On May 23, 2001, Gaizka Mendieta was a key player in the Champions League final. The midfielder, who turned 50 on March 27, 2024, gave FC Valencia the lead against FC Bayern in the 3rd minute with a hand penalty and later converted his attempt in the shootout.
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However, Mendieta did not become the man who plunged Bavaria into the Valley of Tears. Because the Munich team won the final thanks to penalty killer Oliver Kahn (“I can’t remember a greater feeling of happiness”). It was the beginning of the end for Mendieta’s promising career.
“It was hard. Really, a very hard night. We had already lost the final against Real Madrid the year before. But 2001 was more difficult to cope with because we played very well and had the game under control for a long time,” Mendieta recalled to 11 Freunde in 2018: “The game had all the ingredients you need to lose a final in the cruelest way .”
Gaizka Mendieta (Valencia, left) scores against goalkeeper Oliver Kahn (Bayern) to make it 1-0
Mendieta is leaving the club he loves
As an 18-year-old, Mendieta moved from second division club CD Castellón to FC Valencia in 1992, where he later made a career as a director. Over the years he turned down offers from Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Lazio Rome and AC Milan. The Spaniard combined feeling for the ball, athleticism, running strength and will to win, leading Valencia to win the cup and Supercup and to the final of the premier class two years in a row.
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He was therefore voted the best midfielder of the season by UEFA in 2000 and 2001, and he also left his mark on the national team in a total of 40 international matches
But nothing came of his plan to end his career at Valencia – because the drama against Bayern in 2001 was his last game for the Spanish club: Lazio shelled out 96 million marks (the equivalent of around 48 million euros) for the pace setter.
“It was difficult, but I had dreams, as a footballer and as a person. I wanted to try something. “I wanted to take myself to another level as a footballer and as a person, grow and play in the strongest leagues in the world,” explained Mendieta.
Misunderstanding Mendieta becomes a transfer flop
One of the most expensive transfers in football history at the time (Mendieta: “The transfer prices were skyrocketing like crazy at the time”) developed into one of the biggest misunderstandings. Mendieta, who was handsomely paid 8.5 million marks in Rome, turned out to be a bad purchase who was never able to meet the expectations in the Eternal City.
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Across all competitions, the man from Bilbao only played 31 games for Lazio, in which he made two assists. The team weakened and the supposed bearer of hope, then 27 years old, did so too.
“I came to Lazio when they had won the league and cup the year before. Five other new players came with me. A successful year, new players: That’s always difficult. We needed a lot of time to adapt to each other,” Mendieta later explained.
After just one season, Mendieta was loaned out to FC Barcelona (49 games, 12 points scorer) before moving on to Middlesbrough FC, first on loan, then permanently. In total, Lazio only received around 12.5 million euros from the move, which did not come close to the purchase price in 2001.
My Greatest Moment: Stefan Effenberg draws his greatest career moment
Sorted out by Southgate
In England, Mendieta showed his class a few more times, but due to serious injuries (torn cruciate ligament in October 2004, metatarsal fracture in March 2006) he was unable to repeat his previous brilliant performances.
Current English national coach Gareth Southgate hardly found any use for Mendieta in 2006/07, and his career was finally over in the summer of 2008. “We had a good relationship as teammates at Middlesbrough but when he became manager he still wanted to be a friend, a mate. But he wasn’t honest,” Mendieta said in the Guardian in 2021.
He then passed on his experience as a TV expert, became a restaurant owner and pursued his passion as a DJ. His engagement as technical director at Pafos FC from Cyprus ended in June 2023 after just one season.
Effenberg? “Then he was on the other side.”
Many FC Bayern fans will remember him for the 2001 Champions League final – Mendieta may also have left his mark on SPORT1 expert Stefan Effenberg.
Gaizka Mendieta in a duel with Stefan Effenberg in the 2001 CL final
“It was always a challenge. I wanted to win and direct the team and then he was on the other side,” Mendieta recalled to 11 Freunde in 2018: “I wanted to win this duel, I wanted to be better than him. Playing against him was always an extra motivation. It was hard, but also very good.”
2024-03-27 19:46:03
#expensive #misunderstandings #football #history
