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Antonio Valencia
Personal information
Full name	Luis Antonio Valencia Mosquera
Date of birth	August 4, 1985 (1985-08-04) (age 22)
Place of birth	Nueva Loja, Sucumbios, Ecuador
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Left or right winger
Club information
Current club	Wigan Athletic
Number	16
Youth clubs
1999-2001	Caribe Junior
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2001-2004 2005- 2006 2006-2007 2007-	CD El Nacional Villarreal CF → Recreativo (loan) → Wigan Athletic (loan) → Wigan Athletic (loan)	084 (20) 02 (0) 014 (1) 22 (1) 9 (0)
National team2
2005-	Ecuador	19 (4)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13:13, 14 August 2007 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 28 August 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

Luis Antonio Valencia Mosquera (born August 4, 1985 in Nueva Loja, Sucumbios) is an Ecuadorian footballer who plays for Wigan Athletic after signing on two successive year loans after been granted a work permit, from Villarreal CF.

Valencia was one of just three European-based players named in the Ecuador national team for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. However, due to the excellent performances the team and its players has produced, there are now several Ecuadorians playing in important clubs in South America and Europe.

Valencia has impressed in his short time in the FA Premier League, registering a goal thus far and aside from his attacking and trickery, Valencia is noted for his efforts in winning balls in the midfield and making neat tackles which often dispossesses his opponents. Valencia, who can play in central midfield as well as on the right and left wing, combines speed with great technical abilities and balanced defensive attributes.

Hailed as one of their brightest young talents, Luis Valencia may well be considered the future of Ecuadorian football. He combines his speed with his technical skills, making him a very important player for Ecuador.

His first international cap was in a qualifier against Paraguay in which Ecuador won 5-2. Valencia scored 2 goals for his country in that match. He has recently been on the starting lineup for Ecuador in warm-up friendlies and has shown exceptional maturity and progress in Ecuador's World Cup Finals appearances thus far in the wins against Poland and Costa Rica, provide a cross leading to Carlos Tenorio's 8th minute goal against Costa Rica, as well as being the link from the defence to the strikers with precision ball taking and elegant tackles combined with accurate through balls and pin-point crosses to the forwards.

The young attacking midfielder earned a transfer to Spanish club Villarreal CF of La Liga in 2005 due to his fine debut for his national side against Paraguay, but was loaned to Recreativo de Huelva as he attempted to adjust to European football and helped that same club climb to the La Liga for the 2006-2007 season.

As a reward to his fine display, Valencia was chosen as a nominee to be a part of FIFA's ideal 11 team, which recognises the top stars for every position in the World Cup, along with his teammates, the excellent striker Agustin Delgado and the immovable defender, Giovanny Espinosa. He was also shortlisted as one of the six potential candidates for the Gillette Best Young Player award, over many more well known candidates. Although it was Lukas Podolski who was selected for the award, Valencia received the most votes in the official poll.

On June 27, 2007, he scored against Chile for Ecuador during Copa America 2007.

On August 1st, 2006 it was reported in the British Press [1] that Valencia could be coming to the FA Premier League, and suggested Blackburn Rovers^[1] and Wigan Athletic as potential suitors. Valencia's agent said one team was very interested in signing the young talent.

On 3 August 2006, Valencia joined Wigan Athletic on a year's loan deal from La Liga's Villarreal CF.^[2] Wigan manager Paul Jewell had this to say about his new signing: "Antonio is something new for Wigan. As with most South Americans, he has skill in abundance and combines it with electric pace and a very high work rate. He has played in Europe for a season, and I'm convinced he has the attributes to make a success of the Premiership. He is something different and I feel he is going to bring an exciting new dimension to our squad." Valencia's move was considered vital for the future of Ecuadorian football as it came two months after their honorable display in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, pressuring several Ecuadorian moves to European football.[2]

On August 19th 2006, Valencia made his debut for Wigan, starting on the right wing in a 2-1 loss at the hands of Newcastle United. On October 21st 2006, Antonio scored his first official goal for Wigan, scoring against Manchester City, sealing a 4-0 victory. He also contributes with blazing shots from distance, excellent and pinpoint accurate crosses, phenomenal balance of speed and power and a fighting spirit that always sees him battle for the entire game.

Valencia's future at the club looked in doubt with the resignation of Paul Jewell as manager, potentially putting a halt to any move that may have been likely. However, it was announced that Valencia had been signed on for another year on loan at Wigan, under new manager Chris Hutchings.

Luis Valencia has also grown fond of the Wigan support. Similarly, he has become an instant favourite of the Wigan fans.

• Luis Antonio Valencia career stats at Soccerbase

v • d • e Ecuador squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 Villafuerte • 2 Guagua • 3 Hurtado • 4 de la Cruz • 5 Perlaza • 6 Urrutia • 7 Lara • 8 Méndez • 9 Borja • 10 Kaviedes • 11 Delgado • 12 Mora • 13 Ambrosi • 14 Castillo • 15 Ayoví • 16 Valencia • 17 Espinoza • 18 Reasco • 19 Saritama • 20 E. Tenorio • 21 C. Tenorio • 22 Lanza • 23 Benítez • Coach: Suárez