Miku · Biography

On 27 August 2009, wearing Valencia’s shirt, Nicolás Ladislao Fedor Flores, known as “Miku”, scored a hat-trick against Norway’s Stabæk in a 4-1 win in the Europa League play-off round. It was his first season in the squad of the club that had owned him since 2004 and had loaned him out year after year. Born in Caracas on 19 August 1985 to a Hungarian father and a Venezuelan mother, the centre-forward takes his nickname from Miklós, the Hungarian form of his first name. He played in Spain, Scotland, Qatar, India, Cyprus and Venezuela, and won 51 caps for the Venezuela national team.

Youth football in Valencia

Miku learned the game in the Valencia region. He came through the youth ranks of Santo Tomás de Villanueva, Sueca, Valencia and Cracks before signing professionally with the Mestalla club in 2004. Valencia had no room for him at first, and a run of loans followed: Alcoyano in 2004-05, UD Salamanca in 2005-06, where he won the Segunda División B title, Ciudad de Murcia in 2006, Valencia’s reserve side in 2007 and Gimnàstic de Tarragona in 2007-08. In 2008-09 he returned to Salamanca, by then in the Spanish second division, and established himself as a goalscorer there.

Getafe and the Celtic loan

After half a season with Valencia’s first team, he joined Getafe in January 2010. He scored on his debut, in a Copa del Rey quarter-final against Mallorca, and in 2011-12 he was a regular starter with 12 goals in La Liga. On 31 August 2012 he moved to Celtic on loan. He made his Champions League debut on 19 September 2012 against Benfica (0-0) and started on 7 November 2012 as Celtic beat Barcelona 2-1 at Celtic Park. That season he won the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Cup, though with a limited role.

Qatar and Rayo Vallecano

On 30 September 2013 he signed for Qatari side Al-Gharafa, scoring five goals in fifteen league games in 2013-14. On 2 February 2015 he returned to Spain with Rayo Vallecano. His best month came in February 2016: he scored in four of the five rounds played and was named La Liga Player of the Month. Rayo were relegated that summer, and Miku stayed at Vallecas for the 2016-17 campaign in the second division.

India, Cyprus and a return to Spain

In August 2017 he joined Bengaluru FC of the Indian Super League. He scored his first goal on 26 November 2017 and won the Indian Super Cup in 2018. On 17 March 2019 he played in the league final against FC Goa: he hit the post, and Bengaluru won 1-0 after extra time to claim their first Indian Super League title. On 20 August 2019 he signed for Omonia Nicosia, and on 25 September 2020 he went back to Spain with Deportivo de La Coruña. In 2021-22 he scored 12 goals in the Primera Federación, but Deportivo lost the promotion play-off final 2-1 to Albacete at Riazor. He then played for Real Murcia in 2022, for Intercity from 3 February 2023 and for Arenteiro in 2023-24.

Venezuela national team

He made his debut for La Vinotinto on 16 August 2006 in a goalless friendly against Honduras. His first goal came on 24 March 2007 in a 5-0 win over New Zealand in Maracaibo. He played in the qualifying campaigns for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups and at two Copa Américas. At the 2011 edition in Argentina he scored against Paraguay in a 3-3 group-stage draw, and Venezuela finished fourth, their best result in the tournament. At the 2015 Copa América in Chile he scored against Brazil in a 2-1 defeat. His international career ended in 2015 with 51 caps and 11 goals.

Back in Venezuela

In January 2024 Academia Puerto Cabello paid his release clause to Arenteiro, and Miku played professionally in his home country’s league for the first time. Later in 2024 he signed for Metropolitanos, also in the Venezuelan top flight.