Juan Francisco Palencia Hernández (born 28 April 1973) is a Mexican 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 le ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Club career

Cruz Azul

Palencia trained with the Cruz Azul youth system at age 13 and made his debut in the Primera División (First Division) in 1994 at age 21. After finishing the 1995–1996 season with highly anticipated performances, Palencia was awarded the "Rookie of the Year Award", for most outstanding young player in the First Division. Palencia would go on to play seven seasons, captaining and scoring 91 goals for Mexico City's

Club Deportivo Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul or simply Cruz Azul () is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in the Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Because "azul" means "blue" in Spanish, the club has traditionall ...

, and leading them to two championship titles in the

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typese ...

Tournaments of 1996 and 1997, one championship title in the First Division in 1997, and second place in the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

of 2001. After finishing second place to

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...

in the Copa Libertadores, Palencia departed from Cruz Azul at the end of the 2000–2001 season and went to Spain (on loan) to play for

RCD 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 ...

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's ...

, where he played 35 matches and scored six goals. After his one-year contract expired, Palencia returned to Mexico in late 2002 to play one more season with his old club, Cruz Azul.

Guadalajara

In late 2003, Palencia joined another club of Mexican football, this time to the "All Mexican Team",

Club Deportivo Guadalajara Club Deportivo Guadalajara (); often simply known as Guadalajara () and their nickname ''Chivas'' (), is a Mexican professional football club based in Zapopan, Jalisco. Guadalajara is one of the ten founding members of the Mexican First Divisi ...

. He continued on with his success displaying his excellent form, taking the team into the semi-finals of the 2005

tournament and registering 5 goals.

Chivas USA

Palencia was originally slated to join

C.D. Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. Gu ...

for the start of their inaugural season, but he enjoyed so much success with Guadalajara that his arrival to the United States team was delayed until August 19, 2005. In his American debut, he promptly displayed his fine form and scored two goals. In 2006, Palencia was the team captain of Chivas USA and was also the highest paid player in

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

at that time, earning US$1,360,000 a year.

UNAM Pumas

In January 2007, Palencia signed to

UNAM Pumas Club Universidad Nacional, A.C., commonly referred to as UNAM, is a professional football club based in Ciudad Universitaria of Mexico City, Mexico. The club competes in the Liga MX, the top division in the Mexican football league system. Found ...

. Palencia had another opportunity to play in the Copa Libertadores on May 3 and 8 of 2007.

Club Toluca Deportivo Toluca Fútbol Club S.A. de C.V. (), commonly known as Club Deportivo Toluca, is a Mexican football club, playing in the Primera División de México, the top-flight of Mexican football. Toluca's stadium, Estadio Nemesio Díez Riega i ...

signed him on loan for a couple of games to reinforce its squad against Corporación Nuevo Cúcuta Deportivo in both matches of the Round of 16. Unfortunately for Toluca, Cúcuta Deportivo won the first match at home 5–1, even though Toluca scored first on the very first minute of the game. This match was followed by a 2-0 Toluca victory over Cúcuta Deportivo, also starting Palencia. Toluca was eliminated from the tournament and Palencia did not have another opportunity to play in Latin America's biggest club championship event due to retirement.

International career

Palencia made his international debut for the

Mexico national team The Mexico national football team () represents Mexico in international football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation (). It competes as a member of CONCACAF. Mexico has qualified to seventeen World Cups and has qualified conse ...

on June 8, 1996, against Bolivia national team at the

U.S. Cup U.S. Cup (also known as the USA Cup, United States Cup and Nike U.S. Cup) was a soccer competition held annually in the United States from 1992 to 2000, except for the World Cup years of 1994 and 1998. The tournament, hosted by the United States ...

tournament in Dallas, Texas, scoring the winning goal. Palencia played in the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

in Atlanta, taking his side to the quarterfinals where they were defeated by

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, the eventual winners. He was a member of the national team for the 1996, 1998 and 2003 Gold Cup tournaments and the 1999

Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...

tournament, where he helped Mexico win all four competitions. Palencia also played in two

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

s, France'98 and Korea-Japan 2002, but could only help his team reach the "Round of 16" of the tournaments before being eliminated. He has also represented his country in three

Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...

tournaments in 1997, 1999 and 2004, as well as two Confederations Cup appearances in 1997 and 1999. In 2006, the veteran striker missed out on selection in Mexico's 23 man squad for the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

. On February 7, Palencia was called up by coach

Hugo Sánchez Hugo Sánchez Márquez (born 11 July 1958) is a Mexican former professional footballer and manager, who played as a forward. A prolific goalscorer known for his spectacular strikes and volleys, he is widely regarded as the greatest Mexican fo ...

to represent his country and play a friendly game against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The Mexicans lost the match 0–2. However, Palencia played against

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

on March 25 and

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

on March 28, Mexico winning both matches and Palencia score a goal.

Managerial career

Palencia started his managerial career with Sant Cugat Juvenil in Spain. On 11 June Palencia was presented as

Mazatlán Mazatlán () is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding ''municipio'', known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of ...

's manager for the 2020–21 season.

Career statistics

International goals

, - , 1 , , rowspan="2", 14 December 1997 , , rowspan="2",

King Fahd II Stadium The King Fahd Stadium (), also nicknamed "Pearl of Stadiums" ( ) or simply "the Pearl" ( ), is a multi-purpose stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It is currently used mostly for football matches and it also has athletics facilities. Overview The ...

