Francisco "Paco" Jémez Martín (born 18 April 1970) is a Spanish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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 ...

and former player who played as a central defender. He is the current manager of

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

. Over 11 seasons, he played 269

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 in representation of three teams, mainly Deportivo and

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

. He appeared for

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

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 ...

. Jémez started working as a manager in 2007, going on to work with several clubs.

Playing career

Club

Jémez was born in

Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital city of the Canary Islands (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and the m ...

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

. During his career he played for Córdoba CF, Real Murcia, Rayo Vallecano (first appearing in

and playing all 38 matches of the season),

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 ...

(only totalling ten games in his first two seasons as the club achieved two consecutive runner-up spots, being more used afterwards) and

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 football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

, which he helped to the 2001 conquest of the

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 ...

. From January–June 2004 he returned to Rayo, now 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 ...

. After one year out of football, Jémez returned to active with CD Lugo –

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 ...

– and retired shortly after at the age of 35.

International

Over almost three years, Jémez played 21 times for the Spain national team. His debut was on 23 September 1998 in a friendly against

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Granada Granada ( ; ) 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 foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

, and he was a participant at

UEFA 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 ...

, taking part in three matches in an eventual quarter-final exit.

Coaching career

Spain

Jémez took up coaching in 2007, first with lowly

RSD Alcalá Real Sociedad Deportiva Alcalá is a Spanish football team based in Alcalá de Henares in the Community of Madrid. Founded in 1929 it plays in Tercera División RFEF – Group 7, holding home matches at ''Estadio Municipal del Val'', with a capac ...

. He moved to the second division the following campaign, with Córdoba, being sacked with 11 matches to go. In early 2009, Jémez signed with

FC Cartagena Fútbol Club Cartagena, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Cartagena, in the Region of Murcia, Spain. Founded in 1995 it currently plays in Segunda División, holding home games at '' Estadio Cartagonova'', with a capacity of 15,105 sp ...

, ultimately being the coach that earned the

Murcia Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...

club a first ever promotion to the second tier. He left in July. On 12 April 2010, following Sergije Krešić's dismissal, Jémez was appointed coach at struggling

UD Las Palmas Unión Deportiva Las Palmas S.A.D. is a professional association football, football club based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. The club will compete in Segunda División, the 2nd division in the Spanish football league syst ...

in division two. He eventually led his hometown side safe from the relegation zone in a 17th-place finish, being dismissed on 27 February 2011. After taking Córdoba to the first round in the second division promotion playoffs, Jémez was appointed at former club Rayo on 22 June 2012. After leading the team to their best-ever ranking in the top flight, eighth, he renewed his contract until June 2015. On 26 May 2016, after Rayo's top-tier relegation, Jémez failed to agree new terms and was appointed manager at

Granada CF Granada Club de Fútbol (), known simply as Granada or ''"Graná"'', is a professional List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in the city of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, that currently plays in Segunda ...

on 20 June. However, on 28 September, he was sacked after only six games in charge, no wins and a club-worst start to a season in more than 70 years.

Mexico

On 28 November 2016, Jémez was named head coach of

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S.A. de C.V., commonly referred to as Cruz Azul, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football league system, Mexican footba ...

in the Mexican

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

. He led the team to their first playoff appearance in three years. The following 27 November, he decided not renew his contract and left.

Back to Spain

Jémez returned to Las Palmas on 21 December 2017, becoming the third permanent manager in charge of the club during the campaign. He rejoined Rayo Vallecano in late March 2019, replacing Míchel who had been dismissed two days earlier after losing seven league games in a row, which left the team at risk of top-flight relegation, and agreeing to a deal until June 2020. On 26 December 2021, after more than a year of inactivity, Jémez took over second-division newcomers UD Ibiza until the end of the season. He managed to avoid relegation, but still left as his contract expired on 31 May.

Iran and return to Ibiza

In December 2022, Jémez went back abroad, being appointed at Tractor S.C. in the Persian Gulf Pro League. He returned to both Spain and Ibiza on 12 November 2024, with the team now in the Primera Federación.

Personal life

Jémez's father, Francisco Crespo Aguilar (known professionally as Lucas de Écija (1929–2018)), was a

flamenco Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...

singer who released two records. He himself nearly embraced the sport of

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

, having a 1.4 handicap.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Deportivo *

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 ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

Zaragoza *

: 2000–01

Manager

Cartagena *

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 ...

: 2008–09

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jemez, Paco 1970 births Living people Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Las Palmas Men's association football central defenders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Córdoba CF players Real Murcia CF players Rayo Vallecano players Deportivo de La Coruña players Real Zaragoza players CD Lugo players Spain men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2000 players Spanish football managers La Liga managers Segunda División managers Segunda División B managers Tercera División managers Primera Federación managers RSD Alcalá managers Córdoba CF managers FC Cartagena managers UD Las Palmas managers Rayo Vallecano managers Granada CF managers UD Ibiza managers Liga MX managers Cruz Azul managers Persian Gulf Pro League managers Tractor S.C. managers Spanish expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Mexico Expatriate football managers in Iran Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Iran