Francisco Medina Luna (born 26 May 1981), known as Piti, 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 le ...

who played as a winger or a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. His name was mostly associated with

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Vallecas. Rayo was founded on 29 May 1924, and currently compete in La Lig ...

where he had three spells, and achieved

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 ...

totals of 148 games and 29 goals for that club,

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

and

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

. He amassed 164 appearances and 34 goals in the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

for

Ciudad de Murcia Club de Fútbol Ciudad de Murcia, usually abbreviated to Ciudad de Murcia, was a Spanish football club based in Murcia, in the namesake autonomous community. They played at the 16,000-seater ''Estadio de La Condomina''. Ciudad Murcia was reloca ...

, Hércules and Rayo, and spent several years of his later career in Cyprus, Greece and India.

Club career

Born in

Reus Reus () is the capital of Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The area has always been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental importance at the time of the Phylloxera plague. Nowadays it is k ...

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

, Piti was signed by

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at La ...

in 2004 after playing almost exclusively in amateur football, notably scoring 22 goals for CF Reus Deportiu 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 Di ...

. During his spell in

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

, however, he was mainly registered with the reserves – he appeared in three

games, totalling 34 minutes– also being loaned to

for the 2005–06 season. Piti joined second-division club

Hércules CF Hércules de Alicante Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. () is a Spanish football team in Alicante, in the autonomous community of Valencian Community. Founded on 25 October 1922, it currently plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 3 and plays its hom ...

in the summer of 2006 but, in January of the following year, he moved to

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Foot ...

on loan. After featuring rarely for the

Valencians Valencians ( va, valencians) are the native people of the Valencian Community, in eastern Spain. Legally, Valencians are the inhabitants of the community. Since 2006, the Valencian people are officially recognised in the Valencian Statute of Aut ...

in the first half of the 2007–08 campaign, he returned to Rayo and helped the

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 ...

outskirts team to return to division two, scoring seven times in 21 matches. In the following second-tier seasons, Piti remained an important attacking player for Rayo Vallecano. In

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

he contributed nine goals (second-best in the squad, tied with

Óscar Trejo Óscar Guido Trejo (born 26 April 1988) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for and captains La Liga club Rayo Vallecano as an attacking midfielder or forward. Club career Trejo was born in Santiago del Estero. A product of Boca ...

) as the side returned to the top flight after an eight-year absence. Piti came of age in

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

at the age of 31, scoring 18 goals from 35 appearances, only five through

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

as Rayo posted their best season in the top division. Highlights included braces at

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, ...

(2–1) and

Levante UD Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. (, ca-valencia, Llevant Unió Esportiva ) is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club in Valencia, in the Valencian Community, namesake autonomous community. Founded on 9 September 1909, Levante ...

(3–2 win), and at home against

Getafe CF Getafe Club de Fútbol (), or simply Getafe, is a professional football club based in Getafe, a city in the Community of Madrid. The team competes in La Liga, the highest tier of the Spanish football system. The club's home stadium (owned and op ...

(3–1). In the following years, Piti represented

Granada CF Granada Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. (), known simply as Granada, is a Spanish football club based in the city of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, that plays in the Segunda División, after being relegated from La Liga in the 2021� ...

and (again) Rayo, always in the main tier. On 3 January 2017 the 35-year-old moved abroad for the first time in his career, joining

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...

club

AEL Limassol Athlitiki Enosi Lemesou ( el, Αθλητική Ένωση Λεμεσού, translation=Athletic Union of Limassol) commonly known as AEL, is a Cypriot sports club based in the city of Limassol, most famous for its football team. AEL also maintain ...

until 30 June. On 29 July 2017,

PAS Lamia 1964 Lamia Football Club ( el, Π.Α.Ε. Π.Α.Σ. Λαμία 1964) is a Greek professional football club based in Lamia, Greece. It was founded in 1964. The club plays in the Super League, the first tier of Greek football. It plays its home match ...

announced the signing of Piti. On 16 July 2018 he joined

Athlitiki Enosi Larissa F.C. AEL Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ ΑΕΛ), also known by its full name Athlitiki Enosi Larissas ( el, Αθλητική Ένωση Λάρισας, translation=Athletic Union of Larissa), simply called AEL or Larissa, is a Greek professional footb ...

also of the

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

for an undisclosed fee but, six months later, returned to his previous team. In October 2020, following a short spell in the

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

with

Jamshedpur FC Jamshedpur Football Club (, ) is an Indian professional football club based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian Football. Founded in 2017, the club debuted in Indian Super League during t ...

, Piti returned to his homeland to act as player and part-owner of amateurs CA Pinto. He worked as Lamia's technical director after retiring, leaving the position on 21 February 2022.

International career

Uncapped by

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

at any level, Piti represented the non-

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

Catalonia side. On 24 May 2006, he scored in a 2–0 win against

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

Terrassa Terrassa (, es, Tarrasa) is a city in the east central region of Catalonia, Spain, in the province of Barcelona, ''comarca'' of Vallès Occidental, of which it is the co-capital along with Sabadell. The name ''Terrassa'' derives from Latin ' ...

as the opponents prepared for the upcoming World Cup.

Club statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Piti 1981 births Living people People from Reus Sportspeople from the Province of Tarragona Spanish footballers Footballers from Catalonia Association football wingers Association football forwards La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Novelda CF players UE Tàrrega players CF Reus Deportiu players Real Zaragoza B players Real Zaragoza players Ciudad de Murcia footballers Hércules CF players Rayo Vallecano players Granada CF footballers Cypriot First Division players AEL Limassol players Super League Greece players PAS Lamia 1964 players Athlitiki Enosi Larissa F.C. players Indian Super League players Jamshedpur FC players Catalonia international footballers Spanish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Cyprus Expatriate footballers in Greece Expatriate footballers in India Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Greece Spanish expatriate sportspeople in India