Javier Flaño

Javi Flaño
Personal information
Full name	Javier Flaño Bezunartea
Date of birth	19 August 1984 (age 40)
Place of birth	Pamplona, Spain
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Right-back
Youth career
	Osasuna
Senior career*
Years	Team
2001–2005	Osasuna B
2005–2009	Osasuna
2009–2011	Numancia
2011–2013	Elche
2013–2014	Mirandés
2014–2018	Osasuna
2018–2019	Logroñés
Total
International career
2003	Spain U20
2006	Spain U21
2005	Spain U23
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Javier 'Javi' Flaño Bezunartea (born 19 August 1984) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a right-back.

He represented Spain up to under-23 level, and spent most of his career with Osasuna.

Club career

A product of hometown CA Osasuna's youth system, Flaño was born in Pamplona, and he made his debut with the first team in a La Liga 2–1 home win against Villarreal CF on 28 August 2005,^[2] going on to finish his first season with 31 games. Aged only 17, he began playing regularly with the reserves in the Segunda División B.

Flaño remained an important fixture with the Navarrese the following campaign. He scored his first goal on 10 December 2006 in a 3–0 home victory over RCD Mallorca,^[3] adding eight appearances in the club's semi-final run in the UEFA Cup (plus both legs in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round against Hamburger SV).

From 2007 onwards, twin brother Miguel became an undisputed starter while Javier was only a fringe player.^[4]^[5] Released in June 2009, he joined CD Numancia on a free transfer for two years, as the Soria side had just been relegated from the top division;^[6] he appeared in 40 Segunda División matches in his second season – 39 starts – in a final comfortable midtable position.^[7]

On 22 July 2014, following one-year spells in the second division with Elche CF and CD Mirandés, Flaño returned to his first club, where his brother was still playing.^[8] On 7 June of the following year, in the last round of the campaign and with the team needing one point to avoid a second consecutive relegation, he scored a last-minute header for a 2–2 draw at CE Sabadell FC.^[9]

Flaño started in 37 of his 38 league appearances in 2015–16 to help Osasuna return to the top flight after a two-year absence. In the early stages of the following season, both siblings suffered a complete rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament on their left knee, being sidelined for several months.^[10]

Having only totalled ten games in his last two seasons, Flaño left for third-tier UD Logroñés in July 2018.^[11]

Personal life

Flaño's twin brother, Miguel, was also a footballer and a defender. Both were groomed at Osasuna.^[12]

Honours

Elche

Segunda División: 2012–13^[13]

Spain U23

Mediterranean Games: 2005

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Javier Flaño at WorldFootball.net
^ Cordovilla, Anna (29 August 2005). "Romeo torpedea al 'Submarino'" [Romeo torpedoes the 'Submarine']. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 April 2016.
^ "Engañosa goleada de Osasuna ante un Mallorca poco efectivo" [Misleading Osasuna rout against ineffective Mallorca]. El Correo Gallego (in Spanish). 11 December 2006. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
^ "Javier Flaño: "Estoy muy agradecido a Osasuna"" [Javier Flaño: "I am most thankful to Osasuna"] (in Spanish). Navarra Sport. 10 June 2009. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
^ Muerza, Alfonso (24 July 2014). "¡Vaya par de gemelos!" [What a set of twins!]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 April 2016.
^ "El Numancia ficha a Javier Flaño y Alex" [Numancia sign Javier Flaño and Alex]. Marca (in Spanish). 1 July 2009. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
^ "Breve enciclopedia numantina" [Brief numantina encyclopedia]. Desde Soria (in Spanish). 29 May 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
^ "Javier Flaño es el primer fichaje" [Javier Flaño is the first signing] (in Spanish). CA Osasuna. 22 July 2014. Archived from the original on 6 May 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
^ "Un cabezazo de Javi Flaño en el último suspiro vale una salvación" [Javi Flaño header in the dying breath equals survival]. Marca (in Spanish). 7 June 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
^ "Miguel Flaño, baja toda la temporada" [Miguel Flaño, out for the entire season]. Marca (in Spanish). 12 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
^ "Javier Flaño ficha por el Logroñés" [Javier Flaño signs for Logroñés]. Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). 10 July 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
^ Martínez de Zúñiga, Uxue (25 August 2005). "Los Flaño, una defensa de gemelos para Osasuna" [The Flaños, twin defenders for Osasuna]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 April 2015.
^ Marín, David (26 May 2013). "El Elche, campeón de Segunda" [Elche, Segunda champions]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 December 2021.