José Maria Canals

José Maria Canals Carbó (21 June 1898 – 17 February 1951) was a Spanish doctor and footballer who played as a defender for Espanyol.^[1][2][3]

José Maria Canals

Personal information
Full name	José Maria Canals Carbó
Birth name	Josep Maria Canals i Carbó
Date of birth	(1898-06-21)21 June 1898
Place of birth	Tarragona, Spain
Date of death	17 February 1951(1951-02-17) (aged 52)
Place of death	Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
1912–1914	Gimnàstic de Tarragona
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1914–1917	University SC
1917–1926	RCD Espanyol
International career
1922–1924	Catalonia	2	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

José Maria Canals was born on 21 June 1898 in Tarragona, and began playing football in the youth ranks of a hometown club, the football team of Gimnàstic de Tarragona.^[4] When he moved to Barcelona he joined University SC, first in the reserve team and later in the first team.^[4][5] At Espanyol he started playing on the left wing,^[6] later moving to defense, where he formed a great partnership with Eugenio Montesinos,^[3] and became an undisputed starter.^[2] They kept many clean-sheets together, partly also thanks to having behind them the best goalkeeper of his time, Ricardo Zamora.^[3] In total, he played 64 official matches in ten seasons.^[2] In 1926 he retired from football to devote himself to medicine, becoming a renowned doctor and for several years, he carried out this task within the club.^[2]

On 10 July 1927, Canals was the subject of a tribute match along with Casimiro Mallorquí, which took place at the Sarrià Stadium between Catalonia and RCD Espanyol, playing for the latter in a 4–1 victory.^[7]

International career

Like many other RCD Espanyol players of that time, Canals was eligible to play for the Catalan national team, and in November 1922, he was a member of the team that participated in the fifth edition of the Prince of Asturias Cup in 1922–23, an inter-regional competition organized by the RFEF.^[8] He started in the quarterfinals as a defender alongside club teammate Montesinos, keeping a clean-sheet in a 3–0 victory over Gipuzkoa.^[9] In the semifinals, held in January, neither he nor Montesinos were called up and as a result, Catalonia was knocked-out by Asturias. Canals received his second cap for Catalonia in 1924.

Honours

RCD Espanyol

• Catalan Championships:
  • Winners (1) 1917–18