[1][2][3] Born in Barcelona on 23 March 1881, Soler began his football career in his hometown club FC Barcelona in 1903, aged 22,[1][3] although he only made his official debut on 3 January 1904, in a crushing victory against San Gervasio (10–0) in the Catalan championship,[3] and together with Arthur Witty, Miguel Morris, José Quirante, and Carles Comamala, he was a member of the Barça team that won the 1903–04 Catalan Championship.
[7] On 17 January 1905, he earned his second and last cap for Catalonia against the Sportsmen's Club at Espanyol's field, the Hospital Clínic; the match finished with an unknown score.
[8] In 1927, Soler was described as "a convinced sportsman for having practiced countless of them",[5] and in fact, besides football, he was also an outstanding cyclist, and an tennis and Basque pelota player.
[3][5] He was also an expert in fishing and hunting, and an author of several books on the subject,[3][5] such as La Pesca Deportiva and Didáctica Cinegética tratado de Caza Menor.
[10] Some historians have argued that Joan and Josep Soler, the infamous faceless president of FC Barcelona, were actually the same person, but the club's Studies Center has dismissed this hypothesis.