Francisco Javier Rodríguez Vílchez (born 17 June 1978), known simply as Francisco, is a Spanish former

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 played as a

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

, currently a

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 ...

. His career was closely associated with

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city gr ...

as both a player and manager, and he started coaching the first team at the age of 35. In the former capacity, he amassed Segunda División totals of 185 matches and 45 goals over six seasons, also representing

Granada 74 Granada 74 Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., commonly known as Granada 74, was a Spanish football team based in Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It has not registered in any competition since 2009, it held home matches at ''Estadio La V ...

and

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in th ...

in the competition.

Playing career

Francisco was born in

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...

. After starting out with local Polideportivo Almería he joined

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol (, ca-valencia, València Club de Futbol ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF (or simply Valencia) is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top flight of the S ...

, never making it however past its B side. He returned to his hometown in 2002, joining Unión Deportiva in the second division and scoring at an impressive rate. In 2004–05, as his contract expired, Francisco seized the opportunity to make his

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' ...

debut and signed with

Albacete Balompié Albacete Balompié is a Spanish football team based in Albacete, in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Founded on 2 August 1940, it currently plays in Segunda División, the second tier of Spanish football, holding home matches a ...

. The season was a disaster, with relegation for the team and only three goals for the player – he netted against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

, albeit in a 6–1 away loss. Subsequently, Francisco returned to his previous club, and was fairly played by as it achieved a first-ever promotion to the top flight in 2007, but would never play in that tier again, resuming (with little individual and team success) his career in divisions two and three.

Coaching career

Francisco started his managerial career in 2010, coaching in various categories at his main club Almería. On 29 June 2013, after two seasons with the reserves, he was appointed at the helm of the first team, recently returned to the top flight. After narrowly avoiding relegation in the last matchday, and winning La Liga Manager of the Month for November and May, Francisco inked a new one-year deal at the

Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos Power Horse Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Almería, Spain. It is the home ground of UD Almería, and holds 15,274 people. History Inaugurated on 31 July 2004 and originally built for the 2005 Mediterranean Games, the stadium cost aroun ...

on 27 May 2014. On 9 December, however, he was relieved of his duties after only managing two points out of 24. On 13 December 2016, after more than two years unemployed, Francisco was named manager of

UCAM Murcia CF Universidad Católica de Murcia Club de Fútbol, commonly known as UCAM Murcia or simply UCAM, is a Spanish football club based in Murcia. Founded in 1999 it plays in Segunda Federación, holding home games at '' Estadio de La Condomina'', with ...

of division two. The following 21 June, he was appointed at CD Lugo from the same league. On 28 June 2018, Francisco signed with

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 ...

still in the second division, but he resigned on 2 August due to the club's poor financial situation. He returned to the top tier on 10 October, replacing the dismissed

Leo Franco Leonardo "Leo" Neoren Franco (born 20 May 1977) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and is a manager. After starting out at Independiente in 1995, he went on to spend the vast majority of his career in Sp ...

SD Huesca Sociedad Deportiva Huesca, S.A.D., is a Spanish football club in Huesca, in the autonomous community of Aragon. Founded on 29 March 1960, SD Huesca plays in the Segunda División, having played in the Spanish top division for the first time in ...

. In May 2019, after their

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open league ...

, he turned down a new contract. Francisco returned to the second division on 30 June 2020, taking over from José Luis Martí at fifth-placed

Girona FC Girona Futbol Club, S.A.D. is a professional football club based in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Founded on 23 July 1930, it plays in La Liga, to which they gained promotion in the 2022 Segunda División play-offs. Girona holds its home matches at ...

for the last six games of the season and the following campaign. He left on 30 June as his contract expired, after the side missed out on promotion twice in the finals. On 28 November 2021, Francisco was appointed at top-flight

Elche CF Elche Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Elx Club de Futbol, S.A.D.) is a professional football based in Elche, Province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Founded in 1923, the club competes in La Liga, holding home matches at '' Estad ...

until the end of the campaign. On 4 October 2022, with his team in last place, he was sacked.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Manager

: Manager of the Month November 2013, May 2014

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Francisco 1978 births Living people Footballers from Almería Spanish footballers Association football forwards La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players UD Almería players Valencia CF Mestalla footballers Polideportivo Ejido footballers Albacete Balompié players Granada 74 CF footballers Alicante CF footballers Orihuela CF players Spanish football managers La Liga managers Segunda División managers Segunda División B managers UD Almería B managers UD Almería managers UCAM Murcia CF managers CD Lugo managers Córdoba CF managers SD Huesca managers Girona FC managers Elche CF managers