User:YoungsterLiam57/José María

José María Quintana (born 25 April 2009), more commonly known as just José María, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central attacking midfielder for La Liga side Deportivo de La Coruña. He has represented Spain at under-21's level.

Born in A Coruña, José Mariá joined the youth ranks of his local side Deportivo de La Coruña on his twelfth birthday in 2021. He made his debut for the senior team against Real Murcia CF on 25 November 2025 and scored his first goal for the club against RCD Espanyol on 5 December 2025. He made a total of 8 appearances in the 2025/26 season, scoring 2 goals. He broke through into the first team the following season, the club's first season back in the top flight of Spain since 2017/18, scoring 8 goals in 32 matches.

José María played his first game for the Spanish U21 team against Wales during the team's first match of the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. He scored his first international goal in a 2-0 win against Portugal in the semi-finals of the same tournament. The Spanish team ended up losing the final against England 2-1 after extra time with José María coming on in the 63rd minute.

Early life
José María was born in A Coruña, Galicia, as the fourth child of five. His father worked as a museum worker and his mother as a lawyer. His family were avid supporters of their local club, Deportivo de La Coruña, with his oldest brother, Julio (b. 1998), stating: "One of the first things I can remember was the 2003-04 Champions League quarter-final against AC Milan, they were the defending champions at that time but we beat them. I have never seen my father that happy, not even when my brother (José María) was scouted by the club." His older brothers, Julio and Félix, both played football at amateur levels. Born in 2009, José María was born too late to witness the glory days of his club but thanks to stories from his father, he was determined to bring them back.