| José Maria Canals | |
| Fullname: | José Maria Canals Carbó |
| Birth Name: | Josep Maria Canals i Carbó |
| Birth Date: | 21 June 1898 |
| Birth Place: | Tarragona, Spain |
| Death Place: | Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain |
| Position: | Defender |
| Youthyears1: | 1912–1914 |
| Youthclubs1: | Gimnàstic de Tarragona |
| Years1: | 1914–1917 |
| Years2: | 1917–1926 |
| Nationalyears1: | 1922–1924 |
| Nationalteam1: | Catalonia |
| Nationalcaps1: | 2 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
José Maria Canals Carbó (21 June 1898 – 17 February 1951) was a Spanish doctor and footballer who played as a defender for Espanyol.[1] [2] [3]
José Maria Canals was born on 21 June 1898 in Tarragona, and began playing football in the youth ranks of a hometown club, the football team of Gimnàstic de Tarragona.[4] When he moved to Barcelona he joined University SC, first in the reserve team and later in the first team.[4] [5] At Espanyol he started playing on the left wing,[6] later moving to defense, where he formed a great partnership with Eugenio Montesinos,[3] and became an undisputed starter.[2] They kept many clean-sheets together, partly also thanks to having behind them the best goalkeeper of his time, Ricardo Zamora.[3] In total, he played 64 official matches in ten seasons.[2] In 1926 he retired from football to devote himself to medicine, becoming a renowned doctor and for several years, he carried out this task within the club.[2]
On 10 July 1927, Canals was the subject of a tribute match along with Casimiro Mallorquí, which took place at the Sarrià Stadium between Catalonia and RCD Espanyol, playing for the latter in a 4–1 victory.[7]
Like many other RCD Espanyol players of that time, Canals was eligible to play for the Catalan national team, and in November 1922, he was a member of the team that participated in the fifth edition of the Prince of Asturias Cup in 1922–23, an inter-regional competition organized by the RFEF.[8] He started in the quarterfinals as a defender alongside club teammate Montesinos, keeping a clean-sheet in a 3–0 victory over Gipuzkoa.[9] In the semifinals, held in January, neither he nor Montesinos were called up and as a result, Catalonia was knocked-out by Asturias. Canals received his second cap for Catalonia in 1924.