Jordi Gómez

Jordi Gómez

Gómez playing for Swansea City in 2009
Personal information
Full name	Jordi Gómez García-Penche
Date of birth	24 May 1985
Place of birth	Barcelona, Spain
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Wigan Athletic
Number	14
Youth career
	Barcelona
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2003–2006	Barcelona C
2005–2007	Barcelona B	59	(6)
2006	Barcelona	0	(0)
2007–2008	Espanyol B	22	(10)
2008–2009	Espanyol	3	(0)
2008–2009	→ Swansea City (loan)	44	(12)
2009–2014	Wigan Athletic	127	(17)
2014–2016	Sunderland	35	(4)
2016	→ Blackburn Rovers (loan)	19	(3)
2016–	Wigan Athletic	6	(1)
National team
2001	Spain U17	1	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 October 2016.

Jordi Gómez García-Penche (born 24 May 1985) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for English club Wigan Athletic.

After playing for the reserve teams of both Barcelona and Espanyol, he went on to spend the vast majority of his career in England, mainly with Wigan Athletic, with whom he won the FA Cup in 2013.

Club career

Early years

Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Gómez emerged through FC Barcelona's youth ranks, and played once for the first team in competitive games, coming on for Thiago Motta in the 68th-minute of a 6–0 win against Zamora CF for the Copa del Rey, on 11 January 2006.^[2]

Gómez completed his formation with neighbours RCD Espanyol, and made his official debut with the latter in a 0–4 away defeat to Real Murcia on 23 March 2008.^[3] He appeared in a further two La Liga matches during his tenure, always as a second-half substitute.

Swansea City

On 6 June 2008, Gómez signed for Swansea City of the Football League Championship on a season-long loan, for a fee of £200,000 –^[4] teammate Albert Serrán also made the move, albeit in a permanent situation. He scored the winning goal with a deflected direct free kick against rivals Cardiff City on 23 September, in the first South Wales derby for seven years.^[5]

Gómez was described by scouts as having "a lovely ability to receive the ball in space or if he is marked tightly, find space after his first touch".^[6] Whilst on loan, reports surfaced that Swansea wanted to sign him permanently^[7] and other teams were supposedly interested in acquiring his services,^[8][9] but nothing came of it, as manager Roberto Martínez eventually announced the club would not be able to retain the player due to his high price tag.^[10][11][12]

Wigan Athletic

Gómez finished the season with 14 goals in all competitions and returned to Espanyol, being immediately sold to Premier League side Wigan Athletic on a three-year contract on 19 June 2009, with the transfer fee estimated to be in the region of £1.7 million – the move also meant he would be reunited with former Swansea boss, countryman Martínez.^[13] He made his debut in a 2–0 victory over Aston Villa on 15 August,^[14] and netted his first goal for the club against Birmingham City on 5 December, albeit in a 2–3 home loss.^[15]

Gómez scored his second league goal in a 2–0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 2 October 2010. However, during the match, he escaped suffering a leg injury after a challenge from Karl Henry.^[16][17]

On 17 December 2011, Gómez scored the equaliser for hosting Wigan in a 1–1 draw against Chelsea, his fourth goal in five league games.^[18][19] He netted the second goal at Arsenal in only the eighth minute of an eventual 2–1 away win on 16 April 2012 at the Emirates Stadium,^[20] and the Latics once again managed to avoid relegation.^[21]

On 28 August 2012, Gómez scored once as Wigan defeated Nottingham Forest 4–1 away to reach the third round of the Football League Cup.^[22] On 24 November he netted a hat-trick to help his club win 3–2 at home against Reading at the DW Stadium,^[23] becoming just the second Spaniard to achieve the feat in the Premier League after Fernando Torres.^[24][25]

On 9 March 2013, Gómez provided the cross from which Maynor Figueroa opened the scoring at Everton for the season's FA Cup, and he himself added the final 3–0 for his team's third goal in as many minutes, in an eventual qualification to the competition semi-finals.^[26] He helped the club win the domestic cup, being replaced after 81 minutes by Ben Watson, who went on to score the winning goal;^[27] however, only three days later, with him on the pitch again, Wigan were relegated from the top division following a 1–4 away defeat to Arsenal.^[28]

