Francisco López Alfaro

Francisco Javier López Alfaro (born 1 November 1962), known simply as Francisco as a player, is a Spanish former professional football central midfielder and manager.

Club career Francisco was born in Osuna, Province of Seville, Andalusia. During his career he represented Sevilla FC, his hometown club, and RCD Espanyol, appearing in 436 La Liga matches. He finished his first season in the competition with 20 games – all starts – and one goal, helping the former to finish seventh.

In the 1992–93 campaign, Francisco experienced top-flight relegation with the Catalans, but achieved promotion the following year always as an important player. He retired at the end of 1996–97, aged 34.

López began working as a manager with Espanyol's youth sides, then proceeded to coach Coria CF, Real Jaén, CF Extremadura, UE Figueres He was dismissed after ten rounds in the 2004–05 season, as the latter were eventually relegated. In July 2006, he joined Segunda División B team CF Badalona. Subsequently, he was appointed at Sevilla FC C in the Tercera División.

International career Francisco earned 20 caps and scored one goal for Spain, and was selected for both the UEFA Euro 1984 and the 1986 FIFA World Cup tournaments.

At the 1984 European Championships, Francisco made two appearances for the runners-up. One was them was in the 2–0 final loss against the hosts France, due to injury or suspension to three habitual starters.

Career statistics + # Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 24 September 1986 El Molinón, Gijón, Spain 2–0 3–1 Friendly

Honours Player Espanyol Segunda División: 1993–94

Spain UEFA European Championship runner-up: 1984

Spain Under-21 UEFA Under-21 European Championship runner-up: 1984