Javier 'Javi' Cantero de la Puente (born 22 January 1988) is a Spanish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

Club career

Born in

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

, Cantero graduated from

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spa ...

's youth academy, and made his senior debut with the reserves in the 2007–08 season, in

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

. On 22 July 2009 he signed for

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

, but again featured solely for the B-team also in the third level. On 6 August 2012, Cantero moved to fellow league side

Real Oviedo Real Oviedo ( Asturian: Real Uviéu) is a Spanish professional football club based in Oviedo, Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926, the club plays in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system. The club plays at ...

. After featuring regularly for the

Asturians Asturians () are a Romance ethnic group native to the autonomous community of Asturias, in the North-West of the Iberian Peninsula. Culture and society Heritage The Asturians have Celtic ( Astures) and Latin cultural origins, most notably f ...

during his only season, he moved abroad for the first time, joining

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

Enosis Neon Paralimni FC Enosis Neon Paralimni Football Club (, ''Enosi Neon Paralimniou''; ), commonly referred to as ENP, is a Cyprus, Cypriot association football, football team from Paralimni. Currently playing in the Cypriot First Division, first division, it holds ...

. Cantero returned to Spain on 23 July 2014, signing for

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

club

CD Mirandés Club Deportivo Mirandés is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Miranda de Ebro, Province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 3 May 1927, the club competes in the Segunda División ...

. He played his first match as a professional on 24 August, featuring 90 minutes in the 0–0 home draw against

CD Lugo Club Deportivo Lugo is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Lugo, in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. Founded on 8 July 1953, it plays in Primera Federación, holding home games at ''Estadio Anxo ...

. He scored his only league goal the following 16 May, but in a 2–3 home loss to

FC Barcelona B FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Paki ...

. Released in June 2016, Cantero subsequently joined

Recreativo de Huelva Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Huelva, Andalucia, Spain. Founded on 23 December 1889, they are the oldest football club in Spain, and currently play in , holding home ...

.Ubay Luzardo y Javi Cantero, firmados e inscritos (Ubay Luzardo and Javi Cantero, signed up and registered)
El Desmarque, 19 August 2016 (in Spanish)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cantero, Javi 1988 births Living people Footballers from Granada Spanish men's footballers Men's association football defenders Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players RCD Espanyol B footballers Atlético Madrileño players Real Oviedo players CD Mirandés footballers Recreativo de Huelva players Burgos CF footballers CD Ebro players Cypriot First Division players Enosis Neon Paralimni FC players Spain men's youth international footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus 21st-century Spanish sportsmen