Danis Luis Quintero Chevans (born 10 December 1984 in

Cienfuegos Cienfuegos (), capital of Cienfuegos Province, is a city on the southern coast of Cuba. It is located about from Havana and has a population of 178,368 in 2022. Since the late 1960s, Cienfuegos has become one of Cuba's main industrial centers, ...

Cienfuegos Province Cienfuegos () is one of the provinces of Cuba. The capital city of the province is also called Cienfuegos and was founded by French settlers in 1819. Overview Until 2011, Cienfuegos was the smallest province in Cuba (excluding the city of H ...

) is a

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

n footballer, who is currently playing for German amateur side FSV Rheinfelden.

Club career

Quintero began play with FC Cienfuegos and played eight years for the team before fleeing the country. After a trial with Swiss side Servette he signed for C.A. Valdevez in summer 2009. After a half-year in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, he left Valdevez in February 2010 to sign on 2 February 2010 for the German lower League club SV Nollingen. In 2013 he joined FSV Rheinfelden.

International career

He made his international debut for

in a January 2007 Caribbean Cup qualification match against

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

and has earned a total of 7 caps, scoring no goals. During 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign he played four matches. He was part of the under-20 national team in the qualification for the

2003 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship was the 14th FIFA World Youth Championship. It took place in United Arab Emirates between 27 November and 19 December 2003. Brazil claimed their fourth title, becoming the first country to simultaneously ho ...

. He was part of the

Cuba national football team The Cuba national football team () represents Cuba in men's international football, and is controlled by the Asociación de Fútbol de Cuba (), which is a member of FIFA since 1932 and was a founding member of CONCACAF since 1961. It was also ...

at 2007 Caribbean Nations Cup and back-up keeper at

2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the ninth edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF), and was won by the United States over Mexico. It was contested in the United States from J ...

. His final international was a December 2008 Caribbean Cup qualification match against

Personal life

Defection to Germany

Nicknamed ''Pulpo'' (The Octopus), Quintero disappeared from the national team at

Frankfurt Airport Frankfurt Airport ( ) , is Germany's busiest international airport by passenger numbers, located in Frankfurt, Germany's fifth-largest city. Its official name according to the German Aeronautical Information Publication is Frankfurt Main Airpor ...

Düsseldorf Airport Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the seventh-largest city in Germany, with a 2022 population of 629,047. The Düsse ...

in July 2009 after a friendly match against German Bundesliga side

SC Freiburg Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg (), is a Football in Germany, German professional football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions ...

. After spending time in Switzerland and Portugal he returned to Germany and received a political refugee status after a few months.Dany Quintero: un cubano en el fútbol alemán
- Deutsche Welle

References

1984 births Living people Sportspeople from Cienfuegos Defecting Cuban footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Cuban men's footballers Cuba men's international footballers FC Cienfuegos players 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Cuban expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Cuban expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Cuban expatriate sportspeople in Germany {{Cuba-footy-bio-stub