Paco López
López in 2019
Personal information
Full name Francisco José López Fernández
Date of birth (1967-09-19) 19 September 1967
Place of birth Silla, Spain
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
Valencia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1985–1989 Valencia B
1989 Carcaixent
1989–1991 Torrent 34 (8)
1991–1994 Hércules 90 (23)
1994–1995 Extremadura 7 (1)
1995 Levante 16 (11)
1995–1998 Castellón 89 (28)
1998–1999 Murcia 29 (7)
1999–2002 Benidorm
Managerial career
2004–2005 Villarreal C
2005–2008 Catarroja
2008–2009 Benidorm
2009–2011 Alcoyano
2011 Cartagena
2012–2013 Valencia B
2013–2014 Villarreal C
2014–2017 Villarreal B
2017–2018 Levante B
2018–2021 Levante
2022–2023 Granada
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Francisco José "Paco" López Fernández (born 19 September 1967) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a forward.

In his playing career, he achieved Segunda División totals of 28 games and three goals for Hércules and Extremadura, but spent most of his years in Segunda División B in service of six clubs.

As a manager, López worked mainly in the lower leagues, and spent three and a half years in charge of Levante in La Liga.

Playing career

Born in Silla, Province of Valencia, López graduated from Valencia CF's youth setup. He made his senior debut with the reserves, in Tercera División.

In the summer of 1991, López joined Segunda División B club Hércules CF. After appearing regularly in the 1992–93 season, which ended in promotion, he played his first match as a professional on 19 September 1993, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 away loss against Real Burgos CF in the Segunda División.[1]

López scored his first professional goal on 16 October 1993, his team's third in a 4–0 home win over Villarreal CF.[2] In 1994, he moved to CF Extremadura also in the second tier.

After being sparingly played, López signed with division three side Levante UD in January 1995. In July, he moved to CD Castellón in the same league, and scored a career-best 16 goals in the 1997–98 campaign.[3]

In 1998, López joined Real Murcia. At the end of the season, he dropped down to Tercera División and signed for Benidorm CF, eventually retiring at the age of 34.[3]

Coaching career

López as manager of Alcoyano in 2011

López started working as a manager in 2004, with Villarreal's third team. In July 2008, after three full seasons at Catarroja CF, he signed with a club he had represented as a player, Benidorm.[4]

On 16 July 2009, López was appointed at CD Alcoyano also in the third division.[5] He was dismissed on 11 April 2011, after falling from first to fourth in only five matches.[6]

López joined division two club FC Cartagena on 27 May 2011.[7] He was relieved of his duties on 19 September, after failing to collect one single point in the first four games.[8]

López returned to Mestalla on 24 October 2012, replacing the fired Sergio Ventosa.[9] On 17 June of the following year, after narrowly avoiding relegation from the third tier, he left[10] and returned to Villarreal C on 13 November.[11]

On 22 May 2014, López was promoted to the reserves after the departure of Lluís Planagumà.[12] On 22 June 2017, he moved to another reserve team, Atlético Levante UD also in the third division.[13]

López was named manager of the main squad on 4 March 2018, following the sacking of Juan Ramón Muñiz.[14] His first match in La Liga took place six days later, and he led his side to a 1–0 away win against Getafe CF.[15]

López signed a one-year contract with an option for a further season on 8 May 2018,[16] and five days later his team ended FC Barcelona's unbeaten league run by defeating the opposition 5–4 at home.[17] In 2020–21, he led the Granotes to their first Copa del Rey semi-final after defeating Villarreal in the last minute of extra time;[18] they lost that tie 3–2 on aggregate to Athletic Bilbao, again after extra time.[19]

On 4 October 2021, López was fired, having earned only four points from as many draws at the start of the season. He had managed a club record 133 top-flight games, and had a lower losses percentage in the division than any other Levante coach bar Joaquín Caparrós.[20]

On 9 November 2022, after more than a year of inactivity, López replaced Aitor Karanka at the helm of second-division side Granada CF.[21] He achieved promotion in his debut campaign as champions,[22] but was dismissed on 26 November 2023 after a poor start to the new season.[23]

Managerial statistics

As of match played 24 November 2023
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team Nat From To Record Ref
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Villarreal C Spain 30 June 2004 1 July 2005 34 23 7 4 66 17 +49 067.65 [24]
Catarroja Spain 1 July 2005 22 July 2008 126 53 29 44 155 141 +14 042.06 [25]
Benidorm Spain 22 July 2008 22 March 2009 34 10 13 11 36 32 +4 029.41 [26]
Alcoyano Spain 16 July 2009 11 April 2011 78 36 22 20 96 65 +31 046.15 [27]
Cartagena Spain 27 May 2011 19 September 2011 5 0 1 4 2 11 −9 000.00 [28]
Valencia B Spain 24 October 2012 17 June 2013 29 9 11 9 31 33 −2 031.03 [29]
Villarreal C Spain 13 November 2013 22 May 2014 25 12 5 8 37 22 +15 048.00 [30]
Villarreal B Spain 22 May 2014 25 May 2017 116 50 36 30 171 118 +53 043.10 [31]
Levante B Spain 22 June 2017 4 March 2018 30 18 8 4 53 23 +30 060.00 [32]
Levante Spain 4 March 2018 3 October 2021 147 49 41 57 207 221 −14 033.33 [33]
Granada Spain 9 November 2022 26 November 2023 44 19 9 16 65 55 +10 043.18 [34]
Total 668 279 182 207 919 738 +181 041.77 —

