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 lea ...

who plays as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

Newell's Old Boys Club Atlético Newell's Old Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Rosario, Santa Fe. The club was founded on 3 November 1903, and is named after Isaac Newell of the English county of Kent, one of the pioneers of Argentine football. A ...

Club career

Born in

La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. According to the 2022 Argentina census, census, the La Plata Partido, Partido has a population of 772,618 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 938,287 inhabit ...

, 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. 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 Huracán (; ; , "one legged"), often referred to as ''U Kʼux Kaj'', the "Heart of Sky", is a Kʼicheʼ Maya god of wind, storm, fire and one of the creator deities who participated in all three attempts at creating humanity. He also caused th ...

and there enjoyed a successful spell, winning the

Copa Argentina The Copa Argentina (English: ''Argentine Cup''), officially known as the "Copa Argentina AXION energy" due to sponsorship reasons, is an official football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). The first editions ...

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 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 Internacional 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 The Copa América Centenario (, , ; literally ''Centennial America Cup'') was an international men's soccer tournament that was hosted by the United States in 2016. The competition was a celebration of the centennial of CONMEBOL and the Copa Am� ...

. 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. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

International goals

, - , 1. , , 14 June 2016, ,

CenturyLink Field Lumen Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located in the city's SoDo neighborhood, it is the home field for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL), Seattle Sounders FC of Major League ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, United States , , , , , , , , Copa America Centenario

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Club

;Arsenal de Sarandí * Primera División: 2012 Clausura *

Supercopa Argentina The Supercopa Argentina (English: Argentine Super Cup) is an official national association football cup of Argentina organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). The annual football match was played for the first time in 2012, being con ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

: 2012–13 ;Huracán *

: 2013–14 ;Botafogo *

Taça Rio Taça Rio ( English: Rio Cup) is an annual football tournament attached to Campeonato Carioca, the state football league in the Rio de Janeiro state. It has been organized since 1982 by the Rio de Janeiro State Football Federation. It has had ...

: 2023

International

Argentina *

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

: Runner-up

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Individual

* Bola de Prata:

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

* 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 SC Internacional players Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas players Esporte Clube Bahia players Newell's Old Boys footballers Copa América Centenario players Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Argentina Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil Footballers from La Plata 21st-century Argentine sportsmen