José Francisco Molina facts for kids
Molina with Levante in 2007
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | José Francisco Molina Jiménez | ||
| Date of birth | 8 August 1970 | ||
| Place of birth | Valencia, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
|
Current team
|
Mohun Bagan (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Benimar | |||
| Valencia | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1989–1993 | Valencia B | 37 | (0) |
| 1990–1991 | → Alzira (loan) | 29 | (0) |
| 1993–1994 | Valencia | 0 | (0) |
| 1994 | → Villarreal (loan) | 18 | (0) |
| 1994–1995 | Albacete | 23 | (0) |
| 1995–2000 | Atlético Madrid | 189 | (0) |
| 2000–2006 | Deportivo La Coruña | 169 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Levante | 34 | (0) |
| Total | 499 | (0) | |
| International career | |||
| 1996–2000 | Spain | 9 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2009–2011 | Villarreal C | ||
| 2011 | Villarreal B | ||
| 2011–2012 | Villarreal | ||
| 2013–2014 | Getafe B | ||
| 2014–2015 | Kitchee | ||
| 2016 | ATK | ||
| 2017–2018 | Atlético San Luis | ||
| 2024– | Mohun Bagan | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
José Francisco Molina Jiménez (born 8 August 1970) is a Spanish former football player. He played as a goalkeeper. Today, he is a manager for the Indian Super League club Mohun Bagan Super Giant.
Molina spent eleven years of his professional career playing for Atlético Madrid and Deportivo de La Coruña. During this time, he won five important titles. He played in 415 matches in La Liga, which is Spain's top football league.
He also played for the Spanish national team for four years. He represented Spain in the 1998 World Cup and two European Championships.
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
Club Teams
José Molina was born in Valencia, Spain. He began his professional football journey with a smaller club called UD Alzira. In 1991, a big local team, Valencia CF, bought him. After playing for Villarreal CF for a short time, he joined Albacete Balompié.
Molina made his first appearance in La Liga on 8 January 1995. His team, Albacete, won that game 1–0 against Real Oviedo. Even though his team lost a game badly later that season, they still managed to avoid being moved down to a lower league.
Molina's career is closely linked with Atlético Madrid. He joined them in 1995. In his very first year, he helped the team win a "double." This means they won both the league title and the Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup) in the same season. He was a key player, missing only two league matches over four seasons.
In 2000, Molina moved to Deportivo de La Coruña, who were the league champions that year. He helped Deportivo win another Spanish Cup and two Spanish Supercups. He was always the starting goalkeeper during his time there.
After his contract ended, Molina returned to his home city of Valencia in 2006–07. He played for Levante UD, another top-division team. He retired after that season, when Levante managed to stay in the top league.
International Matches
Molina played his first game for the Spanish national team on 24 April 1996. Interestingly, he played as an outfield player, not a goalkeeper! He came on as a left winger because all the other substitutes had been used, and a teammate got injured.
He was chosen for the squads that played in UEFA Euro 1996 and the 1998 FIFA World Cup. However, he became the main goalkeeper for Spain at UEFA Euro 2000. After a difficult moment in the first game, he did not play in the later matches of that tournament.
Coaching Career
In 2009, Molina started his coaching career with Villarreal CF C, a team in a lower Spanish league. In May 2011, he became the coach of Villarreal CF B, the reserve team, to help them avoid being relegated.
On 22 December 2011, Molina was promoted to coach the main Villarreal team. But he was dismissed on 18 March 2012. The team was very close to the relegation zone at that time.
In 2014, Molina moved to Hong Kong to coach Kitchee SC. In his only season there, he led the team to win a domestic "treble." This means they won three major trophies in Hong Kong: the league, the FA Cup, and the League Cup. His team also reached the quarter-finals of the AFC Cup, which is a big Asian club competition.
On 3 May 2016, Molina became the head coach of ATK, a team in the Indian Super League. Later, in November 2017, he was appointed coach of Atlético San Luis in Mexico. However, he left that club in February 2018 after only winning two matches out of eleven.
In July 2018, Molina took on a new role as sporting director for the Royal Spanish Football Federation. This meant he was in charge of the overall football operations for Spain's national teams. He left this position in December 2022.
Molina signed as the manager of the Indian top-tier club Mohun Bagan Super Giant on 11 June 2024.
Honours and Awards
As a Player
Atlético Madrid
- La Liga: 1995–96 (League Champions)
- Copa del Rey: 1995–96 (Spanish Cup)
Deportivo
- Copa del Rey: 2001–02
- Supercopa de España: 2000, 2002 (Spanish Supercup)
Individual Awards
- Ricardo Zamora Trophy: 1995–96 (Award for the goalkeeper with the lowest goals-to-games ratio in La Liga)
As a Manager
Kitchee
- Hong Kong Premier League: 2014–15
- Hong Kong FA Cup: 2014–15
- Hong Kong League Cup: 2014–15
Atlético Kolkata
- Indian Super League: 2016
See also
In Spanish: José Francisco Molina para niños
- List of Atlético Madrid players (Players with 100+ games for Atlético Madrid)
- List of La Liga players (Players with 400+ appearances in La Liga)
