Full name Juan Castano Quiros 1989–1991 Sporting B Role Footballer Name Juan Quiros | Playing position Height 1.75 m Years Team Position Forward | |
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Date of birth (1971-04-10) 10 April 1971 (age 44) |
Sporting de Gijon El Gran Juan Castaño Quirós-Juanele.mpg
Juan Castaño Quirós (born 10 April 1971 in Gijón, Asturias), known as Juanele, is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a forward.
Contents
- Sporting de Gijon El Gran Juan Castao Quirs Juanelempg
- Hoy en Tribuna Alta entrevista con Juanele
- Club career
- International career
- Post retirement
- Personal life
- Honours
- References

Hoy en Tribuna Alta, entrevista con Juanele
Club career
Skilled Juanele started playing professionally for Sporting de Gijón, making his first-team – and La Liga – debuts at the age of 20 and finishing his first season with his hometown club with three goals in 24 games. He became an undisputed starter in the following years.

In June 1994, Juanele signed a five-year contract with CD Tenerife, being an essential attacking unit as the Canary Islands side reached the semi-finals in the 1996–97 UEFA Cup, scoring twice against S.S. Lazio (5–3 home win, 5–4 on aggregate) and at Feyenoord (4–2 win, 4–2 on aggregate). In addition, he netted 15 league goals in 60 matches as they achieved back-to-back top-ten finishes, which included the fifth place in 1996 that led to the European exploits.

After Tenerife's 1999 relegation, Juanele joined Real Zaragoza, helping the Aragonese to two Copa del Rey trophies in the early 2000s, even though he was already a fringe player in the second conquest. Amassing top division totals of 346 games and 61 goals, he left in 2004 to Terrassa FC in the second division, joining lowly Real Avilés Industrial after one season.
In 2006–07, Juanele had brief amateur stints with SD Atlético Camocha and TSK Roces, both in the Asturias regional leagues, retiring from football altogether at the end of the campaign.
International career
Juanele earned five caps for the Spain national team in 1994, scoring twice (in his debut on 19 January, a 2–2 home draw against Portugal, and his last match five months later, a 2–0 away win over Canada). He was subsequently named in the 1994 FIFA World Cup squad, but did not play in the tournament.
Juanele also appeared twice for the Asturias autonomous team, playing for the first time in a friendly with Macedonia on 23 December 2000.
Post-retirement
After some episodes of depression and a battle to overcome an addiction to prescription drugs, Juanele was admitted in early 2008 to a Gijón hospital due to an excessive intake, but later recovered, eventually opening a football school with former Sporting teammate Iván Iglesias.
Personal life
On 13 June 2015, Juanele was sentenced to five months for hitting his former partner with a baseball bat, which was to be complemented with an obligatory medical treatment. In 2011, he had already been incarcerated for violation of a restraining order.