 Almunia warming up forWest Ham United in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Manuel Almunia Rivero[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1977-05-19)19 May 1977 (age 48)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Pamplona, Spain[2] | ||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[3] | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper[4] | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Oberena | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–1999 | Osasuna B | 46 | (0) |
| 1999–2000 | Osasuna | 0 | (0) |
| 1999–2000 | →Cartagonova (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2000–2001 | Sabadell | 29 | (0) |
| 2001–2004 | Celta | 0 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | →Eibar (loan) | 35 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | →Recreativo (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | →Albacete (loan) | 24 | (0) |
| 2004–2012 | Arsenal | 109 | (0) |
| 2011 | →West Ham United (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2012–2014 | Watford | 76 | (0) |
| Total | 328 | (0) | |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Manuel Almunia Rivero (born 19 May 1977) is a Spanish former professionalfootballer who played as agoalkeeper.
He competed mainly in the Spanish lower leagues in his early years, only appearing in 26La Liga games over two seasons withRecreativo andAlbacete after starting out atOsasuna. Most of his career was spent withArsenal, for whom he signed in 2004, going on to play 175 official matches andwinning the 2005 FA Cup.[5] He also had a short loan spell atWest Ham United, joiningWatford in 2012 and retiring two years later.
Born inPamplona,Navarre, Almunia started his senior career withCA Osasuna'sreserves in 1995, going on to spend four seasons with the team in theSegunda División B. Subsequently, he stayed in the same level, where he representedFC Cartagonova andCE Sabadell FC.
In the summer of 2001, Almunia first reachedLa Liga, after signing withRC Celta de Vigo. He never represented the club officially, however, being loaned toSD Eibar[6] (where he won theRicardo Zamora Trophy in theSegunda División for the2001–02 campaign),[7]Recreativo de Huelva[8] andAlbacete Balompié, the last two in the top flight.[9]
Playing understudy toJosé Antonio Luque and César atRecre,[10] Almunia's debut in theSpanish top tier came on 17 November 2002, following ared card to the latter in a 3–0 away loss againstDeportivo Alavés.[11] It was one of only two league appearances duringthe season, as theAndalusians suffered relegation after ranking 18th.[10]
AtAlbacete Balompié, Almunia started as backup toCarlos Roa. However, after the Argentine came down with illness he became first-choice,[12] going on to help his team easily escape relegation through a14th-place finish;[13] his first league appearance was on 9 November 2003, in a 1–0 home defeat toMálaga CF as Roa was suspended.[14]
Almunia joinedArsenal on 14 July 2004 for an undisclosed sum, to provide backup toJens Lehmann.[15] He made his debut for his new team on 27 October in a 2–1 win atManchester City inthat season'sLeague Cup,[16] and his maidenPremier League appearance came on 4 December againstBirmingham City;[17] the highlight of hisfirst year came in thefifth round of theFA Cup, a replay atSheffield United: with the game finishing 0–0 afterextra time and heading topenalties, he savedAlan Quinn andJon Harley's attempts to book his team a place in the quarter-finals,[18] and was an unusedsubstitute inthe final win overManchester United.
In the2005–06 campaign, Almunia continued as second-choice to Lehmann, but found himself thrust into the spotlight when he replacedRobert Pires in the 20th minute ofthe final of theUEFA Champions League againstFC Barcelona after Lehmann was sent off. He performed well for the most part, only conceding both goals in the 2–1 loss late in the game.[19]
2006–07 brought Almunia 14 appearances in all competitions. This included theLeague Cup final, lost toChelsea.[20] He and Lehmann were by all accounts rivals off the pitch as well. In an interview with German television in October 2007, speaking about managerArsène Wenger's decision to drop him in favour of the Spaniard, Lehmann said: "It’s possible that some day I’ll feel like talking about the whole issue. But at the moment I’m just swallowing it all as part of the humiliation. But I think – and this is aimed at my dear manager – one shouldn’t humiliate players for too long. I won’t just fade away quietly. Almunia has not yet showed he can win matches for us. I’ve experienced this before and know what the others are expecting from the goalkeeper". Five months later, Almunia responded: "I treat people the way I would like to be treated myself. To have someone here who hates me is just amazing. Every morning I wake up I know it is going to be the same. But I don’t care any more. I come into training and work withŁukasz Fabiański andVito Mannone. They are better than him anyway".[21]
Almunia finally won the battle for first-choice duties in the2007–08 season. Highlights included saving apenalty fromRobbie Keane to help Arsenal beatTottenham Hotspur 2–1.[22] He was given the number one shirt after Lehmann left forVfB Stuttgart at the beginning of the2008–09 campaign, and he saved another important penalty on 21 March 2009, this time fromNewcastle United'sObafemi Martins in a 3–1 victory.[23] In June 2008 he signed a new four-year contract with the English club,[24] but his subsequent performances were highly inconsistent, with brilliant displays in theChampions League semi-final first leg against Manchester United[25] and the2010 Champions League quarter-finals against Barcelona,[26] and poorly received ones which resulted in rumours arising that he would be sold.[27]
Despite the speculation, Almunia began2010–11 as starter. However, on 25 September againstWest Bromwich Albion, he conceded a penalty (which he saved), let a weak shot slip through the near post and was caught out of position in the opposition's third goal;[28] he lost his place through injury and, upon his return, found himself third-choice behind the Polish duo of Fabiański andWojciech Szczęsny.
