Juanfran (footballer, born 1976)

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For another people with the same nickname, see Juanfran.
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is García and the second or maternal family name is García.

Juanfran
Juan Fran.jpg
Personal information
Full name Juan Francisco García García
Date of birth (1976-07-15) 15 July 1976 (age 45)
Place of birth Valencia, Spain
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
Levante
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1997 Levante 47 (1)
1997–1999 Valencia 41 (0)
1999–2004 Celta 126 (6)
2004–2006 Beşiktaş 13 (1)
2005–2006 → Ajax (loan) 16 (0)
2006–2008 Zaragoza 62 (0)
2008–2010 AEK Athens 27 (0)
2010 → Levante (loan) 19 (0)
2010–2016 Levante 153 (0)
Total 504 (8)
National team
1998 Spain U21 1 (0)
2000–2003 Spain 11 (0)
Teams managed
2020 Lugo
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Juan Francisco García García (born 15 July 1976), known as Juanfran, is a Spanish retired footballer, and is a current manager. Mainly a left back, he could also play as a central defender.

He started and finished his extensive professional career with Levante, which he represented in all three major levels of Spanish football, going on to amass La Liga totals of 382 games and six goals over 15 seasons and also appearing in the competition for Valencia, Celta and Zaragoza. He also played in Turkey, the Netherlands and Greece.

Juanfran represented Spain at the 2002 World Cup.

Club career[]

Born in Valencia, Valencian Community, Juanfran started his professional career at Levante UD, where he attracted the attention of local giants Valencia CF, signing after three seasons for €1 million. On 31 August 1997 he played his first La Liga game, a 1–2 away loss against RCD Mallorca,[1] and went on to make 51 overall appearances for the Che.

Juanfran joined RC Celta de Vigo prior to the 1999–2000 campaign for €4 million, where he was an undisputed starter in a Galician team that appeared in the UEFA Cup and the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League (he scored in a 1–1 draw at Club Brugge KV to progress to the knockout rounds of the latter competition). However, in 2003–04, they would also be relegated to Segunda División.[2]

After leaving Celta in 2004, Juanfran joined Turkish club Beşiktaş JK,[3] but soon fell out of favour with team management – the coach who brought him to Istanbul, compatriot Vicente del Bosque, was dismissed midway through the season – and would spend the following campaign on loan to Dutch side AFC Ajax.[4]

In 2006–07, Juanfran returned to Spain and joined Real Zaragoza for €1.5 million,[5] being a key defensive element to qualify for the UEFA Cup in that first year. The following season the player struggled individually and collectively, and the Aragonese club returned to the second level after a five-year stint.

Juanfran agreed to sign a two-year deal with AEK Athens F.C. on 30 July 2008, earning approximately €1 million per season.[6] He was used regularly during his spell in Greece but, in late January 2010, was loaned to his first professional team Levante until the end of the second-division campaign; only weeks later, he bought out his contract with AEK and signed permanently until June 2012, contributing massively to the former's top-flight return after a two-year absence.[7]

The 34-year-old Juanfran was the most used player in his position in 2010–11 (23 matches), as Levante eventually retained their status. He fared even better the following season, with the side finishing sixth and qualifying for the Europa League for the first time ever.[7]

On 20 September 2012, in Levante's European competition group stage debut, Juanfran scored the game's only goal at home against Helsingborgs IF, netting with his preferred foot from the corner of the penalty area.[8] On 4 May 2016, after a further four top-tier campaigns – suffering relegation in the last – the 39-year-old announced his retirement.[9]

On 10 December 2018, in an interview with Marca, Juanfran revealed he had signed for EFL Championship club Aston Villa as a scout, focusing primarily on Spain and Portugal. He stated "it is a privilege to work for a club like Aston Villa. Everyone identifies it as a big club in England and it’s a dream come true."[10][11]

Juanfran was hired in his first managerial job on 30 June 2020, succeeding Curro Torres at a CD Lugo team in the second division's relegation zone.[12] He managed to narrowly avoid relegation, but was dismissed on 11 October after four losses in the first five matches of the new campaign.[13]

International career[]

Juanfran earned 11 caps for Spain, making his debut in a friendly with Italy on 29 March 2000 after impressive displays at Celta.[14] Subsequently, he was included in the nation's 2002 FIFA World Cup squad, and appeared in three matches out of five.

Juanfran's last game was an UEFA Euro 2004 qualifier against Northern Ireland in June 2003, playing the whole 90 minutes of a 0–0 away draw.[15]

Managerial statistics[]

As of match played 11 October 2020
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team Nat From To Record Ref
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Lugo Spain 30 June 2020 11 October 2020 11 5 2 4 15 15 +0 045.45 [16]
Total 11 5 2 4 15 15 +0 045.45 —

Honours[]

Levante

Valencia

Celta

  • UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2000

Ajax

AEK

References[]

  1. ^ Infante, Cristina (1 September 1997). "Venganza en Mallorca" [Revenge in Mallorca]. ABC (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  2. ^ "Juanfran" (in Spanish). Yo Jugué en el Celta. 3 April 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  3. ^ "Juanfran the man for Besiktas". UEFA. 6 August 2004. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
  4. ^ "Ajax take a chance on Juanfran". UEFA. 12 August 2005. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
  5. ^ "Fernández lands former charges". UEFA. 3 July 2006. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
  6. ^ Gaudioso, Sonia (26 July 2008). "El descartado Juanfran cerró su marcha al AEK de Atenas" [Released Juanfran closed deal with AEK Athens]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 March 2009.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b "Juanfran García, un clásico de LaLiga" [Juanfran García, a LaLiga classic] (in Spanish). La Liga. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  8. ^ Debutants Levante overcome Helsingborg task; UEFA, 20 September 2012
  9. ^ Rodríguez, Miguel Ángel (4 May 2016). "Juanfran anuncia su retirada" [Juanfran announces retirement]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  10. ^ Valero, Rafa (10 December 2018). "Juanfran: "Es un orgullo trabajar para un club como el Aston Villa"" [Juanfran: "It is a privilege to work for a club like Aston Villa"]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  11. ^ Chapman, Joseph (12 December 2018). "Aston Villa appoint new scout ahead of January transfer window". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  12. ^ Palacios, Xosé María (30 June 2020). "Juanfran, nuevo entrenador de un Lugo que lucha por la permanencia" [Juanfran, new manager of a Lugo fighting for survival]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  13. ^ "El CD Lugo determina el cese de Juanfran García como entrenador del primer equipo" [CD Lugo sack Juanfran García as first-team manager] (in Spanish). CD Lugo. 11 October 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  14. ^ Astruells, Andrés (30 March 2000). "La selección saca nota" [National team get grade]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  15. ^ Ramírez Orsikowsky, Jorge (11 June 2003). "España tampoco es capaz de ganar a Irlanda del Norte" [Spain cannot beat Northern Ireland as well]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  16. ^ "Juanfran: Juan Francisco García García: Matches 2019–20". BDFutbol. Retrieved 30 June 2020.

External links[]

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