Player #69 - Mathieu Valbuena (France)

Name: Mathieu Valbuena
Age: 29
National Team:  France
Team: Marseille
Position: Attacking Midfielder

Description of his Game: As an attacking midfielder, Valbuena is highly skilled at envisioning plays before they take place.  His accurate passing game and his field vision are the kind of skills that make all his surrounding players better.  Overall, he is known for his quickness, technical ability, and tenacious style of play.

Mathieu Valbuena's Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7opVdbn6O9c

Career News:  As his Guardian profile reads, he was "rejected by Bordeaux as a teenager on the grounds that he was supposedly too small ever to make it as a footballer, Valbuena showed characteristic doggedness to succeed all the same and is now recognised as one of the most impressive playmakers on European pitches."  He is only 5'6".  Valbuena appeared in only one of the three matches France contested at the World Cup in South Africa 2010.

Interesting Personal Facts:  He is of Spanish origin through his father.

Upcoming Matches Where You Can See Him Play:

France's National Team 

October 15th - Finland (World Cup Qualifier) 
Schedule:  http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/europe/teams/team=43946/index.html

Marseille  (French League)
October 18th -OGC Nice
October 22nd - Naples
Schedule: http://www.om.net/fr/Saison/102001/Calendrier_Resultats