Joan Verdú

Joan Verdú Fernández (Spanish pronunciation: [ɟʝoˈam beɾˈðu];[upper-alpha 1] born 5 May 1983) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for CF Montañesa.

For the alpine skier from Andorra, see Joan Verdu Sanchez.
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Verdú and the second or maternal family name is Fernández.
Joan Verdú
Verdú playing for Catalonia in 2013
Personal information
Full name Joan Verdú Fernández[1]
Date of birth (1983-05-05) 5 May 1983[2]
Place of birth Barcelona, Spain[2]
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Montañesa
Number 11
Youth career
1988–1993 Poble Sec
1993–2002 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002 Barcelona C 19 (2)
2002–2006 Barcelona B 134 (31)
2004 Barcelona 0 (0)
2006–2009 Deportivo La Coruña 85 (9)
2009–2013 Espanyol 144 (23)
2013–2014 Betis 20 (2)
2014–2015 Baniyas 24 (10)
2015–2016 Fiorentina 5 (1)
2016 Levante 13 (1)
2017–2019 Qingdao Huanghai 66 (26)
2020– Montañesa 0 (0)
National team‡
2002 Spain U20 2 (1)
2006– Catalonia 11 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 3 November 2018
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 28 December 2016

A versatile midfielder, adept as both central or attacking midfielder, he started professionally at Barcelona, but played mainly for local rivals Espanyol during his career, amassing La Liga totals of 262 games and 35 goals over nine seasons and also representing in the competition Deportivo, Betis and Levante.

Club career

Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Verdú was a product of FC Barcelona's youth system.[3] He played mainly for its B-side as a senior, making his debut with the main squad on 27 October 2004 in a 0–1 away loss against UDA Gramenet in the round of 64 of the Copa del Rey;[4] his second and last appearance took place on 7 December, in a 0–2 defeat at FC Shakhtar Donetsk for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.[5]

For 2006–07, Verdú moved to Deportivo de La Coruña, being relatively used by the Galicians throughout the season and scoring in a 2–0 away win over Villarreal CF on 11 February 2007.[6] He produced similar numbers in his second year in La Liga.

Profiting from Juan Carlos Valerón's age and recurrent physical problems, Verdú had a breakthrough year in the 2008–09 campaign, often assuming the playmaking duties of the former while also adding seven league goals.[7] However, after a new deal could not be agreed, the free agent moved back to his native region after three years, signing a four-year contract with RCD Espanyol.[8]

On 19 September 2009, Verdú netted against his previous team in a 3–2 away victory,[9] and started most of his first year, also benefitting from age and injury-related problems of another teammate, Iván de la Peña. Without any real competitor the following season – de la Peña only saw 30 minutes of action[10][7]– he improved his numbers to 37 games and five goals, as the Pericos finished comfortably in midtable.[11]

In summer 2013, free agent Verdú signed a four-year deal with another club in that tier, Real Betis.[12] After suffering relegation,[13] he went on to represent in quick succession Baniyas Club (United Arab Emirates),[14] ACF Fiorentina (Italy)[15] and Levante UD.[16]

On 12 January 2017, 33-year-old Verdú moved to the China League One with Qingdao Huanghai FC, where he shared teams with compatriot Martí Crespí.[17]

In November 2020, Verdú returned to football at Nou Barris-based CF Montañesa of the Tercera División, signing alongside his former Barcelona and Espanyol teammate Sergio García.[18]

Club statistics
As of match played on 3 November 2019
Club Season League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Barcelona 2004–05[19] La Liga 00101[lower-alpha 1]020
Deportivo 2006–07[19] La Liga 27161—332
2007–08[19] La Liga 24110—251
2008–09[19] La Liga 347204[lower-alpha 2]1408
Total 85991419811
Espanyol 2009–10[19] La Liga 34420—364
2010–11[19] La Liga 37530—405
2011–12[19] La Liga 36561—426
2012–13[19] La Liga 37910—389
Total 14423121—15624
Betis 2013–14[19] La Liga 202317[lower-alpha 3]0303
Baniyas 2014–15[20] Arabian Gulf League 241071—3111
Fiorentina 2015–16[20] Serie A 51003[lower-alpha 3]081
Levante 2015–16[19] La Liga 13100—131
Qingdao Huanghai 2017[21] China League One 29811—309
2018[20] China League One 301600—3016
2019[20] China League One 7200—72
Total 662611—6727
Career total 3577233515140578
  1. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  2. Appearances in UEFA Cup
  3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

Notes
  1. In isolation, Joan is pronounced [ɟʝoˈan].

References
  1. "Joan Verdú Fernández". El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  2. "Joan Verdú". Eurosport. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  3. "Debe ser el número 23" [Must be number 23] (in Spanish). ESPN Deportes. 18 November 2006. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  4. Polo, Eduardo (28 October 2004). "Sorpresón" [Big surprise] (PDF). Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  5. "N is for..." UEFA. 9 May 2005. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  6. "El Deportivo logra su primera victoria de visitante" [Deportivo get first away win]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 11 February 2007. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  7. Ramírez, Álvaro (24 June 2013). "Verdú, el relevo de Valerón, De la Peña y... ¿Beñat?" [Verdú, replacement of Valerón, De la Peña and... Beñat?] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  8. "Verdú ficha por el Espanyol" [Verdú signs for Espanyol]. Super Deporte (in Spanish). 4 June 2009. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  9. "Espanyol win at Depor". ESPN Soccernet. 19 September 2009. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  10. Iglesias, Quique (9 September 2009). "El regreso de Iván obliga a recolocar a Joan Verdú" [Iván's return forces a Joan Verdú replacement]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  11. Molero, Iván (25 January 2017). "Piatti es el jugador más decisivo del Espanyol en en siglo XXI" [Piatti is Espanyol's most decisive player in the XXI century]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  12. Rodríguez, Alejandro (24 June 2013). "El fichaje de Verdú por el Betis ya es oficial" [Verdú's signing for Betis is already official]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  13. Font, Sergi (25 July 2014). "Verdú, con cartel en el extranjero" [Verdú, with a name abroad]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  14. "Joan Verdú se va al Baniyas SC de los Emiratos Árabes" [Joan Verdú goes to Arab Emirates' Baniyas SC]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 8 August 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  15. "La Fiorentina ficha a Verdú" [Fiorentina sign Verdú]. Marca (in Spanish). 28 August 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  16. "Verdú, nuevo refuerzo del Levante" [Verdú, new addition of Levante]. Sport (in Spanish). 1 February 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  17. "Joan Verdú se va a China: firma por el Qingdao Huanghai" [Joan Verdú goes to China: signs for Qingdao Huanghai]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 12 January 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  18. "La Montañesa firma a los expericos Joan Verdú y Sergio García" [Montañesa sign the former Pericos Joan Verdú and Sergio García]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 6 November 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  19. "Verdú: Joan Verdú Fernández". BDFutbol. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  20. "Joan Verdú". Soccerway. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  21. "贝尔杜" [Verdú] (in Chinese). Soda Soccer. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
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