Andreu Fontas

Andreu Fontas Prat (Catalan pronunciation: [ənˈdɾew funˈtas]; born 14 November 1989) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City.

Club Career

Early years

Born in Banyoles, Girona, Catalonia, Fontas was a product of FC Barcelona's youth system, having previously played for amateurs CD Banyoles for 11 years.

Originally a defensive midfielder, he was reconverted into central defender by the B team's coach Luis Enrique, a former Barcelona player.

Barcelona

Fontas made his first team debut on 31 August 2009, replacing another La Masia graduate, Gerard Pique, in the final six minutes of a 3–0 La Liga home win against Sporting de Gijon. Earlier into the 2009–10 campaign he was called by manager Pep Guardiola to the Spanish Supercup and UEFA Super Cup games, respectively against Athletic Bilbao and FC Shakhtar Donetsk, but finally did not make the bench on either occasion. He spent the vast majority of his first senior seasons registered with the reserves.

On 20 November 2010, Fontas started for the first time in the league with the first team, assisting Pedro Rodriguez with a 50-meter pass for the fourth goal, as Barcelona trounced UD Almeria 8–0 away. He made his UEFA Champions League debut on 7 December, against FC Rubin Kazan: as the Blaugrana had already progressed to the knock-out stages as group winners, he scored in the 2–0 home victory, converting a pass from fellow youth graduate Thiago Alcantara.

On 16 March 2011, Fontas was promoted to the senior team on a permanent basis after Eric Abidal was diagnosed with a tumour in his liver, thus becoming unavailable for the rest of the season. He appeared in three consecutive matches in April/May for the eventual champions, always as a left back.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Андреу Фонтас (russian)