Fran (Spanish footballer)

Fran
Personal information
Full name Francisco Javier González Pérez
Date of birth (1969-07-14) 14 July 1969
Place of birth Carreira, Spain
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Youth career
Carreira CF
Deportivo La Coruña
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987–1988 Deportivo de La Coruña B
1988–2005 Deportivo La Coruña 550 (58)
National team
1993–2000 Spain 16 (2)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is González and the second or maternal family name is Pérez.

Francisco Javier González Pérez (Spanish pronunciation: [fɾanˈθisko ˈxaβjer ɣonˈθaleθ ˈpeɾeθ]; born 14 July 1969), known as Fran [fɾan], is a Spanish retired professional footballer.

He spent his entire career with Deportivo, as a left midfielder with skill and field vision, helping it win the first La Liga title in the club's history.

Fran represented Spain at Euro 2000.

Club career

Fran, one of the most notable players in Deportivo de La Coruña's history, was born in Carreira, Santa Uxía de Ribeira, Galicia, and arrived at the club's first team in 1988, making his La Liga debut on 31 August 1991 in a 1–2 away loss against Valencia CF. Quickly established, he only missed eight league games in his first five seasons combined – also scoring on 24 occasions – while already being captain.

In the 1995–96 off-season, Real Madrid almost signed Fran, but he regretted leaving Deportivo and returned quickly. In 1999–2000, as Depor conquered its first top level league, injuries limited him to only 22 games, and he added a goal in a 2–0 home win over Valencia on 12 March 2000.[1]

Fran retired from football at the end of the 2004–05 campaign after 17 years with his only club, 14 in the first division, at the same time as Mauro Silva, with both playing their last match on 22 May 2005 in a 0–3 home defeat to RCD Mallorca. He amassed more than 600 overall appearances.[2]

In 2008, Fran returned to Deportivo, joining its indoor football team alongside club greats Djalminha, Donato, Noureddine Naybet and Jacques Songo'o.[3][4]

International career

Fran made his Spanish national team debut on 27 January 1993, in a friendly 1–1 draw against Mexico in Las Palmas.[5] In total he earned 16 caps, participating at UEFA Euro 2000 where he played his last international, in a 4–3 group stage win over Yugoslavia.[6]

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 27 March 1999 Mestalla, Valencia, Spain  Austria 9–0 9–0 Euro 2000 qualifying
2. 31 March 1999 Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino  San Marino 0–1 0–6 Euro 2000 qualifying

Personal life

Fran's older brother, José Ramón, was also a footballer (and a midfielder). He too spent several seasons with Deportivo, but with much less individual impact.[7]

Honours

See also

References

  1. ↑ El líder renace cuando más lo necesita (Leader reborn when they needed it the most); El País, 13 March 2000 (Spanish)
  2. ↑ El Mallorca da un portazo al ciclo de Fran y Mauro Silva (Mallorca slams door on Fran and Mauro Silva's cycle); Diario AS, 23 May 2005 (Spanish)
  3. ↑ Deportivo 11 Valencia 11; Diario AS, 13 March 2009 (Spanish)
  4. ↑ Djalminha y Fran destrozan al Madrid (Djalminha and Fran destroy Madrid); Defensa Central, 29 January 2010 (Spanish)
  5. ↑ Más joven, pero igual de gris (Younger, but just as grey); Mundo Deportivo, 28 January 1993 (Spanish)
  6. ↑ Spain survive in seven-goal classic; BBC Sport, 21 June 2000
  7. ↑ El excapitán del Deportivo José Ramón se incorpora al fútbol base (Former Deportivo captain José Ramón added to youth football); La Opinión A Coruña, 18 July 2014 (Spanish)
  8. ↑ Supertítulo (Supertitle); Mundo Deportivo, 28 June 1995 (Spanish)
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