Miku (footballer)

Nicolás Ladislao Fedor Flores (born 19 August 1985), commonly known as Miku, is a Venezuelan professional footballer who plays for Spanish club Deportivo de La Coruña as a striker.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Fedor and the second or maternal family name is Flores.
Miku
Miku (centre) in action for Getafe in 2012
Personal information
Full name Nicolás Ladislao Fedor Flores
Date of birth (1985-08-19) 19 August 1985[1]
Place of birth Caracas, Venezuela[1]
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Deportivo La Coruña
Number 7
Youth career
1989–2001 Santo Tomás de Villanueva
2001–2004 Valencia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2010 Valencia 2 (0)
2004–2005 → Alcoyano (loan) 21 (5)
2005–2006 → Salamanca (loan) 36 (18)
2006 → Ciudad Murcia (loan) 8 (0)
2007 Valencia B 15 (1)
2007–2008 → Gimnàstic (loan) 29 (2)
2008–2009 → Salamanca (loan) 37 (15)
2010–2013 Getafe 92 (26)
2012–2013 → Celtic (loan) 11 (2)
2013–2014 Al-Gharafa 25 (6)
2015–2017 Rayo Vallecano 43 (13)
2017–2019 Bengaluru FC 32 (20)
2019–2020 Omonia 9 (0)
2020– Deportivo La Coruña 1 (0)
National team‡
2006– Venezuela 51 (11)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18 October 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 4 September 2015

He spent most of his career in Spain, having played for a host of clubs and starting with Valencia. In La Liga, he also represented Getafe and Rayo Vallecano, and won a Scottish double while on loan at Celtic in 2013.

Miku represented Venezuela in two Copa América tournaments.

Early years

The son of an Hungarian father and a Venezuelan mother, Miku was born in Caracas and received his nickname after Miklós, the equivalent of his first name in the Hungarian language.[2][3]

Club career

Valencia

Having arrived in Valencia CF's youth system in 2001, Miku turned professional three years later, going on to serve five consecutive loans afterwards, in both the second and third divisions.[4][5]

On 27 August 2009, having returned to the Che after a strong season with UD Salamanca (finishing as joint-fifth in the goal charts), he scored a hat-trick in a 4–1 home win against Stabæk Fotball in the play-off round of the UEFA Europa League.[6]

Getafe

However, clearly deemed surplus to requirements at Valencia – only third or fourth-choice striker – Miku was sold in January 2010 to Getafe CF, signing a 4½-year deal. He scored on his debut, a 2–1 away victory over RCD Mallorca in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey, as a second-half substitute.[7]

Benefitting from the absence of first-choice Roberto Soldado due to injury, Miku began appearing regularly as a starter. On 28 March 2010 he netted twice in a 3–1 win at Deportivo de La Coruña,[8] adding another brace three rounds later, in a 3–0 home defeat of Villarreal CF, also in La Liga.[9]

Miku started the 2011–12 season as first choice, over veteran Dani Güiza and Adrián Colunga. He scored three goals in his first two league games, against Levante UD (1–1 home draw)[10] and Real Madrid (2–4 away loss),[11] and ended the campaign with 12 goals, best in the squad.

On 31 August 2012, the last day of the summer transfer window, Miku moved on loan to Celtic.[12] He appeared in only 14 competitive matches during the season, and told Venezuelan media that he regretted his decision to join the Hoops.[13]

Al-Gharafa

On 30 September 2013, Miku joined Qatar Stars League side Al-Gharafa Sports Club for an undisclosed fee.[14][15] He scored five goals in 15 games in his debut campaign, in an eventual ninth-place finish out of 14 teams.

