made a telling contribution as he provided the assist for Wayne Rooney’s winning goal. Valencia and United won the Carling cup. Furthermore Valencia was named the man of the match, for his efforts in the final.

April 7th 2010 – Manchester United are knocked out of the Champions League

Man United beat Bayern 3-2, but couldn’t make it through to the semi final, as they get knocked out on away goals. Valencia played the full 90 minutes, and assisted Nani with a low cross, as Nani scored  a delightful flick to put Manchester United 2-0 up.

April 25th 2010 – Antonio Valencia named in PFA team of the year

It’s an honour for Valencia, as his 1st and successful season with Manchester United is duly rewarded. He is named in the PFA team of the year for his outstandingly consistent contributions throughout the season. Valencia made 34 appearances in the league during his first season at Manchester United, and contributed with 5 goals to add to his 9 assists.

August 8th 2010 – Valencia scores in Community Shield win

Manchester United faced Chelsea in the FA Community shield for the 2nd year in succession. This time Valencia was on the winning side as Manchester United completed a routine 3-1 Victory over their London rivals. Berbatov and Hernandez scoring the other goals respectively.

August 16th 2010 – Manchester United 3-0 Newcastle

Antonio Valencia starts the opening game of the 2010/11 Premier league season and plays the full 90 minutes as Man United stroll past Newcastle in a 3-0 win and make the perfect start to the new campaign.

September 14th 2010 – Valencia suffers a break to his left ankle in the Champions League.

Antonio Valencia started against Rangers in the Champions league group stages and suffered a serious injury to his left ankle from a tackle by Rangers defender Kirk Broadfoot. It was feared that Valencia would undergo a lengthy lay off and miss the rest of the campaign. Darren Fletcher speaking about the injury said:

“It looked really bad. Hopefully the scans show it is not as bad as we fear. ‘After arriving from Wigan he had a great first season and was looking to push on this year. That is why the injury is a real blow. He has only just got back from the injury he suffered at the end of last season too. He is a strong character and a good lad. He has real determination and works hard. He will be back I am sure. He will have a long future at Manchester United.”

There had been initial fears that the Ecuadorian would miss the whole season but Ferguson said: “

“You can never be 100% and it is a bad injury but we are looking at the end of February, which is better than we thought on Tuesday. Antonio had a great season last year. He was a great signing for us. He is a young player who has been improving all the time. It is a blow losing good players but in the context of the kind of squad we have, we should be able to cope with it.”

March 12th 2011 – Valencia returns to the starting line-up after breaking his leg against Rangers in September

Manchester United field an under strength team in the FA Cup, but it is still enough, as they beat Arsenal 2-0 thanks to goals from Fabio da Silva and Rooney. There was a welcome sight for United & their fans at the start of the 2nd half as Valencia returned to the team for the 1st time since breaking his leg in the Champions League match against Rangers in the early part of the season.

Sir Alex had this to say on the Winger’s return to the side following a lengthy lay off:

“We’re very, very pleased with his first 45 minutes after six months out. He’ll be pleased and everyone in the dressing room’s pleased. The boy’s a terrific player and he calmed us down in possession of the ball. He wanted it all the time. He’s got great balance, great awareness of people around him and great speed.”

Wayne Rooney added:

“I can’t tell you how good it is to see him back out there. It was his first game back after six months out and he looked like he’d never been away. It’s fantastic for him and fantastic for us to have him available again.”

April 9th 2011 –  Valencia scores his 1st goal of the 2010/11 season

Antonio Valencia scored his 1st goal of the season since returning from injury as Manchester United beat Fulham 2-0 at Old Trafford.

May 14th 2011- Man United draw 1-1 with Blackburn and win a record 19th league title

Antonio Valencia played the full match in Manchester United’s penultimate game of the season as a draw is enough to see them crowned champions and see Valencia win his first Premier league title with the club. Antonio Valencia also becomes the first Ecuadorian player to win the English Premier league.

May 28th 2011 –  Barcelona 3-1 Manchester United

Starting on the right wing, ahead of Nani, Valencia took part in his first ever Champions League final, as Manchester United were beaten 3-1 by a simply majestic Barcelona side. However, it was a particularly disappointing night for Valencia, who had come back so well from injury, as he was lucky to not be sent off after a succession of poor challenges.

1st August 2011- Valencia Signs New 4-Year Contract

After making a great comeback from a career threatening injury, Antonio was rewarded for his great performances with a new contract that will keep him at Old Trafford until just before his 30th Birthday!

Written by Can They Score writer, Demi, who you can follow on Twitter here.

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