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

, , rowspan="2", , , align=center, 1–0 , , rowspan="2" align=center, 5–0, , rowspan="2",

1997 FIFA Confederations Cup The 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup was the first Confederations Cup to be organised by FIFA. The tournament had previously been played in 1992 and 1995 as the King Fahd Cup. This edition of the tournament was hosted by Saudi Arabia, as with the previ ...

, - , 2 , , align=center, 2–0 , - , 3 , , 4 February 1998 , ,

Network Associates Coliseum Oakland Coliseum, currently branded as RingCentral Coliseum, is a stadium in Oakland, California. It is part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880. The Coliseum is the home ba ...

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

, United States , , , , align=center, 3–1 , , align=center, 4–2 , ,

1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the fourth edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). The tournament was once again held in the United States, in Los Angeles, Miami, and O ...

, - , 4. , , 24 February 1998 , ,

Pro Player Stadium Hard Rock Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Miami Gardens, Florida. The stadium is the home field for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) and the Miami Hurricanes football, Miami Hurricanes, the University of Miam ...

Miami Gardens Miami Gardens is a city in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida. It is located north of Downtown Miami with city boundaries that stretch from I-95 and Northeast 2nd Avenue to its east to Northwest 47th and Northwest 57th Avenues to its west ...

, United States , , , , align=center, 1–3 , , align=center, 2–3, , Friendly , - , 5 , , 17 July 1999 , ,

Estadio Defensores del Chaco Estadio Defensores del Chaco is a multi-purpose stadium in Asunción, Paraguay. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium once had a 50,000+ capacity, however over the years the stadium has undergone remodeling, dropping the ...

Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...

, , , , align=center, 1–0 , , align=center, 2–1, ,

1999 Copa América The 1999 Copa América was a football tournament held in Paraguay, from 29 June to 18 July. It was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body. There was no qualifying for the final tournament. Mexico and Japan were invited to ...

, - , 6 , , 29 July 1999 , ,

Estadio Azteca Estadio Azteca () is a multi-purpose stadium located in Mexico City. It is the official home of football clubs Club América and Cruz Azul as well as the Mexico national football team. The stadium sits at an altitude of above sea level. Wit ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, , , , align=center, 1–0 , , align=center, 1–0, ,

1999 FIFA Confederations Cup The 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup was the fourth FIFA Confederations Cup, and the second organised by FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Mexico between 24 July and 4 August 1999. It was won by Mexico, who beat Brazil 4–3 in the final. Mexico be ...

, - , 7 , , 13 February 2000 , ,

Qualcomm Stadium San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. The stadium opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium and was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the stadiu ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, United States , , , , align=center, 4–0 , , align=center, 4–0, ,

2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the fifth edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF), and the 15th overall CONCACAF tournament. It was held in Los Angeles, Miami, and San Diego ...

, - , 8 , , 11 November 2001 , , Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico , , , , align=center, 2–0 , , align=center, 3–0, ,

2002 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification competition was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America ...

, - , 9 , , 16 May 2002 , , 3Com Park at Candlestick Point, San Francisco, United States , , , , align=center, 1–0 , , align=center, 1–0, , Friendly , - , 10 , , 19 June 2004 , ,

Alamodome The Alamodome is a 64,000-seat domed indoor multi-purpose stadium in San Antonio, Texas. It is located on the southeastern fringe of downtown San Antonio. The facility opened on May 15, 1993, having been constructed at a cost of $186 milli ...

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, United States , , , , align=center, 10–0 , , align=center, 10–0, ,

2006 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification competition was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation – the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South Americ ...

, - , 11 , , 28 March 2007 , ,

McAfee Coliseum Oakland Coliseum, currently branded as RingCentral Coliseum, is a stadium in Oakland, California. It is part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880. The Coliseum is the home ba ...

, Oakland, United States , , , , align=center, 1–0 , , align=center, 4–2, , Friendly , - , 12 , , 10 October 2009 , , Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico , , , , align=center, 3–0 , , align=center, 4–1 , ,

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification Qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (O ...

Honours

Cruz Azul *

Mexican Primera División The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in al ...

: Invierno 1997 *

Copa México The Copa MX (formerly called Copa Tower Monterrey, Copa Eliminatoria, Copa México and Copa Corona (beer), Corona MX (for sponsorship reasons)) was a Mexican association football, football cup competition that was established in 1907 in association ...

: 1996–97 *

CONCACAF Champions Cup The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Americ ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

UNAM *

: Clausura 2009, Clausura 2011 Mexico *

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

References

External links

* * * * *
Pumas Blog: December 2006 (Palencia article)
* *
Francisco Palencia at FootballDatabase.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palencia, Francisco 1973 births Living people Footballers from Mexico City Association football forwards Club Universidad Nacional footballers Chivas USA players Cruz Azul footballers C.D. Guadalajara footballers Liga MX players La Liga players Major League Soccer players Mexico international footballers RCD Espanyol footballers 1997 Copa América players 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup players 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players 1999 Copa América players 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2001 Copa América players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2004 Copa América players CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players Olympic footballers of Mexico Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Mexican expatriate footballers Mexican footballers Mexican expatriate sportspeople in the United States Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Spain Liga MX managers Mexican football managers