About Manuel Almunia
Manuel Almunia Rivero (born 19 May 1977) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He competed mainly in the Spanish lower leagues in his early years, only appearing in 26 La Liga games over two seasons with Recreativo and Albacete after starting out at Osasuna. Most of his career was spent with Arsenal, for whom he signed in 2004, going on to play 175 official matches and winning the 2005 FA Cup. He also had a short loan spell at West Ham United, joining Watford in 2012 and retiring two years later. == Club career == === Early career === Born in Pamplona, Navarre, Almunia started his senior career with CA Osasuna's reserves in 1995, going on to spend four seasons with the team in the Segunda División B. Subsequently, he stayed in the same level, where he represented FC Cartagonova and CE Sabadell FC. In the summer of 2001, Almunia first reached La Liga, after signing with RC Celta de Vigo. He never represented the club officially, however, being loaned to SD Eibar (where he won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy in the Segunda División for the 2001–02 campaign), Recreativo de Huelva and Albacete Balompié, the last two in the top flight. Playing understudy to José Antonio Luque and César at Recre, Almunia's debut in the Spanish top tier came on 17 November 2002, following a red card to the latter in a 3–0 away loss against Deportivo Alavés. It was one of only two league appearances during the season, as the Andalusians suffered relegation after ranking 18th. At Albacete Balompié, Almunia started as backup to Carlos Roa. However, after the Argentine came down with illness he became first-choice, going on to help his team easily escape relegation through a 14th-place finish; his first league appearance was on 9 November 2003, in a 1–0 home defeat to Málaga CF as Roa was suspended.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.