Francisco Javier Sánchez Jara

Playing career

Sánchez Jara was born in Almacelles, in the comarca of Segrià in Catalonia, and began his career in the youth teams of Catalan giants Barcelona. He played for the C team, Barcelona Amateur, in the 1988–89 Segunda División B season, and was promoted to the B team the following year. He was part of the Barcelona B team that won their Segunda División B group in 1990–91, and earned promotion to the Segunda División. He made his second tier debut with the team in the ensuing campaign, playing 32 matches and scoring twice. He was named as a substitute for the first team several times between 1990 and 1992, but didn't play. He also appeared briefly in Barcelona's UEFA Champions League campaign that season, replacing José Mari Bakero for the last 14 minutes of the 4–0 group stage win over Manchester United.

Sánchez Jara left Barcelona permanently at the end of the season, having played just 10 times for the first team. He spent the next three seasons with Racing Santander in the top division, playing 20 times in his first season. Departing El Molinón in the summer of 2001, Sánchez Jara saw out his professional career with two seasons at Balaguer in the Tercera División. Since retiring in 2003, he has appeared on occasion for amateur side EFAC Almacelles in his home town.

Coaching career

When Albert Ferrer was appointed manager of Córdoba in February 2014, he appointed his former Barcelona teammate Sánchez Jara as his assistant. That summer, the pair guided Córdoba to promotion to La Liga for the first time in 42 years after a play-off victory over Las Palmas, but Ferrer was fired just eight matches into the following season.

Sánchez Jara reunited with Ferrer in June 2015, when the latter became manager of Real Mallorca. This was another short tenure, as Ferrer was dismissed in November after just three wins from 15 matches. In 2021, Sánchez Jara joined up with another teammate from his Barcelona days, Thomas Christiansen, becoming assistant manager of the Panama national team.

Honours Barcelona B Segunda División B: 1990–91

Barcelona Supercopa de España: 1994

Real Betis Trofeo Colombino: 1995

Career statistics

1. Appearances in the 1991 Segunda División B play-offs 2. Appearance in the 1994–95 UEFA Champions League 3. Appearances in the 1994 Supercopa de España 4. Appearances in the 1995–96 UEFA Cup