Iñaki Caña

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Caña and the second or maternal family name is Pavón.

Iñaki Caña
Caña (left) in 2023
Personal information
Full name Iñaki Caña Pavón[1]
Date of birth (1975-09-19) 19 September 1975 (age 49)[2]
Place of birth Barcelona, Spain[2]
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Arsenal (goalkeeping coach)
Youth career
–1994 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1996 Barcelona C 11 (0)
1996–1997 Yeclano 6 (0)
1997–1998 Terrassa 1 (0)
1998–1999 Yeclano 2 (0)
Total 20 (0)
Managerial career
2015–2017 Sabadell (goalkeeping coach)
2017–2018 Nordsjælland (goalkeeping coach)
2018–2019 Brentford (goalkeeping coach)
2019– Arsenal (goalkeeping coach)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Iñaki Caña Pavón (Spanish pronunciation: [iˈɲaki ˈkaɲa paˈβon]; born 19 September 1975) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and is currently the goalkeeping coach of Premier League club Arsenal.

Playing career

Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Caña came through the youth ranks of local side Barcelona.[3] He then played for Barcelona C – a reserve team of the Spanish giants – in Segunda División B, but never made a first-team appearance.[1][2] After spending one year at Terrassa and two seasons at Yeclano, Caña retired from the game in 1999.[1][2]

Coaching career

Caña created his own goalkeeper academy in Barcelona in 2013.[3] From July 2015 to January 2017, he worked as goalkeeping coach at Sabadell in the third tier of Spanish football.[1][3] Afterwards, Caña joined Danish side Nordsjælland,[1] helping them finish third in the 2017–18 Superliga.[3]

Brentford

In June 2018, Caña moved to England as first-team goalkeeping coach of then-Championship club Brentford.[3] In the 2018–19 season, he shared the same office with set-piece coach Nicolas Jover,[4] who would join Premier League club Arsenal in July 2021.[5][6]

Caña played a major part in Spanish goalkeeper David Raya's transfer from Blackburn Rovers to Brentford in the summer of 2019.[7] He left his role of first-team goalkeeping coach in December 2019, and was replaced by Andy Quy.[8] Caña and Raya remained friends,[7] and the latter went on to share the 2019–20 Championship Golden Glove award with Millwall goalkeeper Bartosz Białkowski,[9][10] and helped the Bees get promoted to the Premier League in the following season via the play-offs.[11]

Arsenal

On 20 December 2019, Arsenal appointed former club captain Mikel Arteta – who was 37 years old then and had never managed before – as the new head coach.[12][13][14] Four days later, Caña was appointed as goalkeeping coach at Arsenal, with assistant coaches Albert Stuivenberg and Steve Round also joining Arteta's backroom staff.[15][16] They led the team to a record-extending 14th FA Cup win on 1 August 2020, beating Chelsea 2–1 at Wembley Stadium.[17][18] Caña was also part of Arteta's coaching team that guided the Gunners to win the 2020 FA Community Shield on penalties against Liverpool on 29 August 2020[19][20] and win the 2023 FA Community Shield on penalties against Manchester City on 6 August 2023.[21][22]

Arsenal tried to sign David Raya in 2020 and 2021 at Caña's insistence, but they failed.[7][11][23] Caña was a key figure in Raya's successful loan move from Brentford to Arsenal in the summer of 2023.[7][11] Raya claimed the Premier League Golden Glove award in his debut campaign with the Gunners,[24][25] then completed his permanent move to Arsenal in July 2024.[26][27] In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports on 14 August 2024, Raya credited Caña for the role he played in his development at both Brentford and Arsenal.[28][29]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Copa del Rey Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Barcelona C 1995–96[30] Segunda División B 11 0 — 11 0
Yeclano 1996–97[31] Segunda División B 6 0 — 6 0
Terrassa 1997–98[32] Segunda División B 1 0 — 1 0
Yeclano 1998–99[33] Segunda División B 2 0 — 2 0
Career total 20 0 0 0 20 0

