Kevin Mirallas

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Mirallas and the second or maternal family name is Castillo.

Kevin Mirallas
Mirallas playing for Olympiacos in 2012
Personal information
Full name Kevin Antonio Joel Gislain Mirallas y Castillo[1]
Date of birth (1987-10-05) 5 October 1987 (age 37)[2]
Place of birth Liège, Belgium
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[3]
Position(s) Winger / Striker
Youth career
1999–2004 Standard Liège
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2008 Lille 76 (10)
2008–2010 Saint-Étienne 53 (3)
2010–2012 Olympiacos 52 (34)
2012–2019 Everton 151 (29)
2018 → Olympiacos (loan) 13 (2)
2018–2019 → Fiorentina (loan) 27 (2)
2019–2020 Royal Antwerp 18 (2)
2020–2021 Gaziantep 28 (5)
2022 Moreirense 8 (1)
2022–2023 AEL Limassol 21 (4)
Total 447 (92)
International career
2003 Belgium U16 10 (8)
2003–2004 Belgium U17 13 (7)
2005 Belgium U18 4 (0)
2005–2006 Belgium U19 16 (4)
2006–2007 Belgium U21 5 (2)
2007–2018 Belgium 60 (10)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Kevin Antonio Joel Gislain Mirallas y Castillo (born 5 October 1987), known as Kevin Mirallas (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkeβim miˈɾaʎas]), is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a winger.

Mirallas started his professional career in France with Lille and Saint-Étienne before moving to Greece with Olympiacos in 2010. Mirallas enjoyed success during his time at Olympiacos, scoring 34 goals in 52 league games. He was top scorer in his second season with Olympiacos with 20 goals in 25 games. His impressive performances attracted the attention of Everton, who signed him in the summer of 2012 for £6 million. After featuring regularly for the Merseyside club in the next five and a half seasons, he was loaned back to Olympiacos in January 2018, spending the remainder of the season there, as well as having another loan spell at Fiorentina during the following season. Mirallas spent the last four seasons of his professional career at four different clubs, first returning to his home country with Royal Antwerp. He then went on to play for Turkish side Gaziantep, Portuguese side Moreirense, and then finally ended his career after a season-long stint in Cyprus with AEL Limassol.

Mirallas represented Belgium at various youth levels and then went on to earn 60 caps for the senior national team, making his debut in 2007. He featured for Belgium at two major tournaments, first appearing at the 2008 Olympics and most notably at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Early career

Mirallas spent his youth career playing for his hometown club, Standard Liège.[4] He then left Belgium and began his first team career in France with Lille OSC in the 2004–05 season.[2] Mirallas participated in the UEFA Cup in his first season at Lille. Mirallas was transferred to AS Saint-Étienne for €4 million, and made a name for himself by scoring against Lyon on his debut in the Rhone-Loire derby.[5]

Olympiacos

In June 2010, Mirallas joined Greek club Olympiacos on a one-year loan for a fee of €2.5 million.[6] Mirallas made his debut in a 5–0 win against KS Besa Kavaje in the Second Qualifying Round of the UEFA Europa League Qualifiers[7] and scored his first two goals for the club in a 3–1 home win against Olympiakos Volos.[8] Mirallas scored in a 2–1 away loss to their greatest rivals Panathinaikos in the Derby of the eternal enemies, after which his contract was extended to four years.[9] Olympiacos won that season's Greek Super League and Mirallas finished as the club's top scorer with 14 goals, with only Panathinaikos's Djibril Cissé scoring more league goals. The following season Mirallas scored his first ever hat-trick for Olympiacos in a 4–0 away win against Levadiakos[10] and scored four in a 7–2 victory over Asteras Tripolis.[11] Olympiacos again won the league,[12] and Mirallas was the league's top scorer with 20 goals.[13]

Everton

In August 2012, Mirallas joined Premier League club Everton for a reported fee of £6 million.[14] He made his debut as a second-half substitute during a 3–1 league win over Aston Villa at Villa Park in which he had a headed goal disallowed after he was ruled offside.[15] In his first start four days later, Mirallas scored twice and provided two assists as Everton won 5–0 against Leyton Orient in the second round of the League Cup.[16] He scored his first league goal on 22 September 2012, in a 3–0 away win against Swansea City after heading in his initial effort which rebounded off the underside of the bar.[17] Mirallas suffered a number of injuries that limited his playing time during the middle part of the season. He made a number of brief cameos, notably against Tottenham Hotspur in December. Mirallas' next goal came against Oldham Athletic in a 3–1 win on 26 February 2013 in the fifth round of the FA Cup. He then scored his second league goal of the season against Reading in a 3–1 win on 2 March 2013. He scored his first league brace in David Moyes' last home game in charge of Everton, a 2–0 win against West Ham United.[18]

