Francisco López (footballer, born 1962)

Francisco Javier López Alfaro (born 1 November 1962), known simply as Francisco as a player, is a Spanish retired football central midfielder and manager.

Francisco
Personal information
Full name Francisco Javier López Alfaro
Date of birth (1962-11-01) 1 November 1962 (age 62)
Place of birth Osuna, Spain
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Sevilla
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1980–1981 Sevilla B
1981–1990 Sevilla 258 (20)
1990–1997 Espanyol 207 (27)
Total 465 (47)
International career
1981 Spain U18 2 (0)
1981 Spain U19 4 (0)
1981 Spain U20 3 (1)
1983–1984 Spain U21 9 (1)
1983 Spain amateur 2 (0)
1982–1986 Spain 20 (1)
Managerial career
1998–2000 Espanyol (youth)
2000–2001 Coria
2001–2002 Jaén
2002–2003 Extremadura
2003–2004 Figueres
2004–2005 Numancia
2006–2008 Badalona
2008 Eivissa-Ibiza
2009 Atlético Baleares
2010 Sevilla C
Medal record
Representing  Spain
UEFA European Championship
Runner-up 1984 France
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Francisco was born in Osuna, Province of Seville, Andalusia. During his career he represented Sevilla FC, his hometown club, and RCD Espanyol, appearing in 436 La Liga matches.[1] He finished his first season in the competition with 20 games – all starts – and one goal, helping the former to finish seventh.

In the 1992–93 campaign, Francisco experienced top-flight relegation with the Catalans, but achieved promotion the following year always as an important player. He retired at the end of 1996–97, aged nearly 35.[2]

López began working as a manager with Espanyol's youth sides, then proceeded to coach Coria CF, Real Jaén, CF Extremadura, UE Figueres[1] and top-tier CD Numancia.[3] He was dismissed after ten rounds in the 2004–05 season,[4] as the latter were eventually relegated. In July 2006, he joined Segunda División B team CF Badalona.[1]

Midway through the 2008–09 campaign, López was sacked as manager of CD Atlético Baleares, also in division three.[5] Subsequently, he was appointed at Sevilla FC C in the Tercera División.[6]

International career

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Francisco earned 20 caps and scored one goal for Spain, and was selected for both the UEFA Euro 1984 and the 1986 FIFA World Cup tournaments.[7][1] His debut came on 27 October 1982, in a 1–0 win over Iceland in the Euro 1984 qualifiers.[8]

At the 1984 European Championships, Francisco made two appearances for the runners-up. One was them was in the 2–0 final loss against the hosts France, due to injury or suspension to three habitual starters.[9]

International goals

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# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 24 September 1986 El Molinón, Gijón, Spain   Greece 2–0 3–1 Friendly[10]

Honours

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Player

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Espanyol

Spain

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Paniagua, Raúl (28 August 2006). "Francisco saca la libreta" [Francisco produces notebook]. El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  2. ^ "FRANCISCO López" (in Spanish). Hall of Fame Perico. 25 May 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
  3. ^ "Alfaro lands at Numancia". UEFA. 6 July 2004. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  4. ^ "Alfaro ousted at Numancia". UEFA. 8 November 2004. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  5. ^ "Destitución de Francisco López (entrenador At. Baleares)" [Dismissal of Francisco López (At. Baleares manager)] (in Spanish). Deporte Balear. 15 February 2009. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  6. ^ "Francisco López Alfaro entrenará al Sevilla Atlético" [Francisco López Alfaro will manage Sevilla Atlético]. Diario de Sevilla (in Spanish). 17 February 2010. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  7. ^ Pascual, Alfredo (21 May 2016). "Del utillero falangista al positivo de Calderé: nuestro Mundial 86 en diez episodios" [From the falangista kit man to Calderé's positive: our 86 World Cup in ten episodes]. El Confidencial (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  8. ^ Rovira, Ramón (28 October 1982). "1–0: Pobre resultado para la nueva selección" [1–0: Poor result for the new national team]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  9. ^ Bautista Martínez, Juan (10 June 2016). "Memorias de la Eurocopa de Francia 84" [Memories of the France 84 Eurocup]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  10. ^ "Francisco López". European Football. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  11. ^ Mentruit, Imma (13 April 2016). "1984: Los 'bleus' se coronan tras el error de Arconada" [1984: 'Bleus' crowned after Arconada's mistake]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 November 2024.
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