Rayo

Miku returned to Spain on 2 February 2015, signing a two-and-a-half-year deal with Rayo Vallecano.[16] On 12 February 2016, after contributing to a 2–2 away draw against Sporting de Gijón, he became the first Venezuelan to score in four consecutive Spanish top flight matchdays;[17] he was named February's La Liga Player of the Month for this feat.[18]

Bengaluru

In August 2017, 32-year-old Miku joined Indian Super League franchise Bengaluru FC on a two-year contract.[19] He scored his first goal for them on 26 November in a 4–1 rout of Delhi Dynamos FC,[20] adding three braces in his first season, against FC Goa in a 3–4 away defeat,[21] FC Pune City (3–1, away)[22] and Kerala Blasters FC (3–1, also away).[23]

In the 2018–19 season, Miku and his team won the competition after a 1–0 extra time defeat of Goa in the final.[24]

Later years

On 20 August 2019, Cypriot First Division club AC Omonia announced the signing of Miku for one year.[25] He returned to Spain on 25 September 2020, after agreeing to a contract with Deportivo La Coruña, recently relegated to the third tier.[26]

International career

Miku made his debut with Venezuela on 16 August 2006, in a 0–0 friendly with Honduras.[27] Later, he was an important member of the squads that competed in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, scoring in a 2–0 home victory against Colombia on 31 March 2009.[28]

On 9 September 2009, Miku netted twice in a 3–1 home win over Peru; this brought Venezuela closer to its first-ever FIFA World Cup qualification,[29] which eventually did not happen. He represented the nation at the 2011 Copa América, scoring in a 3–3 draw against Paraguay, helping his team to the second place in the group stage[30] and an eventual fourth-place finish.

Four years later, in the next edition of the competition in Chile, Miku scored an 84th-minute goal in a 1–2 defeat to Brazil; a win would have sent his country through, but instead they were eliminated in last place in their group.[31] Later that year, he was among 15 national players who threatened to quit the team after the president of the Venezuelan Football Federation accused them of conspiring to get the manager sacked.[32][33]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played on 31 August 2019
Club statistics
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Alcoyano (loan) 2006–07[34] Segunda División B21500——215
Salamanca (loan) 2005–06[34] Segunda División B361810—4[lower-alpha 1]24120
Ciudad Murcia (loan) 2006–07[34] Segunda División8010——90
Valencia B 2006–07[34] Segunda División B151———151
Gimnàstic (loan) 2007–08[34] Segunda División29210——302
Salamanca (loan) 2008–09[34] Segunda División371521——3916
Valencia 2009–10[34] La Liga20203[lower-alpha 2]3—73
Getafe 2009–10[34] La Liga16541——206
2010–11[34] La Liga317317[lower-alpha 2]0—418
2011–12[34] La Liga381220——4012
2012–13[34] La Liga2000——20
2013–14[34] La Liga5200——52
Total 92269270—10828
Celtic (loan) 2012–13[35] Scottish Premiership11210—2[lower-alpha 1]0142
Al-Gharafa 2013–14[35] Qatar Stars League15500——155
2014–15[35] Qatar Stars League10100——101
Total 25600——256
Rayo Vallecano 2014–15[34] La Liga7200——72
2014–15[34] La Liga22920——249
2016–17[34] Segunda División14210——152
Total 431330——4613
Bengaluru FC 2017–18[35] Indian Super League20154 5——2420
2018–19[35] Indian Super League 12 5 1 0 13 5
Omonia 2019–20 Cypriot First Division 2000——20
Career total 35310825810362394121
  1. Appearances in Promotion Play-offs
  2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International goals
As of 22 June 2015 (Venezuela score listed first, score column indicates score after each Miku goal)

