José Cañas

Not to be confused with Juan José Cañas (footballer).

For the Costa Rican military figure, see José María Cañas.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Cañas and the second or maternal family name is Ruiz-Herrera.

José Alberto Cañas Ruiz-Herrera (born 27 May 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Gibraltar Football League club Manchester 62 as a defensive midfielder.

José Cañas

Cañas in 2018
Personal information
Full name	José Alberto Cañas Ruiz-Herrera[1]
Date of birth	(1987-05-27) 27 May 1987 (age 37)[2]
Place of birth	Rota, Spain
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Manchester 62
Number	87
Youth career
	Roteña
2004–2005	Betis
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005–2007	Betis C	51	(6)
2006–2010	Betis B	97	(4)
2009–2013	Betis	66	(0)
2013–2014	Swansea City	23	(0)
2014–2016	Espanyol	42	(0)
2016–2019	PAOK	56	(1)
2019–2020	Red Star	9	(1)
2021	Atlético Baleares	7	(0)
2021–2023	Ionikos	54	(3)
2023–2024	Kalamata	13	(0)
2024–	Manchester 62	11	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:30, 22 December 2024 (UTC)

He started his career with Real Betis, joining the first team in 2009 and going on to make 72 official appearances, 51 in La Liga, over three seasons, and spent 2013–14 in the Premier League with Swansea City.

Club career

Betis

A product of Real Betis' youth ranks, Cañas was born in Rota, Province of Cádiz.^[3] He made his first-team – and La Liga – debut on 3 May 2009, playing 83 minutes in a 0–2 home loss against Atlético Madrid.^[4] The Andalusians were ultimately relegated at the season's end.

Cañas was definitely promoted to Betis' main squad for 2010–11. He contributed 15 games during the campaign (only four starts however) as the club returned to the top flight after two years as champions, being a regular the following two seasons.^[5]

Swansea City

In April 2013, before the season in Spain was over, Cañas refused to renew his expiring contract with Betis, choosing instead to join Swansea City on a three-year deal.^[6][7] He made his debut on 1 August, coming on as a late substitute in a 4–0 home victory over Malmö in the first leg of the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League.^[8]

Espanyol

On 1 September 2014, Cañas returned to his country and its top division, joining Espanyol on a three-year contract on a free transfer.^[9] His first competitive appearance took place 13 days later, as he played the last ten minutes of a 3–1 defeat at Valencia.^[10]

During his tenure at the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat, Cañas appeared in 48 games in all competitions. 2015–16 was marred by injury problems.^[11][12]

PAOK

On 11 July 2016, PAOK announced the signing of Cañas until summer 2019, for an undisclosed fee.^[13] He scored his first goal as a professional on 2 April 2017, in a 2–0 home win against Athlitiki Enosi Larissa.^[14]

Cañas was part of the squad that won the Greek Cup three times in a row, totaling 16 matches and two goals in these achievements.^[15] He also helped to claim the 2018–19 edition of the Super League, helping with 14 appearances but all but being absent from the lineups in the second part of the season due to a hip injury.^[16]

Red Star

Cañas joined Red Star as a free agent in late June 2019, agreeing to a two-year contract.^[17][18] He made his debut under coach Vladan Milojević in a friendly on 1 July with Blau-Weiß Linz, which was won 3–1.^[19] When his new team qualified for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, he was among the players who celebrated riding around Belgrade in an armored vehicle.^[20]

Later career

In March 2021, Cañas returned to his country and signed a short-term deal with Atlético Baleares in the Segunda División B.^[21] He left at the end of the season, even though the club tried hard to convince him to renew his link.^[22]

In August 2021, the 34-year-old Cañas agreed to a one-year contract with Ionikos in a return to the Greek top tier.^[23] Two years later, he remained in the country by joining Super League 2 side Kalamata.^[24]

Cañas moved to the Gibraltar Football League on 30 August 2024, signing for Manchester 62.^[25]

Personal life

Cañas' uncle, Juan José, was also a footballer and a midfielder. He too spent most of his professional career with Betis.^[26]

Career statistics

As of match played 15 May 2022^[27][28]

Club	Season	League			Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Betis	2008–09	La Liga	2	0	0	0	—		2	0
	2010–11	Segunda División	15	0	2	0	—		17	0
	2011–12	La Liga	22	0	2	0	—		24	0
	2012–13	La Liga	27	0	2	0	—		29	0
	Total		66	0	4	0	—		70	0
Swansea City	2013–14	Premier League	23	0	3	0	9[a]	0	35	0
Espanyol	2014–15	La Liga	29	0	5	0	—		34	0
	2015–16	La Liga	13	0	1	0	—		14	0
	Total		42	0	6	0	—		48	0
PAOK	2016–17	Super League Greece	27	1	7	0	8[a]	0	42	1
	2017–18	Super League Greece	15	0	5	1	2[a]	0	22	1
	2018–19	Super League Greece	14	0	4	1	9[b]	1	27	2
	Total		56	1	16	2	19	1	91	4
Red Star	2019–20	Serbian SuperLiga	9	1	1	0	11[b]	0	21	1
Atlético Baleares	2020–21	Segunda División B	7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
Ionikos	2021–22	Super League Greece	27	2	1	0	0	0	28	2
Career total			230	4	31	2	39	1	300	7