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Iñaki Caña". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "Iñaki, Iñaki Caña Pavón". BDFutbol. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Goalkeeper Coaching staff changes". Brentford F.C. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Thomas Frank: Actions speak louder than words". Brentford F.C. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  5. ^ de Roché, Art (5 July 2021). "Arsenal appoint set-piece coach Nicolas Jover from Manchester City". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  6. ^ Collings, Simon (5 July 2021). "Arsenal hire former Man City coach Nicolas Jover as Andreas Georgson leaves for Malmo". Evening Standard. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d "David Raya: Brentford goalkeeper moves to Arsenal on initial £3m loan with £27m option to buy". Sky Sports. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  8. ^ "Andy Quy replaces Arsenal bound Iñaki Caña Pavón as First Team Goalkeeper Coach". Brentford F.C. 24 December 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  9. ^ "David Raya presented with EFL Golden Glove prize". Brentford F.C. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  10. ^ "Bartosz Bialkowski wins Sky Bet Championship Golden Glove award". Millwall F.C. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  11. ^ a b c Harris, Jay (15 August 2023). "The rise of David Raya: To Arsenal via Brentford, Barcelona and Blackburn". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  12. ^ "Mikel Arteta joining as our new head coach". Arsenal F.C. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  13. ^ "Mikel Arteta: Arsenal appoint ex-captain as head coach". BBC Sport. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  14. ^ "Mikel Arteta: Arsenal manager insists he is ready and calls for new energy". BBC Sport. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  15. ^ "Coaching team named". Arsenal F.C. 24 December 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  16. ^ "Mikel Arteta: Arsenal's new boss encouraged by early signs from players". BBC Sport. 26 December 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  17. ^ McNulty, Phil (1 August 2020). "FA Cup final 2020 Arsenal 2–1 Chelsea – Aubameyang double secures victory". BBC Sport. BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  18. ^ "Aubameyang double hands Arsenal FA Cup, Europa League spot with win over Chelsea". ESPN. 1 August 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  19. ^ Sanders, Emma (29 August 2020). "Arsenal 1–1 (5–4 pens) Liverpool: Gunners win on penalties". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  20. ^ Grounds, Ben (29 August 2020). "Arsenal 1–1 Liverpool (5–4 on pens): Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang secures Community Shield shootout win". Sky Sports. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  21. ^ Rose, Gary (6 August 2023). "Arsenal 1–1 Manchester City (4–1 on pens): Gunners win shootout to secure Community Shield". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  22. ^ Smith, Peter (6 August 2023). "Arsenal 1–1 Man City (4–1 on pens): Gunners lift Community Shield after shootout following Leandro Trossard's late equaliser". Sky Sports. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  23. ^ "David Raya: The rise of Brentford goalkeeper from non-league Southport to one of the Premier League's best". Sky Sports. 14 September 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  24. ^ "Raya claims Golden Glove award". Premier League. 4 May 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  25. ^ Rogers, Jonathon (17 May 2024). "The numbers behind David Raya's Golden Glove win". Arsenal FC. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  26. ^ "David Raya joins us on a permanent deal". Arsenal F.C. 4 July 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  27. ^ de Roché, Art (4 July 2024). "David Raya joins Arsenal on permanent transfer from Brentford after loan spell". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  28. ^ Wright, Nick (14 August 2024). "David Raya exclusive interview: Arsenal's master of 'proactive' goalkeeping ready to go again after 'amazing' year". Sky Sports. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  29. ^ "It's a pleasure to be a part of this club" | David Raya reflects on the past year. Sky Sports Premier League. 14 August 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024 – via YouTube.
  30. ^ "Iñaki Caña: Matches: 1995–96". BDFutbol. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  31. ^ "Iñaki Caña: Matches: 1996–97". BDFutbol. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  32. ^ "Iñaki Caña: Matches: 1997–98". BDFutbol. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  33. ^ "Iñaki Caña: Matches: 1998–99". BDFutbol. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
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