This former football star is now a recognized artist in the nightlife scene.
Football and music often go well together and the image has become recurrent: today athletes are constantly filmed or photographed with headphones on, on the sidelines of competitions, or before matches. Music is, according to the most dedicated fans, essential for concentrating and entering a bubble before starting out. A sort of ritual which has further strengthened the link between music and high-level sport in recent years.
For some, music is also something other than an element conducive to sporting performance. It’s a real passion. We can cite the recent double Olympic champion Earvin Ngapeth, who has already released a rap album or the Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc, who regularly plays the piano and who released a composition a few months ago.
In Spain, he is a footballer, a former Valencia and La Roja legend, who took up music at the end of his career. Her name, Gaizka Mendieta. The former midfielder is now known as DJ Gaizka. “It’s a passion that I’ve always had. I was able to dedicate myself to it once my career ended. I never would have imagined it, but the opportunity presented itself, I liked it, so I ‘continued. I perform at festivals, private events and clubs. It’s something I really enjoy and will continue as long as I can.’
His style of music? “Rock soul! It’s the music I’ve always listened to. When I was in Valencia, Barcelona, England or Italy, the music always accompanied me. As soon as I could, I went to buy some records and seeing concerts There, during quarantine, I didn’t buy anything because I don’t like buying on the Internet, what I like most is going to the record store.
Mendieta is best known for his time at Valencia, where he played from 1992 to 2001. He was a key part of the Spanish side, notably contributing to their success in reaching back-to-back Champions League finals in 2000 and 2001 , although they did not win the title. He was subsequently transferred to Lazio in 2001 for a then-record fee, but failed to establish himself there. He was later loaned to FC Barcelona, then transferred permanently to Middlesbrough in England, where he ended his career in 2008. Or rather one of his two careers.