Mirallas warming-up for Everton in 2015

Mirallas scored and assisted a goal during a 3–3 draw in the first Merseyside derby of the 2013–14 season on 23 November.[19] He also received a booking for a high challenge on Luis Suárez, which opposing manager Brendan Rodgers described as reckless and insisted Mirallas was lucky to remain on the pitch.[20] He went on to score eight goals before suffering a season-ending groin injury in April.[21] Mirallas created 61 chances for his teammates during the season, the most of any Everton player.[22]

On 18 September 2014, Mirallas scored his first European goal for Everton in a 4–1 win over Wolfsburg in the first match of their Europa League campaign.[23] He signed a new three-year contract with the club in August 2015.[24]

Mirallas scored his 29th Premier League goal for Everton on 11 March 2017 as Everton cruised to victory over West Bromwich Albion at Goodison Park in a 3–0 win.[25] On 12 May 2017, Mirallas signed a new three-year contract deal with Everton until the end of June 2020.[26]

Loans

On 7 January 2018, Mirallas agreed to return to former club Olympiacos on loan until the end of the 2017–18 season.[27] The club did not have an option to purchase Mirallas as part of the contract.[28] On 16 April, Mirallas scored a stunning strike from the edge of the penalty area on the stroke of half-time in a 5–1 home win against Kerkyra.[29] On 4 May, his loan spell was terminated by mutual consent due to Everton's high asking price to purchase Mirallas outright, as well as Mirallas' overall subpar performances with Olympiacos.[30]

On 4 August 2018, Mirallas signed for Fiorentina on a season-long loan deal with the option to make the transfer permanent.[31][32]

Antwerp

Mirallas joined Royal Antwerp on a free transfer in August 2019.[33]

Gaziantep

On 5 October 2020, Mirallas joined Turkish Süper Lig club Gaziantep.[34]

Moreirense

On 24 January 2022, Mirallas joined Moreirense on a free transfer until the end of the 2021–22 season.[35]

AEL Limassol

On 23 July 2022, Mirallas joined AEL Limassol for the 2022–23 season.[36]

Retirement and Technology officer

On 31 August 2023, Mirallas officially retired as a professional footballer. He joined Eendracht Aalst as their chief technology officer.[37]

International career

Mirallas in action against DaMarcus Beasley during an international friendly against the United States on 29 May 2013

Mirallas has represented Belgium at under-17, under-19 and under-21 level, and was one of the leading figures in guiding the under-21s to the semi-finals of the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.

He scored twice in the 2008 Summer Olympics football tournament, once against China (2–0 victory) and once against Italy (3–2 victory).[38] He made his full international debut for the senior team in 2007 and scored his first ever international goal against Serbia in Brussels on 23 August of that year, as a Mousa Dembélé brace helped the Red Devils to a 3–2 home victory.[39]

Mirallas was part of the Belgian squad which reached the quarter-finals at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He made his tournament debut in the second group match, a 1–0 win over Russia at the Maracanã, as a 75th-minute substitute for Dries Mertens. In a game of few opportunities, Mirallas hit the post with Belgium's first shot on target. Another substitute, Divock Origi, scored the game's only goal two minutes from full-time.[40]

In May 2018, Mirallas was left out of Belgium's preliminary squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[41]

Style of play

Mirallas was deployed as a centre forward for Olympiacos, but after his move to Everton he has been deployed mainly as a winger or a free-roaming forward. He is known for his pace, close ball control, passing ability[42] and proficiency in one-on-one situations.

