Antonio Valencia
Luis Antonio Valencia Mosquera, known as Antonio Valencia (; born 4 August 1985), is an Ecuadorian former professional footballer who played primarily as a right-sided player throughout his career, initially as a right winger, before developing into a right-back. He is regarded as one of the best Ecuadorian footballers of all time. After progressing through the youth system at El Nacional, Valencia became a first team regular and made over 80 appearances for the club. He won the Ecuadorian Serie A with them before signing for La Liga side Villarreal in 2005. He only made two league appearances for the Spanish side in between loan spells at Recreativo for the 2005–06 season and later English Premier League club Wigan Athletic from 2006 to 2008. Wigan Athletic later signed Valencia on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee in January 2008. His performances for Wigan Athletic soon attracted attention from several high-profile clubs, eventually signing for Manchester United in June 2009. His stint there established him as one of the greatest Ecuadorian players of all time, as Valencia was voted into the PFA Team of the Year in his debut season, spent time as club captain, and went on to win two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, two League Cups, three FA Community Shields and the UEFA Europa League. In July 2019 Valencia returned to Ecuador, signing with LDU Quito, with whom he won the inaugural Copa Ecuador in his first season. He announced his retirement in May 2021. Valencia made his Ecuador debut in 2004 and has represented his country at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the 2007 Copa América, the 2011 Copa América, the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the Copa América Centenario and the 2019 Copa América. Valencia won 99 caps and scored 11 goals for his country. Early life Valencia was born on 4 August 1985 in Lago Agrio, near the city of Nueva Loja, Ecuador, which is located in the Amazon rainforest. Valencia helped his mother sell drinks outside the stadium of his local club at Lago Agrio and would then search for empty bottles for his father to sell to a bottle-deposit in the capital, Quito. Valencia used to play barefoot on the pitch next to the bungalow he shared with his parents, five brothers and sister. When Valencia was aged 11, scout Pedro Perlaza spotted him playing on a dusty field near his home, and signed him to the local FA-run sports academy in Sucumbíos. At the age of 16, Valencia did not tell his father he left home to take up an offer to play for El Nacional, the military-backed club in Quito. Nobody knew about Valencia's decision, except his mother and his elder brother, Carlos Alfredo, who paid the fare for his eight-hour bus journey. Valencia began in central midfield and on a salary of 50 dollars a month. Club career El Nacional Valencia started his career at El Nacional and within a year he was fast-tracked into the under-20s, where he