Juan Domínguez · Biography

Juan Domínguez Lamas made his La Liga debut on 13 December 2009 for Deportivo de La Coruña, in a 1-1 draw away at UD Almería. He came on for Juan Carlos Valerón and played the last 35 minutes. A midfielder born on 8 January 1990 in Pontedeume, in the province of A Coruña, he stands 1.81 metres tall. He spent seven seasons with Deportivo's first team, then played for Mallorca, Reus, Austria's Sturm Graz and two Greek clubs, PAS Giannina and Asteras Tripolis. He retired in 2023.

From futsal to Deportivo

He started out in futsal with O Freixo in Ferrol. Playing futsal for Galicia's under-10 side, he won the Spanish championship in a team that also featured Thiago Alcántara. He then came through the youth ranks at Narón Balompié, and in 2004 he joined Deportivo, where he finished his development and reached the reserve team. In those years he was called up by Galicia's under-15 side and by the Spain under-16 team.

Debut and early years at Riazor

Miguel Ángel Lotina gave him his first-team debut at 19, in that match at Almería in December 2009. He ended the 2009-10 season with 13 league appearances, eight of them starts, and 744 minutes, as Deportivo finished tenth. The club went down to the Spanish second division in 2011. In 2011-12 Domínguez became a regular starter. He scored his first professional goal on 25 November 2011, the second in a 3-1 home win over Almería, and finished with five goals as the team won the second-division title and returned to La Liga in 2012.

Between the top two divisions

His first top-flight goal came on 27 October 2012, in a 1-1 draw against Celta at Balaídos. Deportivo were relegated again in 2013, and in 2013-14 Domínguez played a key part in the side that won promotion in 2014. The Spanish professional football league named him the best midfielder in the second division for 2013-14. Across the two promotion campaigns he played 74 games and scored eight goals. He was rarely used in 2015-16. On 20 May 2016 he played for the Galicia senior team at Riazor in a 1-1 draw with Venezuela.

Mallorca and Reus

On 28 June 2016 Deportivo loaned him to second-division side Mallorca for a season. He made 30 league appearances on the island and scored once, on 25 February 2017, in a 4-1 home defeat to Tenerife. That summer he cut ties with Deportivo, and on 23 August 2017 he signed a three-year deal with CF Reus Deportiu. He made his debut four days later in the derby against Gimnàstic (1-1), and his first goal for the club came against Sevilla Atlético. In 2017-18 he scored twice in 32 matches as Reus finished 14th. Halfway through 2018-19 the league expelled the club over its financial problems, and Domínguez was left without a team, along with the rest of the squad.

Sturm Graz

On 13 February 2019 he joined Austrian club SK Sturm Graz as a free agent on an 18-month deal. He made his debut on 10 March 2019 in a goalless draw with Red Bull Salzburg. He played 12 league games in the rest of the 2018-19 season without scoring. In 2019-20 he made 28 appearances and scored four goals in the Austrian league, and also played twice in the Europa League.

Greece and retirement

On 29 August 2020 he signed a two-year deal with PAS Giannina in the Greek Super League. He made his debut on 27 September 2020 in a 2-2 draw with Aris Thessaloniki and played 26 league games in 2020-21. He stayed with the club until 2022. On 23 August 2022 he joined Asteras Tripolis, where he made nine league appearances. In April 2023 he announced his retirement and settled in A Coruña.

Honours

With Deportivo de La Coruña he won the Spanish second-division title in 2011-12 and earned another promotion to La Liga in 2014. Individually, he was named the best midfielder in the Spanish second division for the 2013-14 season.