Juan Díaz Sánchez (6 October 1948 – 3 April 2013), commonly known as Juanito, was 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 ...

who played as a forward.

Career

Born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Juanito started and finished his 11-year professional career with hometown's

CD Tenerife Club Deportivo Tenerife, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. Founded in 1912, the club plays in the Segunda División, holding home matches at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez Lóp ...

. He played one season in Segunda División with the club, then signed with

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

in late February 1972. He made his

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

debut on 19 March, starting in a 1–0 away win against Athletic Bilbao. Juanito contributed with 17 games in the 1973–74 campaign as the

Catalans Catalans (Catalan, French and Occitan: ''catalans''; es, catalanes, Italian: ''catalani'', sc, cadelanos) are a Romance ethnic group native to Catalonia, who speak Catalan. The current official category of "Catalans" is that of the citize ...

won the national championship, scoring in a 3–0 home victory over

UD Las Palmas Unión Deportiva Las Palmas, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Las Palmas, on the island of Gran Canaria in the autonomous community of Canary Islands. Founded on 22 August 1949, it plays in Segunda División, holding home games at t ...

on 6 January 1974. He appeared in three

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

matches during his spell, netting against OGC Nice in the 1973–74 edition. In 1975, in another winter

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer wi ...

move, Juanito joined fellow league team Hércules CF for three years. In the 1976 summer, however, he moved to

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 blac ...

, going on to compete a further five seasons in the top level; two of his league goals came against former side Barcelona (13 February 1977, 2–0 home win) and Real Madrid (1–1 home draw, on 16 March 1980). Juanito retired in 1983 at the age of 34, after one-year spells with Tenerife and amateurs

CD Mensajero Club Deportivo Mensajero is a Spanish football team based in Santa Cruz de la Palma, in the autonomous community of Canary Islands. Founded on 6 January 1922, it plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 4, holding home games at ''Nuevo Estadio ...

Death

Juanito lost a son whilst a player of Hércules, aged only 15. He himself died on 3 April 2013 in his hometown, at 64.

Honours

Barcelona *

: 1973–74

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Juanito 1948 births 2013 deaths Spanish footballers Footballers from Santa Cruz de Tenerife Association football forwards La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players CD Tenerife players FC Barcelona players Hércules CF players UD Salamanca players CD Mensajero players