Quick Facts
Biography
Roberto Canella Suárez (born 7 February 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Sporting de Gijón as a left back.
Club career
Canella was born in Laviana, Asturias. A product of Sporting de Gijón's cantera system he first appeared with the main squad during the 2006–07 season, and established himself as first-choice in the following campaign as it returned to La Liga after a ten-year hiatus.
Canella scored his first top flight goal on 5 October 2008 in a 2–0 away win against RCD Mallorca, being a starter throughout the campaign. According to COPE Radio, Real Madrid was likely to acquire his services for 2009–10. Eventually nothing came of it, and the player again occupied the left-back position for the vast majority of the campaign, with Sporting again maintaining its top division status.
In the following years, Canella continued battling for position with another club youth graduate, José Ángel, with both players appearing in roughly the same number of matches. In 2011–12, following Ángel's departure to A.S. Roma, he became the undisputed starter for the Manolo Preciado-led side.
On 27 June 2014, Canella was loaned to Deportivo de La Coruña, recently returned to the top tier.
International career
Internationally, Canella helped Spain win the 2006 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, played at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup still being under-19 and then moved to the under-21s.
Honours
- Spain U19
- UEFA European Under-19 Championship: 2006