Former Philippine international and Ceres-La Salle Juan Luis Guirado is hanging up his boots for good. Juani as he is affectionately called, posted about his immediate retirement today on his Instagram account shortly before Ceres-La Salle’s game against Pasargad FC.
The game, which finished 16-0, was the last game Guirado has ever played in professional club football. This comes as a surprise as the 2016 United Football League Season had just began, with his team facing a stern test in defending their crown. “It’s a quick decision but it’s for my family. I hope everybody understands. I am grateful for everything,” the lanky defender wrote on the social networking site.
Guirado, 36, started his career in Spain where played for several Spanish teams in the third and fourth tiers of the Spanish football pyramid. Among the players called up from Europe, Guirado got to play for the Philippines in 2012. His stint with the national team corresponded to a loan move to Global, whom he helped win the UFL title in the same year. He then returned to Spain for club football the following year until 2014, when another loan move paved the way for him to return to the Philippines as part of Ceres-La Salle’s promotion-winning side to the first division.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGfuOLVFRVC/?taken-by=juaniguirado
A season after, the Busmen took the league by storm. Unsurprisingly, the Malaga-born defender played a big role towards their incredible rise to the zenith of Philippine football. Their championship run earned them a place in the AFC Cup, giving Juani the opportunity to play regional club football. There, he contributed to bring Ceres-La Salle into the Round of 16 of the tournament, a first in Philippine club football history.
Guirado ended his professional footballing career by scoring a goal 13 minutes before full time while also keeping a clean sheet. Without a doubt, it is fitting end to a career that led him to a place the people whom he loved and loved him back.
