Isaac Cuenca

Joan Isaac Cuenca López (born 27 April 1991) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a winger for Japanese club Vegalta Sendai.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Cuenca and the second or maternal family name is López.

Isaac Cuenca
Cuenca with Deportivo in 2015
Personal information
Full name Joan Isaac Cuenca López
Date of birth (1991-04-27) 27 April 1991[1]
Place of birth Reus, Spain[1]
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Winger
Club information
Current team
 Vegalta Sendai
Number 9
Youth career
1998–2001 Juroca
2001–2002 Espanyol
2002–2005 Barcelona
2005–2007 Santes Creus
2007–2008 Reus
2008–2009 Damm
2009–2010 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007 Reus 0 (0)
2010–2012 Barcelona B 6 (2)
2010–2011 → Sabadell (loan) 32 (5)
2011–2014 Barcelona 16 (2)
2013 → Ajax (loan) 3 (0)
2014–2015 Deportivo La Coruña 27 (2)
2015–2016 Bursaspor 12 (1)
2016–2017 Granada 37 (4)
2017–2018 Hapoel Be'er Sheva 10 (2)
2019 Sagan Tosu 29 (6)
2020– Vegalta Sendai 15 (0)
National team
2011 Spain U21 2 (0)
2012 Spain U23 1 (0)
2011 Catalonia 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 27 January 2021

Formed at Barcelona, where he made 30 total appearances, he also represented Deportivo and Granada in La Liga, additionally playing top-flight football in the Netherlands, Turkey, Israel and Japan.

Club career

Early years

Born in Reus, Tarragona, Catalonia, Cuenca began playing football with local Unió Barri Juroca, going on to have spells with RCD Espanyol, FC Barcelona, UE Barri Santes Creus, CF Reus Deportiu and CF Damm before return to La Masia in 2009.[2][3] He made his senior debut in the 2010–11 season, being loaned to another club in his native region, CE Sabadell FC of the third division;[4] he made an immediate impact, starting in 24 of his appearances and totalling 2,288 minutes as the Arlequinats returned to the second level after an 18-year absence.

In July 2011, Cuenca returned to Barcelona and joined its B-team, alongside Martí Riverola.[5] Shortly after, he was called by first-team manager Pep Guardiola to the pre-season, and made his debut on 23 July against HNK Hajduk Split.[6]

Barcelona

Cuenca made his official debut for Barça B on 4 September 2011, playing the last 29 minutes in a 4–0 away win against FC Cartagena and scoring the last goal of the match.[7] On 19 October he made his first official appearance for the main squad, coming on as a substitute for David Villa in the dying minutes of a 2–0 home victory over FC Viktoria Plzeň in the season's UEFA Champions League.[8]

On 25 October 2011, after another game on the bench, Cuenca made his La Liga debut, playing the full 90 minutes and being booked in a 1–0 away win against Granada CF.[9] Four days later, again as a starter, he scored in a 5–0 home rout of RCD Mallorca, assisted by Adriano.[10]

On 3 December 2011, Cuenca netted his second league goal, playing the entire 5–0 home win against Levante UD.[11] On 31 January 2012 he signed a contract extension, keeping him at the club until June 2015, and also switched permanently to the first team, being assigned jersey number 23.[12]

Cuenca spent the first half of 2012–13 nursing a knee injury.[13][14] On 31 January 2013, he was loaned to Eredivisie side AFC Ajax until 30 June.[15] He was given the number 11 shirt, which was previously worn by Lorenzo Ebecilio; that jersey, however, was reserved for league and Dutch Cup matches, while he wore number 28 in the team run in the UEFA Europa League, as Ebecilio had already made continental appearances with the club wearing the former number during the campaign.[16]

Cuenca made his debut for his new team 10 February 2013, against Roda JC Kerkrade at the Amsterdam Arena, assisting Daley Blind in his first ever goal for Ajax as the match ended in a 1–1 draw.[17] However, in March, he suffered another knee injury, being sidelined for a further four months;[18] he underwent surgery in early June,[19] returning to training in October.[20]

Deportivo

On 10 July 2014, Cuenca and Barcelona reached an agreement to terminate the player's contract, due to expire in June 2015, due to technical reasons.[21] Late in the same day, he signed a one-year deal with fellow league team Deportivo de La Coruña.[22]

Cuenca made his debut for the club on 23 August 2014, replacing Toché in a 1–2 away loss to Granada,[23] and scored his first goal eight days later, netting a last-minute equalizer in a 2–2 home draw against Rayo Vallecano.[24] The Galicians went on to narrowly avoid relegation, with him starting in 14 of his appearances.

