Juan Francisco García
Encyclopedia
- "Juanfran" redirects here, For other people, See Juanfran (disambiguation)Juanfran (disambiguation)Juanfran is a hypocorism of the compound name Juan Francisco, it may refer to:*Juan Francisco García, Spanish football defender*Juan Francisco Torres, Spanish football winger*Juan Francisco Moreno Fuertes, Spanish football winger...
.
Juan Francisco García García, aka Juanfran (born 15 July 1976 in Rafelbuñol
Rafelbuñol/Rafelbunyol
Rafelbuñol or Rafelbunyol is a municipality in the comarca of Horta Nord in the Valencian Community, Spain....
, Valencia
Valencian Community
The Valencian Community is an autonomous community of Spain located in central and south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Valencia...
), is a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
footballer who plays for Levante UD
Levante UD
Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, in the namesake community.Founded in 1909, it plays in La Liga, holding home games at Estadi Ciutat de València.-Early years:...
as a left defender.
Club career
Juanfran started his professional career at Levante UDLevante UD
Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, in the namesake community.Founded in 1909, it plays in La Liga, holding home games at Estadi Ciutat de València.-Early years:...
, where he attracted the attention of Valencian Community
Valencian Community
The Valencian Community is an autonomous community of Spain located in central and south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Valencia...
giants Valencia CF
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...
, signing after three seasons for €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
1 million. On August 31, 1997, he played his first La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
match, in a 2–1 loss at RCD Mallorca
RCD Mallorca
Real Club Deportivo Mallorca is a Spanish football team based on Palma, Majorca, in the Balearic Islands. Founded on 5 March 1916, the team currently plays in the Spanish first division, holding home games at Son Moix....
, and went on make 50 overall appearances for the Che.
Juanfran joined Celta de Vigo
Celta de Vigo
Real Club Celta de Vigo , simply referred to as Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, currently playing in the Segunda División. It was founded on March 28, 1923 following the merger of Real Vigo Sporting and Real Fortuna Foot-ball Club.Nicknamed Los Celestes ,...
prior to 1999–2000 for €4 millions, where he was an undisputed starter in a Galicia team that appeared in the UEFA Cup and the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League (Juanfran netted in a 1–1 tie at Club Brugge, as Celta proggressed to the knockout round). However, in 2003–04, Celta would also be relegated to Segunda División
Segunda División
The Segunda División is the lower tier of the two professional football leagues in Spain. From the season 2008-09 onwards, the name of the league is Liga Adelante.-History:...
.
After leaving Celta in 2004, Juanfran joined Turkish giants Beşiktaş JK
Besiktas J.K.
Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü , or simply Beşiktaş , is a Turkish sports club. The club's football team is one of the major teams in Turkey. The professional sports club, founded in 1903, is based in the Beşiktaş district in Istanbul, Turkey...
, but soon fell out of favour with team management (the coach who brought him to Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, compatriot Vicente del Bosque
Vicente Del Bosque
Vicente del Bosque González, 1st Marquis of Del Bosque is a former Spanish footballer He is currently the manager of the Spanish national football team. After taking over from Luis Aragonés who had led Spain to European success in Euro 2008, Del Bosque went on to manage the national team to the...
, was dismissed midway through the season) and would spend the following season on loan to Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
side Ajax Amsterdam.
In 2006–07, Juanfran returned to Spain, joining Real Zaragoza
Real Zaragoza
Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. is a Spanish association football team from Zaragoza in Spain. Founded on 18 March 1932, Real Zaragoza have spent the majority of their 78 year history in the Spanish top-flight. Real Zaragoza are Spain's 9th highest ranked team in overall league points...
for €1.5 million, where he was a key defensive element as the Aragon
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
ese team achieved a UEFA Cup spot. The following season, Juanfran struggled individually and collectively, and Zaragoza returned to the second level after a five-year stint.
On 30 July 2008, Juanfran agreed to sign a two-year deal with AEK Athens FC, earning approximately €1 million per season. He was used regularly during his spell in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
but, in late January 2010, was loaned to his first professional club, Levante, until the end of the second division season
2009–10 Segunda División
The 2009–10 Segunda División was made up of the following teams:-League table:||rowspan=15 style="background-color:#F9F9F9;"|-2009–10 Results:To read this table, the home team is listed in the left-hand column....
; a mere weeks later, he bought out his contract with AEK, and signed permanently until June 2012, contributing massively to the club's top flight return after a two-year absence (19 matches in five months).
34-year old Juanfran was the most used player in his position in the 2010–11 season
2010–11 La Liga
The 2010–11 La Liga season was the 80th since its establishment. The campaign began on 28 August 2010 and ended on 21 May 2011. A total of 20 teams contested the league, 17 of which already contested in the 2009–10 season and three of which were promoted from the Segunda División...
(23 games), as Levante eventually retained its division status.
International career
Juanfran had 11 capsCap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...
for Spain
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
, making his international debut in a friendly against Italy
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
, on March 29, 2000, after impressive displays at Celta. Subsequently, he was included in the nation's 2002 FIFA World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
squad, and appeared in three matches out of five.
Juanfran's last match was an UEFA Euro 2004 qualifier against Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland national football team
The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
in 2003, playing the whole 90 minutes of a 0–0 away draw.
Honours
Levante- Third DivisionSegunda División BSegunda División B is the third level of the Spanish football league system. It is administered by the RFEF. The top two levels are La Liga, also referred to as the Primera División, and the Segunda División. Immediately below Segunda División B is the Tercera Division...
: 1995–96
Valencia
- Spanish CupCopa del ReyThe Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol ....
: 1998–99
Celta
- UEFA Intertoto CupUEFA Intertoto CupThe UEFA Intertoto Cup, also abbreviated as UI Cup and originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition for European clubs that had not qualified for one of the two major UEFA competitions, the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. The competition was discontinued...
: 2000
Ajax
- Dutch CupKNVB CupThe KNVB Cup is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association since 1899. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside of the Netherlands, it is often referred to as the Dutch Cup...
: 2005–06
AEK
- Greek CupGreek football CupThe Greek Football Cup , commonly known as the Greek Cup or for sponsorship reasons the Football Cup OPAP, is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation....
: Runner-up 2008–09