Víctor Leandro Cuesta (born 19 November 1988) is an Argentine 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

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...

Club career

Born in

La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...

, Cuesta joined Arsenal Sarandí as a youth player, progressing to the senior team in 2008. Struggling to get first team action, he was loaned to

Defensa y Justicia Club Social y Deportivo Defensa y Justicia, commonly known as Defensa y Justicia, is an Argentine football club from Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, established in 1935.

in January 2010, playing at the time in the

Nacional B Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, in English "National B Division", and known as Primera B Nacional until the 2019–20 season) is the second division of the Argentine football league system. The competition is made up of 37 tea ...

. He made 34 appearances and scored 2 goals during his one-and-a-half-year stint at the club. Cuesta returned to Arsenal in 2011 and was part of the squad that won the 2012 Clausura, the 2012 Supercopa and the

2012–13 Copa Argentina The 2012–13 Copa Argentina was the fourth edition of the Copa Argentina, and the second since the relaunch of the tournament in 2011. The competition began on October 23, 2012. The tournament featured 224 clubs from the top four levels of the Ar ...

, being used mainly as a substitute and making 19 appearances over two seasons. In 2013, he was loaned to

Huracán Huracan (; es, Huracán; myn, Hunraqan, "one legged"), often referred to as ''U Kʼux Kaj'', the "Heart of Sky", is a Kʼicheʼ people, Kʼicheʼ Maya mythology, Maya god of wind, storm, fire and one of the creator deities who participated in ...

and there enjoyed a successful spell, winning the Copa Argentina as a starter.

Independiente

In 2014, after 6 years contracted to Arsenal, Cuesta transferred to Independiente for $1 million.

Internacional

On 2 March 2017

Internacional Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Série A, the first division of the Brazilian league, as well as in Campeonato ...

signed Cuesta from Independiente. The Brazilian club paid a $0.5 million fee for 50% of his rights with clauses that could raise the total fee to $2.5 million. Cuesta was a key member in the 2017 Brazilian Série B campaign, helping

finishing in second place returning to Brazilian top level Série A. In the following year he was selected to the Bola de Prata and 2018 Série A team of the year.

International career

Cuesta was chosen as the overage player for the Argentina under-23 squad at the 2016 Olympic tournament in Brazil. In May 2016, he received his first call up to the senior team as a member of the squad for the Copa América Centenario. He made his debut on 27 May 2016, coming off the bench in a 1–0 win 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 ...

International goals

, - , 1. , , 14 June 2016, , CenturyLink Field,

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, United States , , , , , , , ,

Copa America Centenario Copa or COPA may refer to: COPA COPA may refer to: * Computer Operator Programming Assistant. trade of ITI * Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet * Canadian Owners and Pilots Asso ...

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Club

;Arsenal de Sarandí *

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 ...

: 2012 Clausura * Supercopa Argentina:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

* Copa Argentina:

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

;Huracán * Copa Argentina: 2013–14 ;Botafogo *

Taça Rio Taça Rio, or Rio Trophy, is an annual Rio de Janeiro football tournament. It is the second stage competition of the Campeonato Carioca, the state football championship in Rio de Janeiro. It has been organized since 1982 by the Rio de Janeiro St ...

: 2023

International

Argentina *

Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...

: Runner-up

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Individual

* Bola de Prata:

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

* Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cuesta, Victor 1988 births Living people Argentine men's footballers Argentina men's international footballers Argentine expatriate men's footballers Men's association football defenders Argentine Primera División players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Arsenal de Sarandí footballers Defensa y Justicia footballers Club Atlético Huracán footballers Club Atlético Independiente footballers Sport Club Internacional players Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas players Copa América Centenario players Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Argentina Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil Footballers from La Plata