Honours

Granada

References

  1. ↑ Va por ti, Balint (Here's looking at you, Balint); Mundo Deportivo, 20 September 1993 (in Spanish)
  2. ↑ El Hércules no da ninguna opción (Hércules do not give a chance); Mundo Deportivo, 17 October 1993 (in Spanish)
  3. 1 2 Regreso por un día al banco de Castalia de un señor goleador (One hell of a scorer returns to Castalia bench for one day); El Periódico Mediterráneo, 11 September 2010 (in Spanish)
  4. ↑ Paco López, a Foietes (Paco López, to Foietes); Diario Información, 22 July 2008 (in Spanish)
  5. ↑ Paco López cree que es un ´desafío´ dirigir al Alcoyano (Paco López believes it is a 'challenge' to manage Alcoyano); Diario Información, 16 July 2009 (in Spanish)
  6. ↑ Paco López, destituido como entrenador del Alcoyano (Paco López, dismissed as Alcoyano manager); La Verdad, 11 April 2011 (in Spanish)
  7. ↑ Paco López será el técnico del Cartagena la próxima campaña (Paco López will be the manager of Cartagena in the following season); Marca, 27 May 2011 (in Spanish)
  8. ↑ Paco López deja el Cartagena y llega Javi López (Paco López leaves Cartagena and Javi López arrives); Diario AS, 19 September 2011 (in Spanish)
  9. ↑ Paco López ficha por el Valencia Mestalla (Paco López signs for Valencia Mestalla) Archived 13 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine; La Verdad, 24 October 2012 (in Spanish)
  10. ↑ Rufete comunica a Paco López que no seguirá en el Valencia Mestalla (Rufete tells Paco López that he will not remain at Valencia Mestalla); Deporte Valenciano, 17 June 2013 (in Spanish)
  11. ↑ Oficial: Villarreal"C", Paco López nuevo entrenador (Official: Villarreal "C", Paco López new manager); Todo Mercado Web, 13 November 2013 (in Spanish)
  12. ↑ Paco López tomará las riendas del Villarreal B (Paco López will take the reins of Villarreal B); Levante-EMV, 22 May 2014 (in Spanish)
  13. ↑ Paco López, nuevo entrenador del Atlético Levante UD (Paco López, new manager of Atlético Levante UD); Levante UD, 22 June 2017 (in Spanish)
  14. ↑ Paco López nuevo entrenador de la primera plantilla del Levante UD (Paco López new manager of Levante UD's first team); Levante UD, 4 March 2018 (in Spanish)
  15. ↑ Coke da otra vida al Levante (Coke gives new life to Levante); Marca, 10 March 2018 (in Spanish)
  16. ↑ Paco López to coach Levante UD next season; Levante UD, 8 May 2018
  17. ↑ Levante stun Barcelona in nine-goal epic to end unbeaten run; Diario AS, 13 May 2018
  18. ↑ Feehely, Alan (3 February 2021). "Watch: Last-minute winner sends Levante into the Copa del Rey semi-final at Villarreal's expense". Football España. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  19. ↑ "Levante 1–2 Athletic Bilbao". BBC Sport. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  20. ↑ "Two LaLiga Santander coaches fired in 24 hours: Paco Lopez then Michel". Marca. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  21. ↑ "Comunicado Oficial | Paco López, nuevo entrenador del Granada CF" [Official announcement | Paco López, new manager of Granada CF] (in Spanish). Granada CF. 9 November 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  22. 1 2 Arenillas, Álvaro (27 May 2023). "Paco López no recuerda algo igual" [Paco López does not remember anything like this] (in Spanish). Estadio Deportivo. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  23. ↑ "Comunicado Oficial | Paco López" [Official announcement | Paco López] (in Spanish). Granada CF. 26 November 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  24. ↑ "Regional Preferente Valenciana (Grupo 1) 2004–05" [Regional Preferente Valenciana (Group 1) 2004–05] (in Spanish). Futbolme. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  25. ↑ "Tercera División (Grupo 6) 2005–06" [Tercera División (Group 6) 2005–06] (in Spanish). Futbolme. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
    "Tercera División (Grupo 6) 2006–07" [Tercera División (Group 6) 2006–07] (in Spanish). Futbolme. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
    "Tercera División (Grupo 6) 2007–08" [Tercera División (Group 6) 2007–08] (in Spanish). Futbolme. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
    "Fase de ascenso a Segunda División B 2007–08" [Promotion phase to Segunda División B 2007–08] (in Spanish). Futbolme. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  26. ↑ "Paco López: Francisco José López Fernández". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  27. ↑ "Paco López: Francisco José López Fernández". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
    "Paco López: Francisco José López Fernández". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  28. ↑ "Paco López: Francisco José López Fernández". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  29. ↑ "Paco López: Francisco José López Fernández". BDFutbol. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  30. ↑ "Tercera División (Grupo 6) 2013–14" [Tercera División (Group 6) 2013–14] (in Spanish). Futbolme. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  31. ↑ "Segunda División B (Grupo 3) 2014–15" [Segunda División B (Group 3) 2014–15] (in Spanish). Futbolme. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
    "Segunda División B (Grupo 3) 2015–16" [Segunda División B (Group 3) 2015–16] (in Spanish). Futbolme. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
    "Fase de ascenso a Segunda División 2015–16" [Promotion phase to Segunda División 2015–16] (in Spanish). Futbolme. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
    "Paco López: Francisco José López Fernández". BDFutbol. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  32. ↑ "At. Levante" (in Spanish). Resultados Fútbol. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  33. ↑ "Paco López: Francisco José López Fernández". BDFutbol. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
    "Paco López: Francisco José López Fernández". BDFutbol. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
    "Paco López: Francisco José López Fernández". BDFutbol. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
    "Paco López: Francisco José López Fernández". BDFutbol. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
    "Paco López: Francisco José López Fernández". BDFutbol. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  34. ↑ "Paco López: Francisco José López Fernández". BDFutbol. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
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