Almunia made a return to the team on 30 January 2011 againstHuddersfield Town inthe FA Cup,[29] and went on to play both games in the next round againstLeyton Orient.[30][31] On 8 March, he came on as a 19th-minute substitute for the injured Szczęsny against Barcelona in theChampions League last-16 stage, and made a series of saves as Arsenal lost 3–1 at theCamp Nou to exit the tournament, 4–3 on aggregate; he was votedPlayer of the match by fans on the club's official website.[32]
With Szczęsny (dislocated finger), Fabianski (shoulder) and Mannone all out with injury, Almunia again became first-choice. On 19 March, during a 2–2 draw at West Bromwich, he was caught out of position along withSébastien Squillaci, gifting the home team their second goal;[33] already with Lehmann back in the club as an emergency signing, he injured his knee during warm-up of the fixture againstBlackpool,[34] and did not appear in any more matches for the rest of the season.
On 30 September 2011, Almunia signed an initial one-month emergency loan deal withChampionship clubWest Ham United afterRobert Green was ruled out for six weeks with a knee cartilage injury.[35] He made his debut for the Hammers on 1 October in a 2–2 away draw againstCrystal Palace[36] but, at the end of October and with Green's return to fitness, he returned to Arsenal.[37]
On 22 May 2012, Arsenal announced that Almunia and six other players would be released from their contracts as of 30 June.[38]
In July 2012, aged 35, Almunia signed a one-year contract with Championship'sWatford, replacingScott Loach who had moved toIpswich Town.[39] He played his first game on 11 August in aLeague Cup tie at home toWycombe Wanderers, and kept aclean sheet.[40]
Having appeared in all thirty four of Watford's league games, Almunia injured his hamstring againstDerby County on 23 February 2013. He missed the next six contests as youngsterJonathan Bond deputised in his absence,[41] returning in a 0–0 home draw againstCardiff City on 6 April 2013.[42]
On 12 May 2013, in theplay-off semi-final second leg at home toLeicester City, Almunia made a double save fromAnthony Knockaert's penalty in injury time, with Watford leading 2–1 but still level on aggregate. Watford counter-attacked from the resulting saves andTroy Deeney's goal to put his team in thedecisive match against Crystal Palace, where aKevin Phillips penalty in extra time resulted in a 1–0 loss.[43]
Watford announced that Almunia had signed a new twelve-month deal on 5 July 2013, to keep him at the club forone further season. ManagerGianfranco Zola commented: "His experience and influence are so important for us and the impact he had at Watford last season was magnificent."[44] He left in June of the following year, as his contract expired.[45]
Almunia retired on 28 August 2014 on medical advice, after a rare heart condition was picked up during a medical withSerie A sideCagliari Calcio.[46] In 2016, he was appointed to the role of goalkeeping coach atUAE Pro League clubAl Jazira Club.[47]
Almunia did not representSpain at any level. He stated on more than one occasion his desire to play forEngland, only provided that he did not receive a call-up from his nation of birth first.[48][49]
Almunia, whose brother served in theUnited Nations Peacekeeping Operations in Kosovo, has an interest in theSecond World War and regularly visited sites associated with the conflict before European games with Arsenal.[50][51][52]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Osasuna B | 1996–97 | Segunda División B | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 1997–98 | Segunda División B | 31 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 31 | 0 | |||||
| 1998–99 | Segunda División B | 13 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 46 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 46 | 0 | ||||||
| Osasuna | 1998–99 | Segunda División | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Cartagonova | 1999–2000 | Segunda División B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| Sabadell | 2000–01 | Segunda División B | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 29 | 0 | |||
| Eibar | 2001–02 | Segunda División | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 35 | 0 | |||
| Recreativo | 2002–03 | La Liga | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| Albacete | 2003–04 | La Liga | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 25 | 0 | |||
| Arsenal | 2004–05 | Premier League | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| 2005–06 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2006–07 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | Premier League | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9[a] | 0 | — | 38 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | Premier League | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12[a] | 0 | — | 44 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | Premier League | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7[a] | 0 | — | 36 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | Premier League | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | ||
| Total | 109 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 39 | 0 | — | 175 | 0 | |||
| West Ham United | 2011–12 | Championship | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Watford | 2012–13 | Championship | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 3[b] | 0 | 43 | 0 | |
| 2013–14 | Championship | 37 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 0 | |||
| Total | 76 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 81 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 328 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 39 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 405 | 0 | ||
Arsenal
Individual
