Michu

Miguel Pérez Cuesta (born 21 March 1986), known as Michu (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmitʃu]), is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker or attacking midfielder, and the technical secretary of Real Oviedo.

This article is about the Spanish footballer. For other uses, see Michu (disambiguation).

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Pérez and the second or maternal family name is Cuesta.

Michu
Michu training with Swansea City in 2013
Personal information
Full name Miguel Pérez Cuesta[1]
Date of birth (1986-03-21) 21 March 1986
Place of birth Oviedo, Spain
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Playing position(s) Striker, attacking midfielder
Youth career
1994–2003 Oviedo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2007 Oviedo 100 (13)
2007–2008 Celta B 28 (10)
2008–2011 Celta 101 (14)
2011–2012 Rayo Vallecano 37 (15)
2012–2015 Swansea City 52 (20)
2014–2015 → Napoli (loan) 3 (0)
2015–2016 Langreo 13 (10)
2016–2017 Oviedo 27 (1)
Total 361 (83)
National team
2013 Spain 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He started playing for Real Oviedo, subsequently representing Celta and Rayo Vallecano, making his La Liga debut with the latter in 2011–12. In 2012 he signed with Swansea City, scoring 22 goals across all competitions in his first season and winning the League Cup.

Despite performances which earned him an international debut for Spain in 2013, Michu fell out of favour at Swansea and was released in November 2015.

Club career

Oviedo / Celta
Michu with Celta in 2009

Michu was born in Oviedo, Asturias. After beginning with local Real Oviedo in the lower leagues, he moved to Celta de Vigo B in Segunda División B in the middle of 2007; midway through his first season he received his maiden first-team callup, finishing the season in the starting XI of the Segunda División side.

In mid-January 2010, a transfer to La Liga with Sporting de Gijón in order to replace Birmingham City-bound Míchel was almost arranged, but it eventually fell through and Michu stayed at Celta.[3] In his last two second level campaigns combined, he scored 12 goals for the Galicians.

On 8 June 2011, after helping the club to sixth position in the regular season, Michu netted the game's only goal in the first leg of the promotion play-offs against Granada CF, at home;[4] in the second leg, however, he missed his penalty shootout attempt and his team was eliminated (4–5).

Rayo Vallecano

On 27 July 2011, after his contract with Celta expired, Michu signed a two-year deal with Rayo Vallecano, newly promoted to the top division.[5] He made his debut in the competition on 28 August, in a 1–1 away draw against Athletic Bilbao.[6]

In his first season, Michu was one of the best national scorers (joint-ninth overall, best in the midfielder position), notably scoring braces against Real Sociedad (4–0 home win),[7] Racing de Santander (4–2, home),[8] CA Osasuna (6–0, home)[9] and Real Madrid, the latter albeit in a 2–6 away loss.[10]

Swansea City
Michu in 2013

On 20 July 2012, Michu signed a three-year contract with Premier League side Swansea City for a fee of £2 million.[11] Following the departure of Gylfi Sigurðsson, the club was looking for someone to fill the gap behind the striker in their 4–2–3–1 formation.[12] He was given the number 9 shirt upon his transfer, and subsequently began featuring as a striker.[13]

On his league debut on 18 August, Michu scored twice and provided an assist for Scott Sinclair in a 5–0 away win against Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road. The first of his goals was also the first scored in the new top flight season,[14][15] and he later described his debut as "incredible".[16]

Michu stayed atop the goalscoring charts by netting the second in a 3–0 home win against West Ham United on 25 August,[17] and the second in the 2–2 draw against Sunderland the following matchday.[18]

Michu scored his first FA Cup goal on 6 January 2013, coming off the bench in an eventual 2–2 home draw against Arsenal in the third round and finding the net a mere 73 seconds after entering the pitch.[19] He followed this with another in his team's 2–0 win at Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Football League Cup.[20]

On 23 January 2013, Michu signed a new four-year contract with Swansea.[21] On 24 February he scored the second in a 5–0 win over Bradford City to help his team win the League Cup for the first time in its history,[22] in what was his 19th official goal of the campaign.[23] he was subsequently named the team's Player of the Year, as well as the supporters Player of the Year.[24]

Michu scored Swansea's first goal of the new season on 1 August 2013, in the club's 4–0 home win against Malmö FF for the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League.[25] In the club's play-off tie against FC Petrolul Ploiești late in the same month, he netted the second in a 5–1 victory, also at home.[26]

