10 Things you need to know about Newcastle signing Jonas Gutierrez
By Dan Silver 2/07/2008


This morning Newcastle announced the signing of Real Mallorca’s Argentinean international Jonas Gutierrez for an undisclosed fee on a five-year deal.

Here’s everything you need to know about the player they call ‘Spiderman’…

1) He was born in Roque Sáenz Peña in Buenos Aires Province on July 5, 1983 and is commonly known by his first name Jonas

2) A natural winger, he joined local side Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield as an 18 year-old, where he made 97 appearances and scored just the one goal.

3) Jonas helped the side to the Primera Division league title in 2005, and then promptly upped sticks and joined Spanish side Real Mallorca.

4) In his three seasons in Spain, Guiterrez notched up a further 96 appearances and chipped in a further five goals.

5) The most famous of which came in a home match against Osasuna. Guiterrez celebrated by pulling on a Spiderman mask and pretending to shoot web from his wrists, in tribute to his boy-hood hero. Not sure how that would go down on the Bigg Market,


6) That said, interested Newcastle fans can buy a Spiderman mask and web blaster from Amazon for a very reasonable £22.96 here.

7) Jonas has made two appearances for the Argentinean national side to date. The first came against France in February 2007, and the second last month in the World Cup qualifier 0-0 drawn against Brazil.

8) You can see highlights of that last game below. Although, frankly, if you’re pushed for time, feel free to skip it.


9) Before joining the Magpies, Jonas was a target for both Manchester City and Portsmouth. Harry Redknapp was rumoured to be considering a £10m bid for the player last January.

10) Jonas said of his move to Newcastle: "I cannot tell you how excited I am to be joining Newcastle United. The Premier League is a great place to play and I cannot wait to meet my new team-mates and prove myself to the Newcastle United fans.”

Let’s hope they have Spiderman masks at the ready…