Late career

On 7 August 2015, Cuenca signed a three-year deal with Turkish Süper Lig side Bursaspor.[25] He scored his first competitive goal on 28 October, the game's only in a victory over Sivasspor at the Bursa Atatürk Stadium.[26]

On 1 February 2016, Cuenca returned to his country and signed with Granada until the end of the season.[27] In June 2017, after the Andalusians' relegation, he joined Israeli Premier League champions Hapoel Be'er Sheva F.C. on a two-year contract.[28]

Cuenca returned to his first senior club Reus ahead of the 2018–19 campaign. After playing the whole pre-season on trial,[29] he could not be registered; Reus claimed that the Liga de Fútbol Profesional rejected his registration due to his low salary,[30] while the organisation claimed that the club had breached the wage limits.[31]

In January 2019, Cuenca went back abroad and signed a three-year contract with the option of a fourth at Sagan Tosu in Japan's J1 League. He joined compatriots Fernando Torres and Lluís Carreras, his teammate and manager respectively.[32]

For the following year, Cuenca joined Vegalta Sendai in the same competition. In February 2020, he suffered a right knee meniscus injury that ruled him out for six months.[33]

International career

Cuenca had his first international call-up in November 2011, when Spain under-21 manager Luis Milla named him in a 20-man squad for European qualifiers against Estonia and Switzerland.[34] He made his debut against the former on the 10th at the Estadio Álvarez Claro in Melilla, starting in a 6–0 win.[35]

On 30 December the same year, Cuenca earned his only cap for the non-FIFA Catalonia side, in a goalless draw against Tunisia for the Catalonia International Trophy.[36]

Style of play

Cuenca is capable of playing as a winger on either flank, and has been likened by some in the sport to fellow former Barcelona teammate Pedro Rodriguez. A 2011 Bleacher Report profile by Andreas Ehrli described him as a promising young prospect, with good all-round abilities and above average dribbling skills, noting that his strengths were his tactical intelligence, technique and positioning, while his weaknesses were his defensive work-rate, physique, ability in the air and lack of end product or "killer instinct."[37]

Club statistics
As of 7 November 2020[38][39]
Club Season League Cup Continental1 Other2 Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sabadell (loan) 2010–11 Segunda División B 325———325
Barcelona B 2011–12 Segunda División 52———52
Barcelona 2011–12 La Liga 162627010304
2013–14 La Liga 0000000000
Total 162627010304
Ajax (loan) 2012–13 Eredivisie 3000200050
Deportivo 2014–15 La Liga 27220——292
Bursaspor 2015–16 Süper Lig 12170——191
Granada 2015–16 La Liga 12200——122
2016–17 La Liga 25210——262
Total 37410——384
Hapoel Be'er Sheva 2017–18 Israeli Premier League 1022061—183
Sagan Tosu 2019 J1 League 29600—30326
Vegalta Sendai 2020 J1 League 7000—0070
Career total 178241821514021525

