José Manuel ''"El Moyo"'' Contreras (born 19 January 1986) is a Guatemalan 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 le ...

who plays as a midfielder for

Liga Nacional Liga or LIGA may refer to: People * Līga (name), a Latvian female given name * Luciano Ligabue, more commonly known as Ligabue or ''Liga'', Italian rock singer-songwriter Sports * Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain * Lig ...

club Comunicaciones. He is also a member of the Guatemalan national team since 2006. Contreras has also played for clubs Arsenal de Sarandí in Argentina and

C.D. Universidad de Concepción Club Deportivo Universidad de Concepción also known as Universidad de Concepción, are a Chilean Association football, football club based in Concepción, Chile, Concepción, that is a current member of the Primera B de Chile, Primera B. The cl ...

in Chile, among other clubs, and it’s known to be the promise of Guatemala soccer

Club career

Having begun his career at Municipal in the Guatemalan '' top division'', Contreras briefly played in the ''

Primera División Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera, Venezuelan musician, compos ...

'' (second level) with ''Deportivo Achuapa'', and then returned to Comunicaciones where he played until July 2008, when he joined Arsenal de Sarandí. He made his debut for Arsenal on August 27, 2008 against

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...

for the second leg of the

Recopa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana ( pt, CONMEBOL Recopa Sul-Americana), known also as the Recopa Sudamericana or CONMEBOL Recopa, and simply as the Recopa (, ; "Winners' Cup"), is an annual international club association football, football compe ...

, a match that ended 2–2 (3–5 aggregate in favor of Boca Juniors). Contreras came in at the beginning of the second half in substitution of Luciano Leguizamón, who left the pitch injured at the end of the first half. In July 2009 it was rumored that Contreras would join

Gimnasia de Jujuy Club Atlético Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy , (usually known as Gimnasia de Jujuy or just GEJ) is an Argentine sports club based in San Salvador de Jujuy, Jujuy Province. The club was founded in 1931 and is best known for its football team, whi ...

of the Argentine 2nd division, but then a move to Uruguayan side CA Fénix at the end of August 2009 was announced. On 28 December 2009 he returned to Guatemala and signed with

Xelajú MC Quetzaltenango (, also known by its Maya name Xelajú or Xela ) is both the seat of the namesake Department and municipality, in Guatemala. The city is located in a mountain valley at an elevation of above sea level at its lowest part. It may ...

. In June 2010 Contreras rejoined the club where he started his career, Comunicaciones., playing there for the entirety of the 2010–2011 season; one year later, in June 2011, he was signed by

, and in August 2011 he made his debut scoring the third goal of his team's 3–0 win over Colo-Colo. Source: http://www.goal.com/es-us/news/3538/guatemaltecos-por-el-mundo/2011/08/14/2620245/guatemaltecos-por-el-mundo-el-moyo-contreras-se-estrena-con

International career

Contreras' debut match for the Guatemala senior side was against

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

in August 2006, where he made an assist to Mario Rodríguez in a 1–1 draw. He scored his first international goal in the match versus

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

in the

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 ...

. In 2008, Contreras played for the U-23 national team of Guatemala in the qualification rounds to the 2008 Olympic tournament, where he led the team to a 1–0 victory against Haiti and an upsetting 2–1 victory against Mexico. The Guatemalan team ended the group stage in first place earning a semifinal berth against

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

in which they came short of qualifying, losing 6–5 on

penalty kicks A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

. After his performances throughout the tournament, he was named one of the "eleven best" in the tournament alongside teammate

Carlos Castrillo Carlos Mauricio Castrillo Alonzo (born 16 May 1985) is a Guatemalan professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football)#Centre-back, right-back. Club career Castrillo began his career with Deportivo Jala ...

International goals

:''Scores and results list. Guatemala's goal tally first.''

Honours

Comunicaciones *

Liga Nacional de Guatemala Liga or LIGA may refer to: People * Līga (name), a Latvian female given name * Luciano Ligabue, more commonly known as Ligabue or ''Liga'', Italian rock singer-songwriter Sports * Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain * Lig ...

: Clausura 2011, Apertura 2011, Clausura 2013, Apertura 2013, Clausura 2014, Apertura 2014, Clausura 2015, Clausura 2022 * CONCACAF League:

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Antigua *

: Apertura 2017, Clausura 2019

References

External links

Argentine Primera statistics
at Fútbol XXI {{DEFAULTSORT:Contreras, Jose Manuel 1986 births Living people People from Jutiapa Department Guatemalan footballers Guatemalan expatriate footballers Guatemala international footballers 2007 UNCAF Nations Cup players 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2013 Copa Centroamericana players 2014 Copa Centroamericana players 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Comunicaciones F.C. players Arsenal de Sarandí footballers Centro Atlético Fénix players Universidad de Concepción footballers Chilean Primera División players Argentine Primera División players Expatriate footballers in Chile Expatriate footballers in Argentina Expatriate footballers in Uruguay Association football midfielders