Francisco Yeste facts for kids
Yeste taking a corner for Athletic Bilbao in 2005
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Francisco Javier Yeste Navarro | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 6 December 1979 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Basauri, Spain | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.84 m | |||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1997 | Athletic Bilbao | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||
| 1997–1998 | Basconia | 38 | (7) | |||||||||||||
| 1998–2000 | Bilbao Athletic | 34 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 1999–2010 | Athletic Bilbao | 302 | (50) | |||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Al Wasl | 21 | (9) | |||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Olympiacos | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2012 | Baniyas | 7 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| Total | 407 | (68) | ||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||
| 1998 | Spain U18 | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 1999 | Spain U20 | 7 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | Spain U21 | 12 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2003–2007 | Basque Country | 5 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| Teams managed | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Eldense | |||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Eldense | |||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Francisco "Fran" Javier Yeste Navarro (born 6 December 1979) is a Spanish former professional footballer. He played as an attacking midfielder or a left winger. After retiring from playing, he became a manager.
Fran Yeste spent most of his professional career, eleven years, playing for Athletic Bilbao. If you count his time in their youth system, he was with the club for 19 years! He played in 353 official matches and scored 59 goals for them.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting at Athletic Bilbao
Fran Yeste was born in Basauri, Biscay, Spain. He grew up learning to play football at Athletic Bilbao's youth academy, called Lezama. He made his first appearance for the main team on 7 February 1999. Even though his team lost that game, he played for the full 90 minutes. For a couple of seasons, he mainly played for the reserve team, Bilbao Athletic.
Becoming a Regular Player
From the 2000–01 season onwards, Yeste became a regular player for Athletic Bilbao's main squad. He scored six goals in La Liga that year. This included two goals in one game, helping his team win 4–0 against Real Oviedo.
In the 2003–04 season, he played really well. He scored his highest number of goals in a single season, with eleven. His team, the Basques, finished fifth in the league. This meant they qualified for the UEFA Cup, which is a big European competition. Because of his great performance, he was even considered for the Spanish national team, though he didn't get to play.
Challenges and Departure
Sometimes, Yeste had problems with injuries. But he still played a lot. In the 2006–07 season, he played in every league match. Athletic Bilbao almost got relegated that year, but they managed to stay in the top league. Yeste scored five goals to help them.
He was known for being a passionate player on the field. He left Athletic Bilbao in May 2010 after his contract ended.
Playing in the United Arab Emirates
After leaving Spain, Yeste moved to the United Arab Emirates. In June 2010, he signed a two-year contract with a club called Al Wasl.
He scored a very quick goal for Al Wasl in a semi-final match in March 2011. The opposing team, Al Ain, had just scored. While they were still celebrating, Yeste shot the ball from the center of the field. It went into the goal just 27 seconds after Al Ain's goal! People called it "The fastest equalizer in the history of football." There was some discussion about whether the goal was allowed, but it was later confirmed as valid.
Later Career Years
In July 2011, Yeste moved to Greece. He signed with Olympiacos, who were the Greek champions. This was special because he reunited with his former coach from Athletic Bilbao, Ernesto Valverde.
However, his time in Greece was short. In January 2012, he left Olympiacos. The very next day, he went back to the United Arab Emirates and joined Baniyas for six months before ending his playing career.
Honours and Achievements
Basconia
- Tercera División: 1997–98 (This is a Spanish football league title)
Athletic Bilbao
- Copa del Rey runner-up: 2008–09 (They reached the final of a major Spanish cup)
- Supercopa de España runner-up: 2009 (They reached the final of another Spanish super cup)
Olympiacos
- Superleague Greece: 2011–12 (They won the top league in Greece)
Spain U20
- FIFA World Youth Championship: 1999 (He was part of the Spanish team that won this important youth world cup)
See also
In Spanish: Fran Yeste para niños
