Josué Prieto Currais (born 27 February 1993), commonly known as Josu, 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 ...

or a

left midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

L'Escala L'Escala () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Alt Empordà in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the Costa Brava, located between the southern end of the Gulf of Roses and Cala (bay) Montgó. It is an important fishing port and ...

Club career

Journeyman

Born in

Langreo Langreo () or Llangréu () ( Asturian) is a municipality and town in northern Spain, in Asturias. It is the 4th largest town of Asturias with 43,000 inhabitants. Langreo is located in the centre of Asturias, approximately south-east of Oviedo. I ...

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

, Josu emerged through

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

's youth system at

La Masia La Masia de Can Planes, usually shortened to La Masia (; ), is FC Barcelona's youth academy. It includes more than 300 young players and has been an instrumental factor in Barcelona's European success, producing several world class players and ...

, where he played alongside future

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

international

Gerard Deulofeu Gerard Deulofeu Lázaro (; born 13 March 1994) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger. He plays for the Catalonia national team. He started his career with Barcelona, first appearing with the first team at the ...

. He only competed in the lower leagues or amateur football in his own country, his first professional experience being with

Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho, commonly referred to as SJK, also internationally SJK Seinäjoki, is a Finland, Finnish professional association football, football club from the city of Seinäjoki. The club plays in the Veikkausliiga, the highest ...

in the Finnish

Ykkönen ''Ykkönen'' (Finnish language, Finnish for 'Number One'; , previously I divisioona) is the third highest level of the Finnish football league system (after the Veikkausliiga and Ykkösliiga), managed by the Football Association of Finland. Until ...

. Josu signed with Polish club

Górnik Łęczna Gornik may refer to one of the following. *Gornik, Pleven Province, a village in Cherven Bryag Municipality, Bulgaria *April Gornik, an American painter *Górnik (meaning "miner" in Polish language, Polish) is a common name of Polish sports teams: ...

in January 2015. Also in that year he joined

Kerala Blasters FC Kerala Blasters Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Blasters, is an Indian association football, professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala, that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top tier of football in Indi ...

in the

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...

, scoring his first goal as a professional on 6 October to help to a 3–1 home win against

NorthEast United FC NorthEast United Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Guwahati, Assam that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded on 13 April 2014 during the inaugural sea ...

. On 14 December 2016, Josu converted his

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

attempt against

Delhi Dynamos FC Odisha Football Club () is an Indian professional football club based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. Prior to the inaugural Indian Super League season, the club was founded ...

to help his team reach the final against

Atlético de Kolkata ATK Football Club (also known as Atlético de Kolkata in association with Atlético Madrid) was an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. The club competed in the ISL, the top flight of Indian football. They were ...

(eventually lost). He subsequently returned to Spain, moving to

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 ...

side

Extremadura UD Extremadura Unión Deportiva was a Spanish football team based in Almendralejo, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Founded in 2007, it last played in Primera División RFEF – Group 1, holding home games at '' Estadio Francisco de la ...

FC Cincinnati

On 7 May 2017, Josu signed with

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

club

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was first announced on August 12, 2015 as a United Soccer Leag ...

for one year; he was announced eight days later, with coach Alan Koch describing him as a varied player, writing, "He is an attack-minded

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 ...

, but can also play further up the field if needed." On 29 June, in his new team's first match against

Chicago Fire Soccer Club Chicago Fire Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Chicago. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The Fire play their home games at Soldier Field, which they share wit ...

during their semi-final run in the

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

, he scored in the 3–1 shootout win. On 8 August 2017, Josu agreed to an extension that would keep him at

Nippert Stadium James Gamble Nippert Memorial Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, located on the campus of University of Cincinnati. Primarily used for American football, it has been home to the Cincinnati Bearcats football, Cincinnati Bearcats ...

through the 2018 season. On 16 April 2018, however, the club announced that they had reached a mutual agreement with the player to terminate his contract, indicating that he would be returning to Spain but not disclosing what his plans were or if he would continue playing professionally.

Lahti

On 8 December 2018, after a brief spell back in his homeland with

UE Llagostera C.F. Badalona Futur Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Badalona, Province of Barcelona, Barcelona, in the Autonomous Community of Catalonia. Founded in 1947, it currently plays ...

, Josu returned to Finland and its

Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga () is a professional association football league in Finland and the highest level of the Finnish football league system. The league comprises the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agenc ...

with

FC Lahti FC Lahti is a Finnish professional football club based in the city of Lahti. It currently plays in the Finnish second tier Ykkösliiga, after relegating from Veikkausliiga after the 2024 season. The homeground of Lahti is Toolpoint Arena. La ...

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Josu 1993 births Living people People from Langreo 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Asturias Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football midfielders Segunda División B players Tercera División players Tercera Federación players Divisiones Regionales de Fútbol players UE Olot players Extremadura UD footballers CF Badalona Futur players CF Peralada players UE Figueres footballers Veikkausliiga players Ykkönen players Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho players SJK Akatemia players FC Lahti players Serie D players Ekstraklasa players GKS Górnik Łęczna players Indian Super League players Kerala Blasters FC players USL Championship players Wilmington Hammerheads FC players FC Cincinnati players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Finland Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Expatriate men's footballers in India Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Finland Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Poland Spanish expatriate sportspeople in India Spanish expatriate sportspeople in the United States