# José Manuel Contreras

José Manuel Contreras (born 19 January 1986), nicknamed El Moyo, is a Guatemalan professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for and captains Liga Nacional club Comunicaciones.
Contreras has also played for clubs Arsenal de Sarandí in Argentina and C.D. Universidad de Concepción in Chile, among other clubs, and it’s known to be the promise of Guatemala football.

## Club career

As a youth player, Contreras was with Universidad SC before joining the Comunicaciones youth system. Having begun his career with Comunicaciones in the Guatemalan top division, Contreras briefly played in the Primera División (second level) with Deportivo Achuapa, and then returned to Comunicaciones where he played until July 2008, when he joined Arsenal de Sarandí. He made his debut for Arsenal on August 27, 2008 against Boca Juniors for the second leg of the Recopa Sudamericana, a match that ended 2–2 (3–5 aggregate in favor of Boca Juniors). Contreras came in at the beginning of the second half in substitution of Luciano Leguizamón, who left the pitch injured at the end of the first half.
In July 2009 it was rumored that Contreras would join Gimnasia de Jujuy of the Argentine 2nd division, but then a move to Uruguayan side CA Fénix at the end of August 2009 was announced. On 28 December 2009 he returned to Guatemala and signed with Xelajú MC.
In June 2010 Contreras rejoined the club where he started his career, Comunicaciones., playing there for the entirety of the 2010–2011 season; one year later, in June 2011, he was signed by C.D. Universidad de Concepción, and in August 2011 he made his debut scoring the third goal of his team's 3–0 win over Colo-Colo.

## International career

Contreras' debut match for the Guatemala senior side was against Haiti in August 2006, where he made an assist to Mario Rodríguez in a 1–1 draw. He scored his first international goal in the match versus El Salvador in the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
In 2008, Contreras played for the U-23 national team of Guatemala in the qualification rounds to the 2008 Olympic tournament, where he led the team to a 1–0 victory against Haiti and an upsetting 2–1 victory against Mexico. The Guatemalan team ended the group stage in first place earning a semifinal berth against Honduras in which they came short of qualifying, losing 6–5 on penalty kicks. After his performances throughout the tournament, he was named one of the "eleven best" in the tournament alongside teammate Carlos Castrillo.

### International goals

    Scores and results list. Guatemala's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 9 June 2007 | Home Depot Center, Carson, California, USA | El Salvador | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 2 | 10 September 2008 | Estadio Mateo Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala | Cuba | 4–1 | 4–1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 22 January 2013 | Estadio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica | Costa Rica | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2013 Copa Centroamericana |
| 4 | 6 February 2013 | Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, USA | Colombia | 1–3 | 1–4 | Friendly |
| 5 | 14 August 2014 | Estadio Pensativo, Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala | Nicaragua | 1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |

## Honours

Comunicaciones
* Liga Nacional de Guatemala: Clausura 2011, Apertura 2011, Clausura 2013, Apertura 2013, Clausura 2014, Apertura 2014, Clausura 2015, Clausura 2022, Apertura 2023
* CONCACAF League: 2021
Antigua
* Liga Nacional de Guatemala: Apertura 2017, Clausura 2019