José Francisco Molina Jiménez (born 8 August 1970) 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 lea ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

, currently

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...

club

Mohun Bagan Super Giant Mohun Bagan Super Giant, commonly referred to as Mohun Bagan, is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, it is one of the oldest football clubs in Asia. The club competes in the Indian Super League, ...

. Eleven years of his extensive professional career were spent at

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

and

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña () or simply Depor, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, that competes in the Segunda División, the ...

, where he won a total of five titles. Over 14 seasons, he appeared in 415

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 ...

matches. A Spain international for four years, Molina represented the nation at the 1998 World Cup and two

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

Playing career

Club

Born in

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 ...

Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

, Molina started playing professionally with modest UD Alzira, being purchased in 1991 by local giants

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...

. After a loan stint with neighbours

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D., usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Villarreal, in the Province of Castellón, Castellón province of easte ...

he was sold to

Albacete Balompié Albacete Balompié is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Albacete, in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Founded on 5 July 1939, it currently plays in Segunda División, the second tier of Spanish foo ...

, making his

debut on 8 January 1995 in a 1–0 home win against

Real Oviedo Real Oviedo ( Asturian: Real Uviéu) is a Spanish professional football club based in Oviedo, Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926, the club plays in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system. The club plays at ...

. Even though he conceded eight goals in the last matchday, a home loss against

, his team managed to escape relegation in the playoffs. Molina's career was intimately related with

, of which he claimed to be a fan. Signing in 1995, he helped the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

side win a

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

(league and

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

) in his first year, going on to miss only two league matches over four seasons. Joining 2000 league champions Deportivo La Coruña after Atlético's relegation, Molina helped win a Spanish cup and two supercups, being an undisputed starter throughout his stint in Galicia. However, on 14 October 2002, he announced that he suffered from

testicular cancer Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility. Risk factors include an c ...

, and that he was forced to undergo treatment for his illness, thus missing most of the 2002–03 campaign (ten league appearances, as ''Depor'' finished third); he eventually recovered fully. After his link expired, Molina returned home to Valencia for 2006–07, playing for top-division strugglers

Levante UD Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club in Valencia, in the Valencian Community, namesake autonomous community. Founded on 6 September 1909, the club will compete in La Liga for the 2025– ...

, but did not renew his contract at the season's end, retiring subsequently as the club retained its league status.

International

Molina made his Spain national team debut as an outfield player against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

on 24 April 1996 – a

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

as a

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, as all replacements had been made by coach

Javier Clemente Javier Clemente Lázaro (; born 12 March 1950) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Forced to retire from playing in his early 20s through injury, he embarked on a coaching career with his first managerial ...

and Juan Manuel López retired injured. He was then included in the squads for

UEFA Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in ...

and the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

, but had to wait until

Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

for first-choice status, although he was dropped after a blunder in the opening 1–0 loss to Norway and did not play afterwards.

Coaching career

In the 2009–10 campaign, Molina started a coaching career with Villarreal C of

Tercera División Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...

. On 12 May 2011, he replaced the fired Javi Gracia at the helm of the reserves in 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 ...

as the team was seriously threatened with relegation. Molina reached Villarreal's main squad on 22 December 2011, taking the place of sacked Juan Carlos Garrido. He was himself dismissed on 18 March of the following year after a 1–0 away loss against former club Levante, with the ''Yellow Submarine'' dangerously close to the relegation zone (17th). In 2014, after leading Getafe CF B to the 14th place in the

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 ...

, Molina was appointed at Hong Kong's

Kitchee SC Kitchee Sports Club (; ; ) is a Hong Kong professional Association football, football club based in Kowloon. It was founded in 1931 and currently competes in the Hong Kong Premier League. The club has won 12 List of Hong Kong football champion ...

. In his only season he managed win the domestic treble, also taking the team to the quarter-finals of the

AFC Cup The AFC Champions League Two (abbreviated as the ACL Two or ACL2) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. It is the second-tier competition of Asian club football, ranked below the AFC C ...

. On 3 May 2016, Molina was announced as the head coach of

side ATK, replacing countryman Antonio López Habas. On 14 November of the following year, he was appointed at

Ascenso MX Ascenso MX, also known as Ascenso BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, was a professional association football league in Mexico and the second level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Primera División A de México (1994–2009 ...

club

Atlético San Luis Club Atlético de San Luis is a Mexican professional football club based in San Luis Potosí. It competes in the Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 2013, replacing the defunct club of the city ( San Luis FC) after its re ...

ahead of the Clausura tournament. He was relieved of his duties by the latter on 18 February 2018 after just two wins in 11 matches in all competitions, with his side in last position in the league. In July 2018, Molina was appointed as

sporting director A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The ...

of the

Royal Spanish Football Federation The Royal Spanish Football Federation (; RFEF) is the governing body of football in Spain. Founded on 29 September 1913, it is based in La Ciudad del Fútbol of Las Rozas de Madrid, Las Rozas, a municipality near Madrid. RFEF organizes the natio ...

, replacing Fernando Hierro who had resigned in the aftermath of Spain's performance at the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

. In December 2022, he left his position following a last-16 elimination at the

2022 World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

at the hands of

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. Molina signed as manager of Indian top-tier

on 11 June 2024, again taking over from López Habas. He led the club to both the national championship and the League Shield on his debut campaign.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Atlético Madrid *

: 1995–96 *

: 1995–96 Deportivo *Copa del Rey: 2001–02 *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Individual * Ricardo Zamora Trophy: 1995–96

Manager

Kitchee *

Hong Kong Premier League The Hong Kong Premier League () is a Hong Kong professional football league organised by the Football Association of Hong Kong, China. It is currently sponsored by BOC Life and officially known as BOC Life Hong Kong Premier League (). The inau ...

: 2014–15 *

Hong Kong FA Cup Hong Kong FA Cup () is a knockout cup competition in Hong Kong football, run by and named after The Hong Kong Football Association. The first edition of the competition was held in 1975, before then the cup was known as the Golden Jubilee Cup. T ...

: 2014–15 *

Hong Kong League Cup Hong Kong Football Association League Cup () was an annual football competition contested by clubs in the top-tier Hong Kong domestic football league. The cup was relaunched for the 2014–15 season after being discontinued in the 2012–13 seaso ...

: 2014–15 Atlético Kolkata *

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Mohun Bagan *Indian Super League: 2024–25 *Indian Super League Winners Shield: 2024–25

References

External links

* *
CiberChe biography and stats
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Molina, Jose Francisco 1970 births Living people Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Valencia Men's association football goalkeepers La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Valencia CF Mestalla footballers UD Alzira footballers Valencia CF players Villarreal CF players Albacete Balompié players Atlético Madrid footballers Deportivo de La Coruña players Levante UD footballers Spain men's international footballers UEFA Euro 1996 players 1998 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2000 players Spanish football managers La Liga managers Segunda División managers Segunda División B managers Tercera División managers Villarreal CF B managers Villarreal CF managers Getafe CF B managers Kitchee SC managers Indian Super League managers ATK (football club) managers Mohun Bagan Super Giant managers Spanish expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Hong Kong Expatriate football managers in India Expatriate football managers in Mexico Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Hong Kong Spanish expatriate sportspeople in India Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Mexico