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
2. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

Honours

PAOK

• Super League Greece: 2018–19^[29]
• Greek Football Cup: 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19^[30]

Red Star

• Serbian SuperLiga: 2019–20^[31]

References

1. "Barclays Premier League squad numbers 2013/14". Premier League. 16 August 2013. Archived from the original on 21 August 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
2. "José Cañas" (in Spanish). Eurosport. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
3. "José Alberto Cañas, el roteño que triunfa en Grecia" [José Alberto Cañas, the Rota man making it big in Greece]. Marca (in Spanish). 12 July 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
4. "Real Betis 0–2 Atlético Madrid". ESPN Soccernet. 3 May 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
5. Díaz, David (11 March 2013). "Media plantilla se encuentra en situación de interinidad" [Half the squad with interim status]. Estadio Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 May 2013.
6. Cadden, Phil (7 April 2013). "The Real deal: Swansea will snaffle Real Betis star Jose Canas on a summer free". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
7. Veysey, Wayne (20 April 2013). "Swansea agree deal for Betis midfielder Jose Canas". Goal. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
8. Pope, Bruce (1 August 2013). "Swansea City 4–0 Malmo". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
9. "Swansea City midfielder Jose Canas joins Espanyol". Swansea City A.F.C. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
10. "Piatti, Parejo y Alcácer vuelven a dar la victoria al Valencia" [Piatti, Parejo and Alcácer give win to Valencia again] (in Spanish). La Liga. 14 September 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
11. Martínez, Alberto (9 January 2016). "Las lesiones pasan de ser una anécdota a ser un inconveniente" [Injuries go from anecdote to inconvenience]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 July 2016.
12. Piferrer, Dídac (30 April 2016). "Caicedo, Óscar Duarte y Cañas, altas para el Sevilla" [Caicedo, Óscar Duarte and Cañas, in for Sevilla]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 July 2016.
13. "Ανακοίνωσε τον Κάνιας ο ΠΑΟΚ" [Cañas announced at PAOK] (in Greek). Sport 24. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
14. Sountoulidis, Stavros (2 April 2017). "ΠΑΟΚ – ΑΕΛ 2–0 (vid)" [PΑΟΚ – ΑΕL 2–0 (vid)] (in Greek). Gazzetta. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
15. "Qué fue de: Jose Alberto Cañas" [What happened to: José Alberto Cañas] (in Spanish). OneFootball. 8 November 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
16. "Crespo y Cañas reinan en el infierno griego" [Crespo and Cañas reign in Greek hell] (in Spanish). Migrantes del Balón. April 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
17. Smilić, Branimir (24 June 2019). "Zvezdi prvo inostrano pojačanje stiže iz PAOK" [Star’s first foreign signing comes from PAOK] (in Serbian). Sport Klub. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
18. "José Alberto Cañas joins Zvezda!". Red Star Belgrade. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
19. Nedeljković, Darjan (1 July 2019). "Razigrali se Simić i Ebesilio, debitovao Kanjas, Zvezda završila pripreme u Austriji" [Simić and Ebecilio played, debut for Cañas, Star finished preparations in Austria] (in Serbian). Mozzart Sport. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
20. Manchón, Martín (30 August 2019). ""No me imaginaba celebrar la clasificación sobre un tanque"" ["I never thought I would be celebrating qualification on a tank"]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 September 2019.
21. Forteza, Gabriel (16 March 2021). "Cañas: "Hace diez o doce años que no juego en segunda B, pero me adaptaré"" [Cañas: "I have not played in segunda B in ten or twelve years, but I'll adjust"]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 September 2023.
22. "Cañas deja de ser jugador balearico" [Cañas is no longer a balearico player] (in Spanish). Atlético Baleares. 23 June 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
23. "Ποδοσφαιριστής του Ιωνικού ο Χοσέ Κάνιας" [José Cañas a Ionikos player] (in Greek). Ionikos F.C. 28 August 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
24. "Επίσημο: Στην Καλαμάτα ο Κάνιας" [Official: Cañas to Kalamata] (in Greek). Fosonline. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
25. "El Manchester 62 FC ficha al veterano ex bético José Alberto Cañas" [Manchester 62 FC sign veteran ex-Betis José Alberto Cañas] (in Spanish). Al Sol de la Costa. 30 August 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
26. González, Daniel (7 February 2013). "Bético de familia" [Bético by family] (in Spanish). Blanquivioletas. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
27. "Cañas: José Alberto Cañas Ruiz-Herrera". BDFutbol. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
28. "Cañas". Soccerway. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
29. González, Roberto (22 April 2019). "PAOK, campeón de Grecia tras 34 años" [PAOK, Greek champions after 34 years] (in Spanish). El 9 y Medio. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
30. "PAOK é tri da Copa da Grécia e faz "dobradinha" pela 1ª vez" [PAOK are back-to-back-to-back Greek Cup champions and get "double" for the 1st time] (in Portuguese). Universo Online. 11 May 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
31. "El exbético Cañas hace historia con el Estrella Roja en Serbia" [Former Betis man Cañas makes history with Red Star in Serbia] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. 30 May 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2021.

External links

• José Cañas at BDFutbol
• José Cañas at Futbolme (in Spanish)