Joan Verdú
 Verdú playing for Catalonia in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joan Verdú Fernández | ||
| Date of birth | 5 May 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Barcelona, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1988–1993 | Poble Sec | ||
| 1993–2002 | Barcelona | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2002 | Barcelona C | 19 | (2) |
| 2002–2006 | Barcelona B | 134 | (31) |
| 2004 | Barcelona | 0 | (0) |
| 2006–2009 | Deportivo La Coruña | 85 | (9) |
| 2009–2013 | Espanyol | 144 | (23) |
| 2013–2014 | Betis | 20 | (2) |
| 2014–2015 | Baniyas | 24 | (10) |
| 2015–2016 | Fiorentina | 5 | (1) |
| 2016 | Levante | 13 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2002 | Spain U20 | 2 | (1) |
| 2006– | Catalonia | 10 | (2) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 May 2016. | |||
Joan Verdú Fernández (born 5 May 1983) is a Spanish professional footballer.
A versatile midfielder, adept as both central or attacking midfielder, he started professionally at Barcelona, but played mainly for local rivals Espanyol during his career, amassing La Liga totals of 262 games and 35 goals over the course of nine seasons and also representing in the competition Deportivo, Betis and Levante.
Club career
Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Verdú was a product of FC Barcelona's youth system.[1] He played mainly for its B-side as a senior, making his debut with the main squad on 27 October 2004 in a 0–1 away loss against UDA Gramenet for the season's Copa del Rey;[2] his second and last appearance took place on 7 December, in a 0–2 defeat at FC Shakhtar Donetsk for the UEFA Champions League.[3]
For 2006–07, Verdú moved to Deportivo de La Coruña, being relatively used by the Galicians throughout the campaign and scoring in a 2–0 away win over Villarreal CF on 11 February 2007.[4] He produced similar numbers in his second year in La Liga.
Profiting from Juan Carlos Valerón's age and recurrent physical problems, Verdú had a breakthrough year in 2008–09, often assuming the playmaking duties of the former while also adding seven league goals.[5] However, after a new deal could not be agreed, the free agent moved back to his native region after three years, signing a four-year contract with RCD Espanyol.[6]
On 19 September 2009, Verdú netted against his previous team in a 3–2 away triumph,[7] and started most of his first year, also benefitting from age and injury-related problems of another teammate, Iván de la Peña. Without any real competitor in the following season – de la Peña only saw 30 minutes of action[8][5]– he improved his numbers to 37 games and five goals, as the Pericos finished comfortably in midtable.
In the 2013 summer, free agent Verdú signed a four-year deal with another club in the category, Real Betis.[9] After suffering relegation,[10] he went on to represent in quick succession Baniyas Club (United Arab Emirates),[11] ACF Fiorentina (Italy)[12] and Levante UD.[13]
Club statistics
- As of 19 March 2015
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Barcelona | 2004–05[14] | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Deportivo | 2006–07[14] | La Liga | 27 | 1 | 6 | 1 | — | 33 | 2 | |
| 2007–08[14] | La Liga | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 25 | 1 | ||
| 2008–09[14] | La Liga | 34 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 4[lower-alpha 2] | 1 | 40 | 8 | |
| Total | 85 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 98 | 11 | ||
| Espanyol | 2009–10[14] | La Liga | 34 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 36 | 4 | |
| 2010–11[14] | La Liga | 37 | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | 40 | 5 | ||
| 2011–12[14] | La Liga | 36 | 5 | 6 | 1 | — | 42 | 6 | ||
| 2012–13[14] | La Liga | 37 | 9 | 1 | 0 | — | 38 | 9 | ||
| Total | 144 | 23 | 12 | 1 | — | 156 | 24 | |||
| Betis | 2013–14[14] | La Liga | 20 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 30 | 3 |
| Baniyas | 2014–15[15] | Arabian Gulf League | 17 | 7 | 7 | 1 | — | 24 | 8 | |
| Career total | 266 | 41 | 32 | 4 | 12 | 1 | 310 | 46 | ||
- ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- ↑ Appearances in UEFA Cup
- ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
References
- ↑ "Debe ser el número 23" [Must be number 23] (in Spanish). ESPN Deportes. 18 November 2006. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
- ↑ Sorpresón (Big surprise); Mundo Deportivo, 28 October 2004 (Spanish)
- ↑ N is for...; UEFA.com, 9 May 2005
- ↑ El Deportivo logra su primera victoria de visitante (Deportivo gets first away win); El Mundo, 11 February 2007 (Spanish)
- 1 2 Verdú, el relevo de Valerón, De la Peña y... ¿Beñat? (Verdú, replacement of Valerón, De la Peña and... Beñat?); El Desmarque, 24 June 2013 (Spanish)
- ↑ Verdú ficha por el Espanyol (Verdú signs with Espanyol); Super Deporte, 4 June 2009 (Spanish)
- ↑ Espanyol win at Depor; ESPN Soccernet, 19 September 2009
- ↑ El regreso de Iván obliga a recolocar a Joan Verdú (Iván's return forces a Joan Verdú replacement); Diario AS, 9 September 2009 (Spanish)
- ↑ El fichaje de Verdú por el Betis ya es oficial (Verdú's signing for Betis is already official); Marca, 24 June 2013 (Spanish)
- ↑ Verdú, con cartel en el extranjero (Verdú has a name abroad); Marca, 25 July 2014 (Spanish)
- ↑ Joan Verdú se va al Baniyas SC de los Emiratos Árabes (Joan Verdú goes to Arab Emirates' Baniyas SC); Diario AS, 8 August 2014 (Spanish)
- ↑ La Fiorentina ficha a Verdú (Fiorentina signs Verdú); Marca, 28 August 2015 (Spanish)
- ↑ Verdú, nuevo refuerzo del Levante (Verdú, new addition of Levante); Sport, 1 February 2016 (Spanish)
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Verdú: Joan Verdú Fernández". BDFutbol. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
- ↑ "Joan Verdu". Soccerway. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
External links
- Joan Verdú profile at BDFutbol