Gómez remained at Wigan for their first season back in the Championship, and also took part in the club's inaugural campaign in the UEFA Europa League. On 12 December 2013, in the last group stage match, he scored a penalty kick to put his team ahead at NK Maribor, but the Slovene won 2–1 to eliminate their opponent.^[29]

Sunderland

On 29 May 2014, Gómez signed a three-year contract with Sunderland on a free transfer after his contract at Wigan expired.^[30] He made his debut on 16 August, coming on as a 68th-minute substitute for Jack Rodwell in a 2–2 draw away to West Bromwich Albion,^[31] and scored his first goal 11 days later August in a 3–0 League Cup second round success at Birmingham City.^[32]

Gómez scored his first league goal for his new team on 3 November, the second in a 3–1 away win over Crystal Palace.^[33] His third goal of the campaign came on 13 December, where he scored a penalty to open the scoring in a 1–1 draw at home to West Ham United.^[34]

On 3 February 2015, Gómez netted another penalty in a 3–1 win at Fulham in an FA Cup fourth round replay.^[35] On 2 May, again from 12 yards, he scored once in each half as the Black Cats defeated Southampton 2–1 at the Stadium of Light.^[36] The following week, his shot was deflected in by Danny Graham, to give the latter his first Sunderland goal, in a 2–0 away success over Everton;^[37] still in that month, he was ruled out for the last three games of the season with a fractured kneecap.^[38]

In the last minutes of the 2016 winter transfer window, after making only six appearances in the first half of the season, Gómez was loaned to Championship club Blackburn Rovers until June.^[39] He scored in his debut on 6 February, helping to a 1–1 draw at Middlesbrough.^[40] Three weeks later he netted twice, including a last-minute winner from a 30-yard free kick in a 3–2 victory against Milton Keynes Dons at Ewood Park.^[41]

Return to Wigan

On 17 August 2016, Gómez rejoined Wigan Athletic on a one-year contract.^[42]

Career statistics

As of match played 7 May 2016.

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Barcelona B	2004–05[43]	Segunda División B	2	0	—		—		—		2	0
	2005–06[44]	Segunda División B	36	6	—		—		—		36	6
	2006–07[45]	Segunda División B	21	0	—		—		—		21	0
	Total		59	6	—		—		—		59	6
Barcelona	2005–06[44]	La Liga	0	0	1	0	—		0	0	1	0
Espanyol B	2007–08[46]	Segunda División B	22	10	—		—		—		22	10
Espanyol	2007–08[46]	La Liga	3	0	0	0	—		—		3	0
Swansea City (loan)	2008–09[47]	Championship	44	12	3	0	4	2	—		51	14
Wigan Athletic	2009–10[48]	Premier League	23	1	2	0	0	0	—		25	1
	2010–11[49]	Premier League	13	1	3	0	4	2	—		20	3
	2011–12[50]	Premier League	28	5	1	0	0	0	—		29	5
	2012–13[51]	Premier League	32	3	7	3	3	2	—		42	8
	2013–14[52]	Championship	31	7	5	3	1	0	9[lower-alpha 1]	1	46	11
	Total		127	17	18	6	8	4	9	1	162	28
Sunderland	2014–15[53]	Premier League	29	4	2	1	2	1	—		33	6
	2015–16[54]	Premier League	6	0	0	0	0	0	—		6	0
	Total		35	4	2	1	2	1	—		39	6
Blackburn Rovers (loan)	2015–16[55]	Championship	19	3	0	0	0	0	—		19	3
Wigan Athletic	2016–17[56]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
Career total			290	49	24	7	14	7	9	1	337	64

1. One appearance in FA Community Shield, six appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League, two appearances in Championship play-offs

Honours

Club

Wigan Athletic

• FA Cup: 2012–13^[51]

Individual

• Football League Championship Team of the Year: 2008–09
• Wigan Athletic Player of the Year: 2013–14^[57]

