Juan Ángel Neira (born 21 February 1989) is an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

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 an

attacking 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

Greek Super League The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

club OFI.

Club career

In August 2011, Neira joined

Lanús Lanús () is the capital of Lanús Partido, Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. It lies just south of the capital city Buenos Aires, in the Greater Buenos Aires conurbation, metropolitan area. The List of cities in Argentina, city has a populati ...

on a one-year loan from

Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata (; ''La Plata Gymnastics and Fencing Club''), also known simply as Gimnasia, is an Argentine professional sports club based in the city of La Plata, Buenos Aires Province. Founded in 1887 as "Club de Gimnasia ...

, with an option to sign permanently. Lanús did not choose the option, and in 2012 Neira signed another one-year loan with the Spanish team

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

. On 31 July 2013, he joined the Mexican

Ascenso MX Ascenso MX, also known as Ascenso BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, was a professional association football league in Mexico and the second level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Primera División A de México (1994–2009 ...

side

Estudiantes Tecos Tecos Fútbol Club, simply known as Tecos, is a Mexican professional football club based in Zapopan, Jalisco, and associated with the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara (UAG). It competes in Liga Premier, the third level division of Mexican ...

. The following years he played mostly in Mexico.

OFI

On 29 June 2018, he signed a year contract with newly Superleague club OFI. In his debut season with the Greek club, Juan appeared in 24 matches, scoring 6 goals and giving 1 assist. On 4 July 2019, he signed a contract renewal until the summer of 2021. His first goal for the 2019–20 season came in a 3–1 home win against Asteras Tripolis, on 29 September 2019. On 6 October 2019, he scored in a triumphant 4–1 home win against

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan-Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis''), ...

. On 4 December 2019, Neira scored a brace in a 4–0 home win against

Kavala Kavala (, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the A2 motorway, a one-and ...

, securing his team's spot in the round of 16 of the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

. On 4 January 2020, he scored in a 2–1 home loss against

Volos Volos (; ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the capital of the Magnesia (regional unit), Magnesia regional unit of the Thessaly Region. Volos ...

. On 4 July 2020, he scored with a nice left-footed strike in a 2–2 home draw against

PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...

. He scored in the 2020–21 season's opener, a 1–1 home draw against

Panetolikos Panetolikos Football Club (), or with its full name officially romanized as Panaitolikós Gymnastikós Filekpaideftikós Sýllogos (''; Pan- Aetolian Gymnastic and Educational Club''), is a Greek professional football club. It is based in Agrini ...

, on 12 September 2020. On 23 November 2020, he scored with a penalty in an emphatic 4–1 away win against

. The following week, he scored with a penalty in a 2–1 win against

PAS Giannina PAS Giannina Football Club (), or with its full name Panipirotikós Athlitikós Síllogos Giánnina (, ''Panepirotic Athletic Club Giannina'') is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in the city of Ioannina, the capita ...

, the first at home for the season.

International career

In January 2009, Neira was selected to join the Argentina under-20 squad for the 2009 South American U-20 Championship held in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neira, Juan 1989 births Living people Footballers from La Plata Argentine men's footballers Argentina men's under-20 international footballers Argentine expatriate men's footballers Argentine Primera División players La Liga players Uruguayan Primera División players Super League Greece players Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata footballers Club Atlético Lanús footballers Real Valladolid players Centro Atlético Fénix players Newell's Old Boys footballers Tecos F.C. footballers Mineros de Zacatecas (football) players OFI Crete F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Uruguay Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Men's association football wingers 21st-century Argentine sportsmen