Honours

Celtic

Bengaluru

References
  1. "Miku". Eurosport. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  2. "Nunca paro de correr" ("I never stop running"); El País, 21 October 2009 (in Spanish)
  3. El crack de Venezuela que se les anima a todos, y también a Chávez (Venezuela star jumps on everyone, including Chávez); Clarín, 14 July 2011 (in Spanish)
  4. Miku del Valencia B, cedido al Nàstic de Tarragona (Miku from Valencia B, loaned to Nàstic de Tarragona) Archived 5 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine; Join Futbol, 25 August 2007 (in Spanish)
  5. Nicolás Ladislao Fedor Flores "Miku" del Valencia CF, cedido al Salamanca (Nicolás Ladislao Fedor Flores "Miku" from Valencia CF, loaned to Salamanca) Archived 5 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine; Join Futbol, 27 August 2008 (in Spanish)
  6. Valencia 4–1 Stabaek; ESPN Soccernet, 27 August 2009
  7. El Getafe asalta el Ono Estadi (Getafe take over Ono Estadi); Marca, 20 January 2010 (in Spanish)
  8. Depor's European hopes hammered; ESPN Soccernet, 28 March 2010
  9. Yellow Submarines are sunk; ESPN Soccernet, 13 April 2010
  10. Juanlu saves Levante; ESPN Soccernet, 28 August 2011
  11. Benzema at the double; ESPN Soccernet, 10 September 2011
  12. Champions sign two more new Bhoys Archived 2 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine; Celtic FC, 31 August 2012
  13. Miku: 'I shouldn't have joined Celtic'; Sportsmole, 2 April 2013
  14. Club unveil Miku; Al-Gharafa SC, 30 September 2013
  15. Miku swaps Getafe for Al-Gharafa Archived 5 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine; Yahoo Sports, 1 October 2013
  16. "Miku ficha por el Rayo" [Miku signs with Rayo] (in Spanish). Marca. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  17. "Record man Miku loving life with Rayo Vallecano". Diario AS. 14 February 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  18. "Miku named Liga BBVA Player of the Month for February". La Liga. 4 March 2016. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  19. "Bengaluru FC strengthen attack, sign Venezuela international Miku". Bengaluru FC. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  20. "ISL 2017: Dominant Bengaluru FC outclass Delhi Dynamos 4–1". News 18. 26 November 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  21. "ISL 2017–18: FC Goa hand 10-man Bengaluru FC first defeat of season in thrilling match". Firstpost. 30 November 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  22. "ISL 2017: Miku brace gives Bengaluru FC win vs FC Pune City, go 3 points clear at the top". News 18. 14 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  23. "ISL: Miku brace, Sunil Chhetri penalty gives Bengaluru FC dominating win over Kerala Blasters". India Today. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  24. "ISL 2018–19 Final highlights, Bengaluru FC vs FC Goa match updates: Bengaluru win title after late win". Firstpost. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  25. "Στην ΟΜΟΝΟΙΑ ο Miku!" [Miku to OMONIA!] (in Greek). AC Omonia. 20 August 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  26. "Miku, nuevo jugador del Dépor 20·21" [Miku, new player of Dépor 20–21] (in Spanish). Deportivo La Coruña. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  27. "Con la sangre nueva" [With the new blood] (in Spanish). ESPN. 17 August 2006. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  28. "Venezuela respira en eliminatorias con histórica victoria ante Colombia" [Venezuela breathe in qualifiers with historical win against Colombia] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 1 April 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  29. "Miku mete a Venezuela en la pelea por la clasificación" [Miku puts Venezuela in fight for qualification] (in Spanish). Marca. 10 September 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  30. Nicolás Fedor and Grenddy Perozo seal stunning Venezuela comeback; The Guardian, 14 July 2011
  31. "Brazil 2–1 Venezuela: Thiago Silva and Firmino seal top spot". Goal. 21 June 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  32. "Venezuela: Salomon Rondon and squad in quit threat to board". BBC Sport. 1 December 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  33. "15 futbolistas renuncian a ser convocados con Venezuela" [15 footballers forfeit Venezuela selection] (in Spanish). Marca. 1 December 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  34. "Miku: Nicolás Ladislao Fedor Flores". BDFutbol. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  35. "N. Fedor". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  • Miku at BDFutbol
  • Miku at National-Football-Teams.com
  • Miku – FIFA competition record
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