Francisco José Figueroa Alonso (born 22 June 1972), known as Fran, is a Spanish former professional footballer who could play as a right-back or a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He played in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

for both

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

and Espanyol, making a total of 19 top flight appearances.

Club career

Born in

, Fran began his career in 1990 with

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: 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 ...

side Torrent. He spent 1991–92 in the Tercera División with Teruel, before joining

side

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

over the next three seasons. In 1995, he moved on to Gimnàstic de Tarragona, 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 The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

with

Lleida Lleida (, ; ; '' see below'') is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital and largest town in Segrià county, the Ponent region and the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It ...

in 1998. Lleida enjoyed mixed fortunes over Fran's three seasons at the club, finishing as runners-up in the Copa Catalunya 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 Espanyol. 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 *

: 1996–97 Lleida * Copa Catalunya: Runner-up 1998–99 Hércules *

: Runner-up (earning promotion) 2004–05

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fran 1972 births Living people Footballers from Valencia Spanish men's footballers 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