References

1. "Jordi Gomez". Sunderland A.F.C. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
2. "El Barça aumenta el récord por inercia" [Barça extends record through inertia]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 11 January 2006. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
3. "Murcia 4–0 Espanyol". ESPN Soccernet. 23 March 2008. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
4. "Spanish duo complete Liberty move". BBC Sport. 6 June 2008. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
5. "Swansea 1–0 Cardiff". BBC Sport. 23 September 2008. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
6. Claridge, Steve (24 February 2009). "Scouting report: Jordi Gómez, Swansea City". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
7. "Swans keen to keep Gomez". Sky Sports. 25 March 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
8. "Boro linked with Gomez". Sky Sports. 28 May 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
9. "Celtic eye £2m swoop for Espanyol star Jordi Gomez". Daily Record. Glasgow. 26 March 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
10. "Swans – No bid for Gomez". Sky Sports. 27 April 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
11. "Gomez in dark over future". Sky Sports. 1 May 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
12. "Martinez doubts Gomez return". Sky Sports. 22 May 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
13. "Wigan capture Gomez from Espanyol". BBC Sport. 19 June 2009. Retrieved 19 June 2009.
14. "Aston Villa 0–2 Wigan". BBC Sport. 15 August 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
15. "Wigan 2–3 Birmingham". BBC Sport. 5 December 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
16. "Martinez feared leg break". Sky Sports. 2 October 2010. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
17. "Patience pays off for Jordi". Wigan Evening Post. 4 October 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
18. "Wigan 1–1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. 17 December 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
19. "Jordi Gómez grabs late Wigan Athletic equaliser to foil Chelsea". The Guardian. London. 17 December 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
20. Wigan shock misfiring Gunners; ESPN Soccernet, 16 April 2012
21. "Blackburn have been relegated to the Championship after losing at home to Wigan, whose Premier League status is secure for next season". BBC Sport. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
22. "Nott'm Forest 1–4 Wigan: First-half blitz helps Latics dodge banana-skin". Daily Mirror. London. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
23. "Wigan 3–2 Reading". BBC Sport. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
24. "Jordi Gomez expresses joy at scoring a hat-trick against Reading". Sky Sports. 26 November 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
25. "Premier League Team of the Week: Hat-trick hero Gomez joins Anderson & Reina". Goal.com. 26 November 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
26. "Everton 0–3 Wigan". BBC Sport. 9 March 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
27. "Man City 0–1 Wigan". BBC Sport. 11 May 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
28. "Arsenal 4–1 Wigan". BBC Sport. 14 May 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
29. Rose, Gary (12 December 2013). "NK Maribor 2–1 Wigan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
30. "Gomez agrees move". Sunderland A.F.C. 29 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
31. "West Brom 2–2 Sunderland". BBC Sport. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
32. "Birmingham 0–3 Sunderland". BBC Sport. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
33. Mowbray, Guy (3 November 2014). "Crystal Palace 1–3 Sunderland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
34. "Sunderland 1–1 West Ham". BBC Sport. 13 December 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
35. "Fulham 1–3 Sunderland". BBC Sport. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
36. "Sunderland 2–1 Southampton". BBC Sport. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
37. "Everton 0–2 Sunderland". BBC Sport. 9 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
38. "Dick Advocaat backs Liam Bridcutt for Sunderland's showdown against Leicester". Sunderland Echo. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
39. "Jordi Gomez: Blackburn sign Sunderland midfielder on loan". BBC Sport. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
40. Walker, Michael (6 February 2016). "David Nugent earns Middlesbrough point against Blackburn Rovers". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
41. "Jordi Gomez saves the best for last as Blackburn beat MK Dons". Eurosport. 27 February 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
42. Mennear, Richard (17 August 2016). "Sunderland midfielder re-joins Wigan Athletic". Sunderland Echo. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
43. "Jordi Gómez: Jordi Gómez García-Penche: 2004–05". BDFutbol. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
44. "Jordi Gómez: Jordi Gómez García-Penche: 2005–06". BDFutbol. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
45. "Jordi Gómez: Jordi Gómez García-Penche: 2006–07". BDFutbol. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
46. "Jordi Gómez: Jordi Gómez García-Penche: 2007–08". BDFutbol. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
47. "Games played by Jordi Gomez in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
48. "Games played by Jordi Gomez in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
49. "Games played by Jordi Gomez in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
50. "Games played by Jordi Gomez in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
51. "Games played by Jordi Gomez in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
52. "Games played by Jordi Gomez in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
53. "Games played by Jordi Gomez in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
54. "Games played by Jordi Gomez in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
55. "Games played by Jordi Gomez in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
56. "Jordi Gómez". Soccerway. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
57. "Sunderland sign Jordi Gómez from Wigan on free transfer". The Guardian. London. 29 May 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2014.

External links

• Jordi Gómez profile at BDFutbol
• Jordi Gómez career statistics at Soccerbase