Personal life

Mirallas' father was born in Spain.[43]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[2][44][45]
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Lille 2004–05 Ligue 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 3 1
2005–06 15 1 0 0 2 0 2 0 — 19 1
2006–07 23 2 0 0 2 0 5 0 — 30 2
2007–08 35 6 2 1 0 0 — — 37 7
Total 76 10 2 1 4 0 7 0 — 89 11
Saint-Étienne 2008–09 Ligue 1 30 3 2 0 0 0 8 1 — 40 4
2009–10 23 0 4 1 2 0 0 0 — 29 1
Total 53 3 6 1 2 0 8 1 — 69 5
Olympiacos 2010–11 Super League Greece 27 14 3 0 — 3 0 — 33 14
2011–12 25 20 3 0 — 6 0 — 34 20
Total 52 34 6 0 — 9 0 — 67 34
Everton 2012–13 Premier League 27 6 4 1 2 2 — — 33 9
2013–14 32 8[c] 4 0 1 0 — — 37 8
2014–15 29 7 2 1 0 0 5[d] 3 — 36 11
2015–16 23 4 3 1 4 1 — — 30 6
2016–17 35 4 1 0 1 0 — — 37 4
2017–18 5 0 0 0 1 0 7[d] 0 — 13 0
Total 151 29 14 3 9 3 12 3 — 186 38
Olympiacos (loan) 2017–18 Super League Greece 13 2 3 0 — — — 16 2
Fiorentina (loan) 2018–19 Serie A 27 2 3 0 — — — 30 2
Royal Antwerp 2019–20 Belgian Pro League 18 2 3 0 — — — 21 2
Gaziantep 2020–21 Süper Lig 28 5 3 2 — — — 31 7
Moreirense 2021–22 Primeira Liga 8 1 0 0 0 0 — 1[e] 0 9 1
AEL Limassol 2021–22 Cypriot First Division 21 4 5 0 — — — 26 4
Career total 447 92 45 7 15 3 36 4 1 0 544 106
  1. ^ Includes Coupe de France, Greek Cup, FA Cup, Coppa Italia, Belgian Cup, Turkish Cup, Cypriot Cup11
  2. ^ Includes Coupe de la Ligue, Football League Cup
  3. ^ Mirallas' Everton F.C. profile gives him nine Premier League goals for the 2013–14 season,[46] one more than do other sources. After the Dubious Goals Panel awarded his goal on 19 October 2013 against Hull City to Gareth Barry,[47] Everton's website added it to Barry's record but failed to subtract it from Mirallas'. For more detail and sources, see Talk:Kevin Mirallas#Everton goals 2013–14.
  4. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ Appearance in Primeira Liga relegation play-offs

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[48]
National team Year Apps Goals
Belgium 2007 6 2
2008 4 1
2009 9 1
2010 2 0
2011 3 0
2012 8 2
2013 10 3
2014 8 0
2015 1 0
2016 4 0
2017 4 1
2018 1 0
Total 60 10
Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mirallas goal.[49]
List of international goals scored by Kevin Mirallas
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 22 August 2007 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium  Serbia 2–0 3–2 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
2 12 September 2007 Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty, Kazakhstan  Kazakhstan 2–1 2–2 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
3 19 November 2008 Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg  Luxembourg 1–0 1–1 Friendly
4 14 November 2009 Jules Ottenstadion, Ghent, Belgium  Hungary 3–0 3–0 Friendly
5 25 May 2012 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium  Montenegro 1–1 2–2 Friendly
6 12 October 2012 Stadium Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia  Serbia 3–0 3–0 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
7 29 May 2013 FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland, United States  United States 1–0 4–2 Friendly
8 6 September 2013 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland  Scotland 2–0 2–0 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
9 19 November 2013 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium  Japan 1–0 2–3 Friendly
10 28 March 2017 Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi, Russia  Russia 1–1 3–3 Friendly

Honours

Olympiacos[2]

