Carlos Vela

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Carlos Vela
Personal information
Full name	Carlos Alberto Vela Garrido
Date of birth	March 1, 1989 (1989-03-01) (age 19)
Place of birth	Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Striker, Winger
Club information
Current club	Arsenal
Number	TBA
Youth clubs
2002-2005	Guadalajara
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2006 2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-	→ Celta de Vigo (loan) → Salamanca (loan) → Osasuna (loan) Arsenal	00 (0) 31 (8)[1] 33 (3)
National team2
2005 2007 2007-	Mexico U-17 Mexico U-20 Mexico	8 (5) 8 (0) 5 (2)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of June 09, 2008. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of June 09, 2008. * Appearances (Goals)

Carlos Alberto Vela Garrido (born March 1, 1989 in Cancún, Quintana Roo) is a Mexican football player who plays for Arsenal. He predominantly has played as a winger in Spain, although Arséne Wenger has described him as more of a striker similar to Eduardo.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Europe 3 Back to Arsenal 4 International career 4.1 International Goals 5 Club career statistics 6 Honours 6.1 International 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Biography

Named by British tabloid The S*n as one of the 20 young players to watch in 2008 ^[2], Carlos Vela is the younger brother of Alejandro Vela, who plays for Jaguares in the Mexican football league. Vela's career started with Guadalajara, alongside his brother. Even though he had not made his debut on Chivas' first division team, his big break came when he participated in the U-17 World Cup with the Mexican national team. Vela helped the Mexican team win the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship against other promising teams, including Brazil. He became a pivotal figure during the match against Brazil, by defeating the South American team 3-0 during the tournament's final. At the conclusion of the 2005 World Cup in Peru, Vela was named the top scorer of the tournament with 5 goals and claimed the Adidas Golden boot. Eventually after the World Cup, Jorge Vergara, owner and president of Chivas de Guadalajara, offered to sign him, and, since the Vela family lived in the then-recently-storm-stricken Cancún, Quintana Roo, Carlos Vela asked that as a condition to his signing with Guadalajara, the club also help relocate his family. He had also previously showed his great affection to his father, whose birthday fell on the day on which Mexico beat Brazil in the final for the World Cup, by carrying the cup to his father as a birthday present and dedicating his Golden Boot to him.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Europe

Following his showing at the U-17 World Cup, in which he won the Golden Boot and led his native Mexico to the title, Vela attracted interest from a number of European clubs. It was eventually Arsenal F.C. who came out on top and won the race for his signature in November 2005 for a fee of £2.5 million^[3] and he signed a five-year deal. However, due to English work permit restrictions for non-EU citizens which prevented him from playing in England, he was quickly loaned out to Celta de Vigo in February 2006.^{[1] [2]} Vela was then loaned to UD Salamanca, in the Spanish second division, for the 2006-07 season.^[3][4] After his loan spell with Salamanca ended with him scoring eight and creating many of their 53 goals,^[4] bigger clubs, of La Liga, such as Levante UD, Osasuna and UD Almeria were all interested in taking him on loan from Arsenal for whom he was still ineligible to play as he still had yet to receive a work permit.^[5] Eventually, a one year loan move to Osasuna was agreed, with the option of an extension for another year, however, no permanent option had been contemplated.^[6][7][8] On October 31, 2007 he scored his first goal with Osasuna, in a match against Real Betis, a performance that went on to receive early praise from the Spanish press.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Back to Arsenal

On May 22, 2008 Vela was granted a work permit that will allow him to play in England. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger also confirmed that Carlos Vela would be involved with the first team next season and that he predominantly views Vela as a striker in Eduardo-mold.

^[9]

[edit] International career

Vela made his full international debut for Mexico in a September 2007 friendly against Brazil. On October 18th 2007, Vela scored his first senior international goal for Mexico in a friendly game against Guatemala played in Los Angeles. On February 7th 2008 he started a friendly against USA (2-2) and he was replaced by Giovani Dos Santos. On June 8th 2008, Vela scored his second senior international goal for Mexico in a friendly against Peru at the 20th minute to help Mexico with their 4-0 victory.

[edit] International Goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	18 October 2007	Los Angeles, United States	Guatemala	1-1	2-3	Friendly
2.	8 June 2008	Chicago, United States	Peru	3-0	4-0	Friendly

[edit] Club career statistics

(correct as of 19 May, 2008)

Club	Season	League			Cup			Europe			Total
		Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
Salamanca (loan)	2006-07	31	8	15	1	0	0	0	0	0	32	8	15
Osasuna (loan)	2007-08	33	3	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	33	3	4
Arsenal F.C	2008-09	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total											65	11	19
Career Total											65	11	19

[edit] Honours

[edit] International

Mexico

• FIFA U-17 World Championship: 2005

• FIFA U-17 Golden Boot: 2005

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Arsenal.com profile
• CA Osasuna Official Website
• Official U.D.Salamanca Profile
• FootballDatabase.com Profile

v • d • e Arsenal F.C. – current squad 2 Diaby • 3 Sagna • 4 Fàbregas • 5 Touré • 6 Senderos • 7 Rosický • 9 Eduardo • 10 Gallas • 11 van Persie • 13 Hleb • 15 Denílson • 17 Song • 19 Gilberto • 20 Djourou • 21 Fabiański • 22 Clichy • 24 Almunia • 25 Adebayor • 26 Bendtner • 27 Eboué • 30 Traoré • 31 J. Hoyte • 32 Walcott • 34 Gibbs • 35 Nordtveit • 36 Randall • 37 Rodgers • 38 Simpson • 39 Lansbury • 40 Mannone • 41 G. Hoyte • 42 Mérida • 43 Barazite • 44 Ogogo • 45 Dunne • 46 Gilbert • 47 Steer • — Vela • Manager: Wenger

Persondata
NAME	Garrido, Carlos Alberto Vela
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Vela, Carlos
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Professional footballer
DATE OF BIRTH	1989-03-01
PLACE OF BIRTH	Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH