Francisco Cortes Juncosa’s imposing presence in the Spanish goal has been a familiar sight for years on end.
As a matter of fact, he was a member of the 2004 team that won the Champions Trophy in Lahore and his quick reflexes and anticipation have been a stumbling block for many an opposing forward in his long international career spanning 17 years and almost 325 international matches.
Cortes, 38, plays for Club Egara in the Spanish top league and has had a stint for Dutch premier league club Den Bosch. An Olympic silver medal adorns his showcase which Cortes collected at Beijing 2008. There’s more silver from the 2007 and 2019 EuroHockey championships in Manchester and Antwerp respectively.
Cortes, born in the hockey-loving town of Terrassa, will travel to Tokyo in what will be his third Olympics where Spain will attempt to win a medal after 13 years.