Carlos Javier Acuña Caballero (born 23 June 1988) is a Paraguayan professional

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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for Spanish amateur club Betis Florida.

Club career

Acuña was born in Encarnación. In 2004, he helped

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

win the Under-16 South American Championship, also topping the goal charts. He was immediately bought by

Cádiz CF Cádiz Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish professional football club based in Cádiz, Andalusia. Founded in 1910, the club competes in Segunda División, holding home games at Nuevo Mirandilla, with a seating capacity of 20,724. Salvadoran ...

of Spain for a club record of around 100 million '' pesetas'', but had to wait one year in the sidelines, however, to make his official debut, as the

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 ...

ns already had their foreign-players quota full. From

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, Acuña represented Cádiz and

UD Salamanca Unión Deportiva Salamanca, S.A.D. () was a historical Spanish football team based in Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 9 February 1923 and nicknamed ''Los Charros'', the club played in white shirts and black ...

, both in the second division (the latter on loan). On 16 December 2008,

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

confirmed an agreement for the transfer of the player for five years; he was immediately sent to the B-side, in the third level. Subsequently, Acuña played three seasons in the Spanish second level, with

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 ...

and

Girona FC Girona Futbol Club, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. ( ) is a Spanish professional Football team, football club based in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Founded on 23 July 1930, the team plays in La Liga, to which they gained promotion in the 2022 ...

. He scored a career-best 17 goals – plus one in the unsuccessful promotion playoffs – with the latter in the 2012–13 campaign. After seeing out his contract at Real Madrid, Acuña was signed by

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

Udinese Calcio Udinese Calcio (; "Udinese Football") is a professional association football, football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The team currently competes in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football league system, Italian fo ...

in late June 2013. However, within a matter of weeks, he moved to sister club

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

on a three-year contract. He scored his first goal for his new team on 24 September, in a 2–3 home loss to

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

for the season's League Cup. In early January 2014, Acuña returned to Spain, being loaned to

CA Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club based in Pamplona, Navarre. It was founded on 24 October 1920 and plays in La Liga, the top division of Spanish football. The team's ...

until June. He made his

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

debut on the 12th, playing the last 32 minutes of a 2–1 away win over

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

. Acuña returned to his country on 1 August 2014, signing with

Club Olimpia Club Olimpia is a Paraguayan professional sports club based in the city of Asunción. It promotes the practice of various sports, with most importance given to the football, rugby and basketball sides, football being the most successful. Fou ...

for an undisclosed fee. On 30 July 2015, he was loaned to

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (, , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or RCD Mallorca, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Palma de Mallorca, ...

for one year. On 17 June 2016, Acuña signed a two-year deal with

CD Numancia Club Deportivo Numancia de Soria, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club in Soria, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 9 April 1945, it plays in , holding home games at '' Nuevo Estadio Los Pajaritos''. Besides football it ...

also in the Spanish second tier. On 2 January 2018, after a six-month spell in Thailand with Ratchaburi Mitr Phol FC, he joined

Albacete Balompié Albacete Balompié is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Albacete, in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Founded on 5 July 1939, it currently plays in Segunda División, the second tier of Spanish foo ...

for the remainder of the season. On 4 December 2018 he renewed his contract with the club until 2021. On 31 August 2020, Acuña signed with

Hércules CF Hércules de Alicante Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team in Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Founded on 25 October 1922, it currently plays in Primera Federación and plays its home games ...

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Acuna, Javier 1988 births Sportspeople from Encarnación, Paraguay Footballers from Itapúa Department Living people Paraguayan people of Spanish descent Paraguayan men's footballers Paraguay men's under-20 international footballers Men's association football forwards Club Olimpia footballers Cádiz CF players UD Salamanca players Real Madrid Castilla footballers Recreativo de Huelva players Girona FC players Udinese Calcio players Watford F.C. players CA Osasuna players RCD Mallorca players CD Numancia players Javier Acuna Albacete Balompié players Hércules CF players Gimnástica Segoviana CF footballers Paraguayan Primera División players La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Segunda Federación players English Football League players Javier Acuna Paraguayan expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in England Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in Thailand Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Thailand 21st-century Paraguayan sportsmen