Javier Casas Cuevas (born 9 May 1982) is a Spanish retired

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 played 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 ...

. His seven-year professional career was closely associated with

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

, with which he appeared in five

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

seasons for a total of 79 competitive games.

Club career

Athletic Bilbao

Born in

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

Biscay Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...

, Casas came through the ranks of

and made his professional debut during 2004–05. He became first-choice the following season after the departure of

Asier del Horno Asier del Horno Cosgaya (born 19 January 1981) is a retired Spanish footballer who primarily played in the left back position. He initially gained prominence during his stint with Athletic Bilbao, where he featured in 126 official matches over ...

to Chelsea, managing 24 league appearances and scoring twice during the campaign, at

Getafe CF Getafe Club de Fútbol S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Getafe, a city in the Community of Madrid. They compete in La Liga, the top tier of the Football in Spain, Spanish football. The team has pla ...

(1–1 draw) and

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña () or simply Depor, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, that competes in the Segunda División, the ...

(2–1 win). Ironically, Casas was left out of the first-team squad at the start of 2007–08 after Athletic re-signed del Horno on loan from

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...

. Unable to find a new club in the January 2008

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

, and still without a squad number, he was not eligible to play competitively during the entire season, but was reinstated for the following campaign, appearing in the 1–3 home loss against

UD Almería Unión Deportiva Almería, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish professional football club based in Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 26 July 1989 and known as ''Almería Club de Fútbol'' until 2001 ...

on 31 August 2008. However, due to the permanence of veteran Koikili and the emergence of

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...

youth graduate

Mikel Balenziaga Mikel Balenziaga Oruesagasti (; ; born 29 February 1988) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a left-back. He spent the better part of his career with Athletic Bilbao, totalling 321 appearances and winning two Supercopa de ...

, Casas' opportunities were few and so, on 13 January 2009, he was loaned to

Córdoba CF Córdoba Club de Fútbol (), is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Córdoba, Andalusia, Córdoba, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1954 after the dissolution of RCD Córdoba. Currently it plays ...

, which were then struggling in the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

, until the end of the season, where he appeared very rarely.

Later years

Casas was released by Athletic in June 2009, joining

FC Cartagena Fútbol Club Cartagena, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Cartagena, in the Region of Murcia, Spain. Founded in 1995 it currently plays in Segunda División, holding home games at '' Estadio Cartagonova'', with a capacity of 15,105 sp ...

– recently promoted to the second tier – on a free transfer. Second-choice to Rafael Clavero and third after the signing in January 2010 of French

Franck Signorino Franck Eddy Signorino (born 19 September 1981) is a French former professional footballer who played as a left-back. Career Born in Nogent-sur-Marne, Val-de-Marne, Signorino made his professional debut with FC Metz, helping it return to Ligue 1 ...

from Getafe, he was released, moving to lowly

CD Guijuelo Club Deportivo Guijuelo is a Spanish football team based in Guijuelo, Province of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded in 1974 it plays in , holding home games at the 1,500-seat '' Estadio Municipal de Guijuelo''. ...

. In the summer of 2010, Casas signed a one-year contract with fellow

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 ...

team

Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually known as Alavés, is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Basque ...

in his native region, hoping to "feel a footballer again".

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Casas, Javier 1982 births Living people Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Bilbao Men's association football fullbacks La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players CD Basconia footballers Athletic Bilbao B footballers Athletic Bilbao footballers Córdoba CF players FC Cartagena footballers CD Guijuelo footballers Deportivo Alavés players Basque Country men's international footballers 21st-century Spanish sportsmen