Royal Antwerp

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Premier League clubs publish 2018/19 retained lists". Premier League. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d "K. Mirallas". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  3. ^ "Everton Football Club Profile". web page. Everton F.C. 2014. Archived from the original on 25 September 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  4. ^ "Blues Complete Mirallas Swoop". Everton F.C. Archived from the original on 22 November 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  5. ^ "O. Lyon 1–1 AS Saint-Etienne". Goal. 1 February 2009.
  6. ^ FIFA.com. "Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) – FIFA". Archived from the original on 22 June 2010.
  7. ^ "Μπέσα-Ολυμπιακός 0–5". Sport24. 15 July 2010.
  8. ^ "Ολυμπιακός-Ολυμπιακός Βόλου 3–1". Sport24. 2 October 2010.
  9. ^ "Η Σεντ Ετιέν ανακοίνωσε Μιραλάς!". Sport24. 1 February 2011.
  10. ^ "Mirallas treble sends Olympiacos top". FIFA. 14 December 2011. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014.
  11. ^ "OLYMPIACOS F.C. – ASTERAS TRIPOLIS 7–2". Olympiacos.org. 25 March 2012.
  12. ^ "Everton have signed forward Kevin Mirallas on a four-year deal from Olympiakos for a fee of about £6m". BBC Sport. 19 August 2012.
  13. ^ "Στατιστικά Παικτών". Super League Greece. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  14. ^ "Everton sign Kevin Mirallas from Olympiakos for £6m". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  15. ^ "Aston Villa 1–3 Everton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  16. ^ "Everton 5–0 Leyton Orient". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  17. ^ "Swansea 0–3 Everton" BBC Sport. 22 September 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
  18. ^ "Mirallas double downs Hammers". West Ham United F.C. 12 May 2013. Archived from the original on 22 May 2014.
  19. ^ "Everton 3–3 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  20. ^ "Everton 3–3 Liverpool: Brendan Rodgers angry with Kevin Mirallas". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  21. ^ "Everton's Kevin Mirallas ruled out for rest of season with injury". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  22. ^ "Squawka Awards: A statistical review of Everton's Premier League season". Squawka. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  23. ^ "Everton marked their Europa League return with a dominant victory over Germans Wolfsburg at Goodison Park". BBC Sport. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  24. ^ "Mirallas Pens New Deal". Everton F.C. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  25. ^ Johnston, Neil (11 March 2017). "Everton 3–0 West Bromwich Albion". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  26. ^ "Mirallas Signs New Contract". Everton FC. 12 May 2017. Archived from the original on 12 May 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  27. ^ "Everton forward Kevin Mirallas has rejoined Greek club Olympiakos on loan until the end of the season". BBC Sport. 7 January 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  28. ^ "Kevin Mirallas leaves Everton for Olympiacos". Sky Sports. 7 January 2018.
  29. ^ Ολυμπιακός – Κέρκυρα 5–1: Πεντάρα με την… αύρα του Μαρτίνς (in Greek). www.onsports.gr. 16 April 2018.
  30. ^ "Παρελθόν από τον Ολυμπιακό ο Μιραλάς!". Contra.gr. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  31. ^ "Mirallas Poised For Fiorentina Loan Move". 4 August 2018. Archived from the original on 5 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  32. ^ "Mirallas joins Fiorentina". 4 August 2018. Archived from the original on 5 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  33. ^ "Kevin Mirallas leaves Everton to join Royal Antwerp". 30 August 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  34. ^ "TRANSFER: KEVIN MIRALLAS GAZİANTEP'TE!". 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  35. ^ "Kevin Mirallas reforça Moreirense". Moreirense Futebol Clube (in European Portuguese). Archived from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  36. ^ savvar (23 July 2022). "Ανακοίνωση Έναρξης Συνεργασίας". Αθλητική Ένωση Λεμεσού (in Greek). Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  37. ^ "Kevin Mirallas zet punt achter voetbalcarrière en is de nieuwe technisch directeur bij Eendracht Aalst". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). 30 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  38. ^ "Kevin Mirallas Biography and Statistics". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  39. ^ "Dembélé double downs Serbia". UEFA. 23 August 2007.
  40. ^ Chase, Graham (22 June 2014). "Belgium 1–0 Russia". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  41. ^ "Belgium World Cup squad: Radja Nainggolan left out of initial 28-man squad for Russia 2018". Independent. 21 May 2018.
  42. ^ "World Cup 2014: Player profile - Kevin Mirallas, the Belgium". The Independent. 4 April 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  43. ^ Lived a good portion of his early life in Madrid. "Premier Skills English". Archived from the original on 21 May 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  44. ^ "Kevin Mirallas French stats". LFP. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  45. ^ "Kevin Mirallas Personal Detail". Premier League. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  46. ^ "Kevin Mirallas". Everton F.C. Archived from the original on 25 September 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  47. ^ Alston, Daniel (28 October 2013). "Barry credited with Hull strike". Everton F.C. Archived from the original on 27 December 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  48. ^ "Kevin Mirallas". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  49. ^ "Kevin Mirallas". eu-football.info. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  50. ^ Andrew Haslam (29 June 2007). "Il dream team Under 21" (in Italian). UEFA. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  51. ^ "Kevin Mirallas – player profile". Premier Skills (British Council). Retrieved 11 February 2015.
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