Pablo Franco Martín (born 11 June 1980) is a Spanish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

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 ...

, he was the head coach of Tanzanian club

Simba Simba is a fictional character and the protagonist of Disney's ''The Lion King (franchise), The Lion King'' franchise. Introduced in the 1994 film ''The Lion King'', Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation's List of Walt Disney Anim ...

from 2021 to 31 May 2022.

Manager career

Born in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, Franco was an assistant manager at

Coria CF Coria Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football team based in Coria del Río, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1923, it plays in Tercera Federación – Group 10, holding home matches at Estadio Guadalquivir with a capacity of 5, ...

and

CF Fuenlabrada Club de Fútbol Fuenlabrada, S.A.D. is a football club based in Fuenlabrada, Community of Madrid, Spain, that currently competes in Primera División RFEF – Group 1, the third tier of the Spanish league system. It was founded in 1975. It holds ...

, and started his managerial career at CD Santa Eugenia in 2010. On 27 January 2012 he returned to Fuenlabrada, now as a fitness coach. On 5 July 2012 Franco was named CD Illescas manager, with his side in

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 Di ...

. On 11 June of the following year he was appointed at the helm of fellow league team

CD Puertollano Club Deportivo Puertollano was a Spanish football team based in Puertollano, in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. Founded in 1948 it played in Tercera División – Group 18, holding home matches at '' Estadio Ciudad de Puerto ...

; in his first and only campaign he led the club to a first position in their group, but the Castile-La Mancha side renounced promotion due to financial problems. On 28 July 2014 Franco was appointed

Getafe CF B Getafe Club de Fútbol "B" is the reserve team of Getafe CF, club based in Getafe, Madrid metropolitan area, in the namesake community. Founded in 1983, it currently plays in Tercera Federación – Group 7 holding home games at '' Ciudad Deportiv ...

manager. On 26 February of the following year, after the resignation of

Quique Flores Quique () may refer to: * Quique (given name) * ''Quique'' (album), 1993 album by ''Seefeel'' * Quique (footballer, born 1945), Spanish football defender * David Bernier (born 1977), Puerto Rican politician nicknamed "Quique" See also * * * En ...

, he was named interim manager of the main squad, and appeared in his professional match two days later, a 2–3 away loss against

Málaga CF Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a association football, football club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, that competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, ...

. On 3 March 2015 Franco's spell in the main squad was further extended, with

Javier Casquero Francisco Javier Casquero Paredes (born 11 March 1976) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played usually as a central midfielder. Over 11 seasons, he amassed La Liga totals of 322 matches and 43 goals, mainly with Getafe (six year ...

as his assistant. Eight days later, after a 2–1 away win against

Córdoba CF Córdoba Club de Fútbol (), (from the 2020–21 season onwards competing under the umbrella of Unión Futbolística Cordobesa, S.A.D.) is a Spanish football club based in Córdoba, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1951 as ...

, the duo was officially granted until the end of the season. On 1 June 2015, after avoiding relegation with the main squad, he was relieved from his duties. On 10 March of the following year he was appointed manager of Georgian club

FC Saburtalo Tbilisi FC Saburtalo is a Georgian football club, based in Tbilisi, the capital of the country. History Saburtalo was founded on August 20, 1999 in Tbilisi. In 2005, the club was bought by Iberia Business Group and its owner Tariel Khechikashvili, who ...

, joining compatriot

Manolo Hierro Manuel "Manolo" Ruiz Hierro (born 8 February 1962) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a central defender. He amassed La Liga totals of 175 matches and seven goals over ten seasons, representing mainly Tenerife (four years) ...

. In June 2023, Franco was appointed manager of South African Premiership club

AmaZulu Zulu people (; zu, amaZulu) are a Nguni ethnic group native to Southern Africa. The Zulu people are the largest ethnic group and nation in South Africa, with an estimated 10–12 million people, living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal ...

Managerial statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Franco, Pablo 1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Madrid Spanish football managers La Liga managers CD Puertollano managers Getafe CF B managers Getafe CF managers Spanish expatriate football managers Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Georgia (country) Expatriate football managers in Georgia (country) Qadsia SC managers Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Kuwait Expatriate football managers in Kuwait Expatriate football managers in China FC Iberia 1999 managers Spanish expatriate sportspeople in China Kuwait Premier League managers