1 Includes UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League matches.

2 Includes Supercopa de España, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, and J.League Cup matches.

Honours

Barcelona

Ajax

Hapoel Be'er Sheva

References
  1. "Isaac Cuenca". Eurosport. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  2. Domènech, Oriol (26 July 2012). "Reus, la cantera del Barça" [Reus, Barça's youth system]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  3. López, Marcos (31 October 2011). "Historia de un exilio" [Story of an exile]. El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  4. "Sabadell: presentado Isaac Cuenca" [Sabadell: Isaac Cuenca presented] (in Spanish). esFutbol. 2 September 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  5. "Martí Riverola e Isaac Cuenca vuelven al Barça B" [Martí Riverola and Isaac Cuenca return to Barça B] (in Spanish). FC Barcelona. 4 July 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  6. Benítez, Alberto (23 July 2011). "El Barça debuta sin dinamita" [Barça have unexplosive debut]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  7. García, Gregorio (4 September 2011). "Vuelve el mejor Barça B con un festival goleador en Cartagonova" [The best Barça B return with a scoring festival in Cartagonova]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  8. "Barcelona flex muscles without overwhelming Plzeň". UEFA. 19 October 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  9. "Xavi strike sees of Granada". ESPN Soccernet. 25 October 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  10. "Messi to the fore once again". ESPN Soccernet. 29 October 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  11. "Fabregas bags brace in rout". ESPN Soccernet. 3 December 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  12. "Cuenca signs extension to contract". FC Barcelona. 31 January 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  13. "Isaac Cuenca sale del hospital" [Isaac Cuenca leaves hospital]. Goal. 2 June 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  14. "Cuenca returns to training, Alves injury update". Total Barça. 26 November 2012. Archived from the original on 30 November 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  15. Rojo, Luis Fernando (31 January 2013). "Isaac Cuenca, cedido al Ajax" [Isaac Cuenca, loaned to Ajax]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  16. "Cuenca krijgt twee rugnummers" [Cuenca gets two shirt numbers]. De Telegraaf (in Dutch). 4 February 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  17. "Unsuccessful mission for Ajax". AFC Ajax. 10 February 2013. Archived from the original on 11 May 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  18. Polo, Fernando (11 March 2013). "Isaac Cuenca regresa a Barcelona con su rodilla maltrecha" [Isaac Cuenca returns to Barcelona with his battered knee]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  19. Soria, Miki (7 June 2013). "Isaac Cuenca: "Ya solo pienso en volver a jugar pronto"" [Isaac Cuenca: "I am only thinking about returning to play soon"]. Sport (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  20. "Isaac Cuenca, principal novedad en el entrenamiento del Barça" [Isaac Cuenca, main novelty in Barça's training]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 8 October 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  21. "Agreement to rescind Isaac Cuenca's contract". FC Barcelona. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  22. "Isaac Cuenca nuevo jugador del Dépor" [Isaac Cuenca new player of Dépor] (in Spanish). Deportivo La Coruña. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  23. "Liga de fútbol | Granada 2 – Deportivo 1 – El Granada remonta en casa el gol inicial del Deportivo (2–1)" [Football league | Granada 2 – Deportivo 1 – Granada come from Deportivo's initial goal at home (2–1)] (in Spanish). RTVE. 23 August 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  24. Malagón, Manuel (31 August 2014). "Ba destruye lo que crean Aquino y Bueno" [Ba destroys what Aquino and Bueno create]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  25. "Isaac Cuenca ile Anlaşma Sağlandı" [Agreement reached with Isaac Cuenca] (in Turkish). Bursaspor. 7 August 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  26. "Bursaspor – Medicana Sivasspor: 1–0". Milliyet (in Turkish). 28 October 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  27. "Presentación de Costa, Doucouré y Cuenca" [Presentation of Costa, Doucouré and Cuenca] (in Spanish). Granada CF. 3 February 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  28. "Isaac Cuenca se va a la Liga israelí" [Isaac Cuenca is going to the Israeli League]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 30 June 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  29. "El primer equip inicia els entrenaments" [The first team start training] (in Catalan). CF Reus Deportiu. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  30. "Comunicat oficial (01/09/2018)" [Official announcement (01/09/2018)] (in Catalan). CF Reus Deportiu. 1 September 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  31. "Nota informativa" [Informative note] (in Spanish). Liga de Fútbol Profesional. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  32. Hernández, Xavi (16 January 2019). "Isaac Cuenca ultima su fichaje por el Sagan Tosu de Fernando Torres" [Isaac Cuenca completes his signing for Fernando Torres' Sagan Tosu]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  33. Manchón, Martín (19 February 2020). "Vegalta Sendai pierde a Isaac Cuenca para los próximos seis meses" [Vegalta Sendai lose Isaac Cuenca for the next six months]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  34. "Cuenca, Sarabia y Thiago, en la lista de la Sub-21" [Cuenca, Sarabia and Thiago, in the under-21 squad]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 3 November 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  35. Hernández, Roberto (10 November 2011). "Plácida victoria de España" [Comfortable win for Spain] (in Spanish). UEFA. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  36. Ruiz, David (30 December 2011). "Catalunya empata con Túnez en el tradicional amistoso navideño" [Catalonia draw with Tunisia in the traditional Christmas-time friendly]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  37. Ehrli, Andres (4 November 2011). "FC Barcelona's Isaac Cuenca: Scouting report on Pep Guardiola's new prospect". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  38. "Isaac Cuenca". Soccerway. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  39. "Isaac Cuenca" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.