José Miguel Cubero
 Cubero with Costa Rica at the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | José Miguel Cubero Loría | ||
| Date of birth | 14 February 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Sarchí, Alajuela, Costa Rica | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Sarchí (president) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2006 | Herediano | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006–2014 | Herediano | 134 | (16) |
| 2009 | → Puntarenas (loan) | 17 | (0) |
| 2014–2016 | Blackpool | 19 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Herediano | 58 | (4) |
| 2017 | → Alcoyano (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2018–2023 | Alajuelense | 161 | (11) |
| 2023 | Puntarenas | 13 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | Sporting San José | 7 | (1) |
| 2024–2025 | Sarchí | 0 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2006–2007 | Costa Rica U20 | 6 | (0) |
| 2010–2019 | Costa Rica | 54 | (2) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
José Miguel Cubero Loría (born 14 February 1987), nicknamed El Cucu, is a Costa Rican former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder, and current president of Sarchí, the club which he founded and played for.[1]
Developed in the youth academy of Herediano, Cubero made his professional debut for the club in 2006. Years later, he would be loaned to Puntarenas before returning to Herediano. In 2014, Cubero moved to England and signed for Blackpool. However, he would once again return to Herediano two years later. Cubero was briefly loaned to Alcoyano in Spain, before joining Alajuelense in 2018. He briefly returned to Puntarenas in 2023, before joining Sporting San José later that same year. A year later, Cubero joined Sarchí, the club which he owns, before retiring from professional football in 2025.
After representing the Costa Rica U20 team, Cubero made his official debut for the senior team in 2010. He would represent Costa Rica at the 2011 Copa Centroamericana and the 2011 Copa América. Cubero was also part of the Costa Rica team that reached the quarter-finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He later made appearances for the nation at the 2014 Copa Centroamericana and the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup. During Cubero's international career, he made 54 appearances and scored twice.
Early life
[edit]Cubero was born on 14 February 1987 in Sarchí in the department of Alajuela. The area where he spent most of his childhood was different from the city, as it is a small town with different customs. His parents and sister supported him from the beginning, and Cubero was clear about his desire to play football professionally, although his mother always recommended that he study to ensure a good future. In order to attend training in Heredia, Cubero had to travel on approximately three buses every day; the journey was very long, and he felt fear and insecure, but he still had the desire to participate in a top-flight club. He went through difficult times as his family had limited resources. Later, Cubero was given the opportunity to join Herediano's youth team Although he studied at a technical school in Sarchí, where time for training was scarce, he chose to study at night. His parents supported him in this decision, and Cubero continued with the sport,as long as he continued with his academic development.[2]
Club career
[edit]Herediano
[edit]Cubero made his professional debut for Herediano on 26 March 2006 against Santacruceña and had a spell on loan at Puntarenas in 2009. He signed a three-year contract extension with Herediano in April 2013.[3]
Blackpool
[edit]On 31 July 2014, Cubero signed for Championship side Blackpool on a one-year contract with the option of a further twelve months.[4] He made his Blackpool debut on 27 September in a 3–1 home defeat to Norwich City. In August 2015 it was claimed that Blackpool had snubbed an offer for Cubero from MLS club Seattle Sounders FC and that they had activated a 12-month extension to his contract.[5]
Loan to Alcoyano
[edit]On 31 July 2017, he signed a contract with CD Alcoyano.[6]
On 7 May 2025, Cubero announced his official retirement from football.[7]
International career
[edit]Youth
[edit]Cubero participated in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup held in Canada.[8]
Senior
[edit]He made his senior debut for Costa Rica in an August 2010 friendly match against Paraguay.[9] He has represented his country in nine FIFA World Cup qualification matches[8] and played at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the 2011 Copa Centroamericana[10] as well as at the 2011 Copa América[11] and was a non-playing squad member at the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[12]
Cubero played 54 matches with Costa Rica, scoring two goals.[13] One of those occurred during a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification match against El Salvador, which resulted in a crucial victory for the Costa Ricans; Cubero considers it the most important goal of his career.[14][15]
After Costa Rica defeated Greece to advance to the 2014 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals, Cubero was spotted crying profusely, while Waylon Francis tried to celebrate with him by yelling "¡Llore conmigo, papi!" ("Cry with me, daddy!"), a phrase now famous in Costa Rica.[16]
Honours
[edit]Alajuelense
References
[edit]- ^ "Profile". Goal.com. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
- ^ "José Miguel Cubero: Un escudero que nunca olvidó su origen". La Nación. 3 June 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
- ^ "José Miguel Cubero se queda en Herediano tres años" (in Spanish). Al Dia. 25 April 2013.
- ^ "Blackpool agree deal for Cubero" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ O'Rourke, Pete (6 August 2015). "Blackpool snub approach from Seattle Sounders for Jose Manuel Cubero". HITC.
- ^ Seserino, P. (1 August 2017). "El Alcoyano ficha al internacional de Costa Rica José Miguel Cubero". Información.
- ^ "Se retira José Miguel Cubero: "Tenía que dar un paso al lado"". DiarioExtra. 7 May 2025. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ a b José Miguel Cubero – FIFA competition record (archived)
- ^ "Paraguay derrota 2-0 a Costa Rica en partido amistoso". La Nación (in Spanish). 11 August 2010. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
- ^ Copa Centroamericana 2011 (UNCAF Nations Cup) Archived 2013-11-05 at the Wayback Machine - RSSSF
- ^ Copa América 2011 - RSSSF
- ^ CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2011 - Full Details Archived 2013-03-15 at the Wayback Machine - RSSSF
- ^ "Costa Rica - J. Cubero - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
- ^ Rodríguez, Paulo (14 October 2012). ""Es el gol más importante" | José Miguel Cubero, seleccionado nacional". Al Día (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 26 December 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
- ^ "Tigo Sports on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
- ^ Erickson, Andrew (1 June 2017). "Crew Cuts: Francis' famous World Cup line parodied in Costa Rican commercial". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
External links
[edit]- José Miguel Cubero at Soccerbase
- José Miguel Cubero at National-Football-Teams.com
- Profile - Herediano
- José Miguel Cubero – FIFA competition record (archived)
- José Miguel Cubero at Soccerway
Costa Rica squads | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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- 1987 births
- People from Sarchí (canton)
- Footballers from Alajuela Province
- Living people
- Costa Rican people of Italian descent
- 21st-century Costa Rican sportsmen
- Men's association football midfielders
- Costa Rican men's footballers
- Costa Rica men's under-20 international footballers
- Costa Rica men's international footballers
- C.S. Herediano footballers
- Puntarenas F.C. players
- Blackpool F.C. players
- CD Alcoyano footballers
- Liga Deportiva Alajuelense footballers
- Liga FPD players
- English Football League players
- Segunda División B players
- 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
- 2011 Copa América players
- 2014 FIFA World Cup players
- 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
- Costa Rican expatriate men's footballers
- Expatriate men's footballers in England
- Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in England
- Expatriate men's footballers in Spain
- Costa Rican expatriate sportspeople in Spain