 Aquino withMexico at the2017 FIFA Confederations Cup | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Javier Ignacio Aquino Carmona[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1990-02-11)11 February 1990 (age 35)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Ixhuatán,Oaxaca, Mexico[1] | ||
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Winger,full-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Tigres UANL | ||
| Number | 20 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2010 | Cruz Azul | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008–2010 | Cruz Azul Hidalgo[3] | 49 | (5) |
| 2010–2013 | Cruz Azul | 78 | (7) |
| 2013–2015 | Villarreal | 44 | (1) |
| 2014–2015 | →Rayo Vallecano (loan) | 24 | (0) |
| 2015– | Tigres UANL | 361 | (26) |
| International career | |||
| 2011–2012 | Mexico U23 | 31 | (2) |
| 2011–2018 | Mexico | 54 | (0) |
Medal record | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 13 November 2025 | |||
Javier Ignacio Aquino Carmona (Spanish pronunciation:[xaˈβjeɾaˈkino], born 11 February 1990) is a Mexican professionalfootballer who plays as afull-back forLiga MX clubTigres UANL. He is anOlympic gold medalist.[4]
Recognized for his speed, dribbling, and passing, Aquino rose throughCruz Azul’s youth system before making his first-team debut. He later moved to Spain, where he played forVillarreal andRayo Vallecano, before returning to Mexico to joinTigres UANL.
Aquino has been called up to theMexico U-23 national team, where he was a part of the squads playing at the2011 Copa América, the2011 Pan American Games, and the2012 Summer Olympics, where Mexico won the gold medal. He made his debut with thesenior national team in 2011, and participated in the2013 and2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, as well as the2014 and2018 FIFA World Cup.
Born inSan Francisco Ixhuatán in the Mexican state ofOaxaca, Aquino began playing in Cruz Azul's lower division youth squads. Aquino played for Cruz Azul Lagunas of thethird division, where he then traveled toMexico City to join the club'sreserves. It would not be until theApertura 2010 season that Aquino, together with other youth players, joined thefirst team. Aquino was one of the revelations of the tournament, his main virtues being dribbling, speed and passing accuracy.
On 23 July 2010 during theApertura 2010, Aquino debuted for Cruz Azul under coachEnrique Meza in a 0–3 win overEstudiantes Tecos, coming in as a 57th-minute substitute forAlejandro Vela.[5] He scored his first goal in thePrimera División on 24 October 2010 during match-day 13 of the Apertura 2010 againstMorelia in a 1–1 draw atEstadio Morelos.[6] He gradually cemented his place into the team's starting eleven as the main right-winger, going on to play for two more years at Cruz Azul, amassing over 90 appearances for the club, scoring seven goals.[7]
On 28 January 2013 it was announced that Aquino was transferred toVillarreal CF of Spain.[8][9][10] He made hisleague debut coming on as a 67th-minute substitute forMoi Gómez in a 1–1 draw againstHércules CF.[11]
On 19 August 2013, Javier Aquino made his debut inLa Liga, entering as a substitute in the second half of the match againstAlmería. He collaborated towards the final 3–2 victory for Villarreal, with an assist to fellow Mexican teammateGiovani dos Santos.
On 25 August 2014, Villarreal announced that Aquino would be loaned out for the2014–15 season toRayo Vallecano.[12]He made his league debut againstAtlético Madrid on 25 August, and played all 90 minutes of the match which ended in a 0–0 draw.
After a discreet performance with Rayo Vallecano in the Spanish 2014–15 season, in June 2015, it was announced that he would join Mexican teamTigres UANL. With Tigres, he played the2015 Copa Libertadores finals againstRiver Plate. Tigres lost by 3–0 in Argentina after a 0–0 draw in Mexico. In December 2015, Tigres won the Mexico Apertura 2015 finals againstPumas UNAM, in December 2016 the Apertura 2016 finals againstAmérica and in December 2017 the Apertura 2017 finals againstMonterrey; Aquino played a key role for the team in the championships.
Aquino was called up byLuis Fernando Tena to play in the2011 Pan American Games, in which he played in all six games and won the Gold Medal match against Argentina. He scored his first unofficial international goal in a friendly againstClub León on 5 July 2012 in a 1–1 draw.[13]
Aquino took a hiatus from the senior squad to train with theunder-23 team in preparations for the2012 Summer Olympics, in which they won a gold medal in the final against Brazil.
Aquino made his official debut with thesenior national team on 4 July 2011 againstChile in the2011 Copa América. He played in all three group matches.
The national team that played the 2011 Copa América was an under-22 squad composed of 5 "over-age" players.FIFA has classified the team as the official "senior squad" but it could be said that his debut with the senior squad was on 11 November 2011 againstSerbia in a 2–0 friendly, he coming into play at the 86th minute forAndrés Guardado.[14]He made his next appearance on 25 January 2012 in another friendly againstVenezuela where he was attributed as adding creativity to Mexico's offense. He entered the game on the 56th minute while the game was tied 1–1, and was involved in the last two goals that Mexico scored to win the match 3–1.[15]
Aquino was initially omitted from the final 23 man roster that would participate in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, however afterLuis Montes suffered a severe leg injury, Aquino would be called up to round out the 23 player at the 2014 World Cup.[16]
Aquino's most brilliant moment came at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup against New Zealand. Aquino would go on to be named man of the match.[17]
In May 2018, Aquino was named in Mexico's preliminary 28-man squad for theWorld Cup,[18] and in June, was ultimately included in the final 23-man roster.[19]
On 29 May 2019, Aquino announced his retirement from international duty.[20]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | 2011 | 4 | 0 |
| 2012 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 54 | 0 | |
Tigres UANL
Mexico U23
Mexico
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