On 17 July 2014, Michu moved on loan to S.S.C. Napoli of Serie A, with the option of a permanent move.[27] He made his debut for his new team on 31 August, coming on as an 85th-minute substitute for Lorenzo Insigne in a 2–1 win at Genoa CFC.[28]

Injury meant that Michu only played six competitive matches for the Italians,[29][30] and having not appeared for Swansea since April 2014, he was released on 9 November 2015 through a financial settlement, with his contract due to expire in the following summer.[31]

Later years

Immediately after leaving Swansea, Michu joined Asturian amateurs UP Langreo.[32] On 19 August 2016 he returned to his first club Oviedo, signing a one-year deal.[33]

On 25 July 2017, Michu officially announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 31.[34] The previous week, he commented that he would like to stay connected with football.[35]

On 3 June 2018, Michu was appointed as director of football of Langreo, where his brother acted as head coach.[36] He left the position on 3 April 2019, to become the technical secretary of Oviedo.[37]

International career

On 22 December 2012, courtesy of his performances with Swansea, Vicente del Bosque said that Michu would play for Spain for the first time in a friendly with Uruguay on 6 February of the following year.[38] However, he did not make the final squad for that match.[39]

On 6 October 2013, Michu was finally called up to the national team, as a replacement for the injured David Villa.[40] He made his debut five days later, starting in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Belarus in Palma, Majorca (2–1 win).[41]

Personal life

In November 2012, along with fellow Premier League stars Santi Cazorla and Juan Mata, Michu bought shares in former club Oviedo as they struggled to raise €2 million to stay afloat in the Spanish third division.[42] He spoke to the official Swansea website about his love for his former club and the decision saying, "It's my local club, a club I love, so I hope it will be enough."[43]

Career statistics

Club
Club statistics
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Oviedo 2003–04[44] Tercera División 19300———193
2004–05[45] Tercera División 19400———194
2005–06[46] Segunda División B 31330———343
2006–07[47] Segunda División B 31300———313
Total 1001330———10313
Celta B 2007–08[48] Segunda División B 281000———2810
Celta 2007–08[48] Segunda División 14100———141
2008–09[49] Segunda División 26120———281
2009–10[50] Segunda División 30662———368
2010–11[51] Segunda División 31610——2[lower-alpha 1]1347
Total 1011492——2111217
Rayo Vallecano 2011–12[52] La Liga 371522———3917
Swansea City 2012–13[53] Premier League 35182163——4322
2013–14[54] Premier League 17200007[lower-alpha 2]4—246
Total 5220216374—6728
Napoli (loan) 2014–15[55] Serie A 3000—3[lower-alpha 3]0—60
Langreo 2015–16[56] Tercera División 131000——4[lower-alpha 4]21712
Oviedo 2016–17[57] Segunda División 27112———283
Career total 361831776310463400100
  1. Appearances in Segunda División play-offs
  2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League and UEFA Champions League
  4. Appearances in Tercera División play-offs

International
International statistics
National teamYearAppsGoals
Spain[58] 201310
Total10

