Francisco José Figueroa Alonso (born 22 June 1972), known as Fran, is a Spanish former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who could play as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

or a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He played in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

for both

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

and

Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league sy ...

, making a total of 19 top flight appearances.

Club career

Born in

, Fran began his career in 1990 with Segunda División B side

Torrent Torrent or torrents may refer to: * A fast flowing stream Animals * Torrent duck, a species of the family Anatidae * Torrent fish * Torrent frog, various unrelated frogs * Torrent robin, a bird species * Torrent salamander, a family of s ...

. He spent 1991–92 in the

Tercera División Tercera División ( en, Third Division) was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the '' Segunda División'', and the semi-professional '' Segunda ...

with

Teruel Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel Province. It has a population of 35,675 in 2014 making it the least populated provincial capital in the country. It is noted for its harsh climate, with ...

, before joining

side

in 1992. He played only twice in the top division for ''Los Ches'', but featured prominently for

the B team The B Team is a global nonprofit initiative co-founded by Sir Richard Branson and Jochen Zeitz. It advocates for business practices that are more centered on humanity and the climate. History In 2013, a group of leaders came together following ...

in Segunda División B over the next three seasons. In 1995, he moved on to

Gimnàstic de Tarragona Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona, commonly known as Gimnàstic Tarragona or sometimes just Nàstic, is a Spanish sports club based in Tarragona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Its football team plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2. ...

, and was part of the side that won Segunda División B in 1996–97. Fran then spent one season with Polideportivo Almería, before earning a move to the Segunda División with Lleida in 1998. Lleida enjoyed mixed fortunes over Fran's three seasons at the club, finishing as runners-up in the

Copa Catalunya The Copa Catalunya (''Catalonia Cup'') is a knockout competition organised by the Catalan Football Federation for football clubs in the Catalonia autonomous community of Spain. History Between 1903 and 1940, it was known as the '' Champions ...

in 1999, but suffering relegation from the second tier in 2000–01. Following Lleida's relegation, Fran was able to return to La Liga with

. He made 17 appearances that year, making it his most successful top tier season, but moved on again to join Real Oviedo in 2002. He suffered another relegation from the Segunda División in his only season with the Asturian club, before moving to the third tier with Hércules in 2003. He finished his career on a high note, earning promotion with Hércules as Segunda División B runners-up in 2004–05. He retired in 2005 at the age of 33.

Honours

Gimnàstic de Tarragona * Segunda División B: 1996–97 Lleida *

: Runner-up 1998–99 Hércules * Segunda División B: Runner-up (earning promotion) 2004–05

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fran 1972 births Living people Footballers from Valencia Spanish men's footballers Footballers from the Valencian Community Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players CD Teruel footballers Valencia CF Mestalla footballers Valencia CF players Gimnàstic de Tarragona footballers UE Lleida players RCD Espanyol footballers Real Oviedo players Hércules CF players