Juan José Cañas Gutiérrez

Juan José "Juanjo" Cañas Gutiérrez (born 17 April 1972) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a midfielder.

He spent the majority of his career with Betis, where he appeared in nearly 400 official matches over 15 seasons.

Club career

Born in Rota, Cádiz, Cañas represented Real Betis during his professional career and played 228 La Liga games during his tenure (scoring ten goals), his debut in the competition coming on 4 September 1994 in a 0–0 away draw against CD Logroñés – previously, he amassed a total of 53 first-team appearances in three seasons combined, as the Andalusians were in Segunda División. The highlight of his lengthy career was lifting the Copa del Rey in 2005, as he was always team captain when playing.

Also in the 2004–05 campaign, Cañas still managed 24 league appearances to help the club to a fourth place in the league, good enough to reach the qualifying rounds in the UEFA Champions League. From 2006 to 2008 he played for lowly CD Alcalá (also in his native region) in Segunda División B, and retired at the age of 36.

Afterwards, Cañas worked two seasons with Betis as a member of their technical staff.

Personal life

Cañas' nephew, José, was also a footballer and a midfielder. He too spent most of his professional career with Betis.

Honours

Betis

• Copa del Rey: 2004–05