Francisco López (footballer, born 1962) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Francisco

Personal information
Full name	Francisco Javier López Alfaro
Date of birth	(1962-11-01) 1 November 1962 (age 62)
Place of birth	Osuna, Spain
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
	Sevilla
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1980–1981	Sevilla B
1981–1990	Sevilla	258	(20)
1990–1997	Espanyol	207	(27)
Total		465	(47)
International career
1981	Spain U18	2	(0)
1981	Spain U19	4	(0)
1981	Spain U20	3	(1)
1983–1984	Spain U21	9	(1)
1983	Spain amateur	2	(0)
1982–1986	Spain	20	(1)
Managerial career
1998–2000	Espanyol (youth)
2000–2001	Coria
2001–2002	Jaén
2002–2003	Extremadura
2003–2004	Figueres
2004–2005	Numancia
2006–2008	Badalona
2008	Eivissa-Ibiza
2009	Atlético Baleares
2010	Sevilla C
Medal record Representing  Spain UEFA European Championship Runner-up 1984 France
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Francisco Javier López Alfaro (born on November 1, 1962), known simply as Francisco during his playing days, is a Spanish former professional football player. He played as a central midfielder and later became a manager.

Playing Career: A Midfielder's Journey

Francisco was born in Osuna, a town in the Province of Seville, Andalusia, Spain. He spent most of his playing career with two main clubs: Sevilla FC, which was his hometown team, and RCD Espanyol. He played in a total of 436 matches in La Liga, which is Spain's top football league.

Time with Sevilla FC

Francisco started his professional journey with Sevilla FC. In his first season in La Liga, which was the 1981–82 season, he played 20 games. He started all of them and scored one goal. His efforts helped Sevilla finish seventh in the league that year. He played for Sevilla until 1990.

Moving to RCD Espanyol

After his time at Sevilla, Francisco joined RCD Espanyol in 1990. With Espanyol, he faced a challenging season in 1992–93 when the team was relegated. This means they moved down to a lower league. However, they quickly bounced back! In the following year, Espanyol achieved promotion, moving back up to La Liga. Francisco was a very important player for the team during this time. He retired from playing football at the end of the 1996–97 season, when he was almost 35 years old.

Management Career: From Player to Coach

After retiring as a player, Francisco decided to stay in football as a manager. He started by coaching the youth teams at Espanyol.

Coaching Different Clubs

Over the years, he coached several other teams. These included Coria CF, Real Jaén, CF Extremadura, and UE Figueres. He even coached a top-tier team, CD Numancia, during the 2004–05 season. However, he left Numancia after ten games, and the team was later relegated.

In July 2006, he took on a new role with CF Badalona, a team in the Segunda División B, which is Spain's third-tier league. Later, in the 2008–09 season, he managed CD Atlético Baleares in the same division. After that, he was appointed manager of Sevilla FC C, which plays in the Tercera División.

International Career: Playing for Spain

Francisco also had the honor of playing for his country, Spain. He played in 20 international matches, which are called "caps," and scored one goal.

Major Tournaments

He was chosen to represent Spain in two major international tournaments: the UEFA Euro 1984 and the 1986 FIFA World Cup. His first game for the national team was on October 27, 1982. It was a qualifying match for Euro 1984 against Iceland, which Spain won 1–0.

At the 1984 European Championships, Francisco played in two matches. One of these was the final game against the host country, France. Spain lost that match 2–0, finishing as runners-up.

Career Statistics

Here's a look at Francisco's goal for the Spanish national team:

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	24 September 1986	El Molinón, Gijón, Spain	Greece	2–0	3–1	Friendly

Honours and Achievements

Francisco achieved several notable successes during his football career.

As a Player

Espanyol

• Segunda División: He helped Espanyol win the Segunda División title in the 1993–94 season, which led to their promotion back to La Liga.

Spain

• UEFA European Championship runner-up: He was part of the Spanish team that finished as runners-up in the 1984 UEFA European Championship.

Spain Under-21

• UEFA Under-21 European Championship runner-up: He also helped the Spain Under-21 team reach the final of the 1984 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, where they finished as runners-up.

See also

In Spanish: Francisco López Alfaro para niños

• List of La Liga players (400+ appearances)