Honours

Swansea City

References
  1. "Barclays Premier League squad numbers 2013/14". Premier League. 16 August 2013. Archived from the original on 21 August 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  2. "Michu". Eurosport. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  3. "Michu no irá al Sporting de Gijón" [Michu will not go to Sporting de Gijón]. Faro de Vigo (in Spanish). 16 January 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  4. García, Gregorio (8 June 2011). "Michu salió del banquillo para poner al Celta en el buen camino" [Michu came from the bench to lead the way for Celta]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  5. "Rayo Vallecano: acuerdo con Michu" [Rayo Vallecano: agreement with Michu] (in Spanish). esFutbol. 27 July 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
  6. "Solid return for Vallecano". ESPN Soccernet. 28 August 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  7. "Martinez red spurs Rayo". ESPN Soccernet. 6 November 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  8. "Rayo comeback stuns Racing". ESPN Soccernet. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  9. "Osasuna hit for six". ESPN Soccernet. 7 April 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  10. "Ronaldo revels in Rayo rout". ESPN Soccernet. 24 September 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  11. Lutz, Tom (20 July 2012). "Swansea City sign Michu from Rayo Vallecano for £2m". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  12. "Swans sign bargain Michu". Sky Sports. 20 July 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  13. Gwilym, Andrew (4 November 2012). "Swansea striker Michu will play against Chelsea despite booking threat". The Independent. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  14. Ryan, Mark (18 August 2012). "QPR 0 Swansea 5: Swans rip Rangers to shreds with Michu and Dyer at the fore". Daily Mail. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  15. "Michu magic inspires Swansea rout". ESPN Soccernet. 18 August 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  16. Acedo, Francisco (22 August 2012). "Michu thriving at Swansea". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  17. "Swansea impress again". ESPN Soccernet. 25 August 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  18. "Swansea City 2–2 Sunderland". ESPN FC. 2 September 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
  19. "Graham to the rescue again". ESPN FC. 6 January 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  20. Rose, Gary (9 January 2013). "Chelsea 0–2 Swansea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  21. "Michu signs four-year contract with Swansea City". BBC Sport. 23 January 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  22. McNulty, Phil (24 February 2013). "Bradford 0–5 Swansea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  23. "Bantams battered by Swans". ESPN FC. 25 February 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  24. "Magic Michu steals the show". Swansea City A.F.C. 16 May 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  25. Al-Samarrai, Riath (1 August 2013). "Swansea 4 Malmo 0: New boy Bony nets twice as £12m striker gives Laudrup big first leg lead in Europa League qualifying". Daily Mail. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  26. "Swansea too strong for Petrolul Ploiesti after 5–1 win in Europa League". Sky Sports. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  27. "Swansea's Michu joins Napoli on season loan with option to buy". BBC Sport. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  28. Weir, Stewart (31 August 2014). "Genoa 1–2 Napoli: Dramatic De Guzman strike seals victory". Goal. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  29. "Michu: 'Injury nightmare over'". Football Italia. 3 April 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  30. Pritchard, Dafydd (10 April 2015). "Swansea City: What next for on-loan Napoli forward Michu?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  31. "Michu: Swansea City release forward from contract". BBC Sport. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  32. Torres, Fabián (10 November 2015). "Michu, volver a empezar" [Michu, starting over]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  33. "Michu, nuevo jugador del Real Oviedo" [Michu, new player of Real Oviedo] (in Spanish). Real Oviedo. 19 August 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  34. Valero, Adrián (25 July 2017). "Michu anuncia su retirada con una emotiva carta: "Gracias eternas amigo fútbol"" [Michu announces his retirement with an emotional letter: "Forever thanks my friend football"]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  35. "Former Swansea City forward Michu retires from professional football". Inside Welsh Football. 16 July 2017. Archived from the original on 20 July 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  36. "Michu, nuevo director deportivo de la UP Langreo" [Michu, new director of football of UP Langreo]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 3 July 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  37. "Miguel Pérez Cuesta "Michu" becomes the new Real Oviedo technical secretary". Real Oviedo. 3 April 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  38. Caferoglu, Livio (22 December 2012). "Spain job will be my last, says Del Bosque". Goal. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  39. "Del Bosque: "De momento no encontramos sitio a Michu y Aspas"" [Del Bosque: "No place for Michu and Aspas at the moment"]. Marca (in Spanish). 1 February 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  40. "Swansea's Michu earns first Spain call-up for final World Cup qualifiers". Sky Sports. 6 October 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  41. Campos, Tomás (11 October 2013). "Paso al campeón" [Champions coming through]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  42. South, Pete (7 November 2012). "Chelsea and Arsenal stars team up to buy ailing Spanish club". Give Me Football. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  43. "Michu answers a Real SOS back home". Swansea City A.F.C. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  44. "Michu: 2003/04". Zerozero. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  45. "Michu: 2004/05". Zerozero. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  46. "Michu: Miguel Pérez Cuesta: 2005–06". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  47. "Michu: Miguel Pérez Cuesta: 2006–07". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  48. "Michu: Miguel Pérez Cuesta: 2007–08". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  49. "Michu: Miguel Pérez Cuesta: 2008–09". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  50. "Michu: Miguel Pérez Cuesta: 2009–10". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  51. "Michu: Miguel Pérez Cuesta: 2010–11". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  52. "Michu: Miguel Pérez Cuesta: 2011–12". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  53. "Games played by Michu in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  54. "Games played by Michu in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  55. "Michu". Soccerway. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  56. "Michu". La Preferente. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  57. "Michu » Club matches". Worldfootball. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  58. "Michu". European Football. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  • Michu at BDFutbol
  • Michu at National-Football-Teams.com
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