Francisco Rufete

International career Rufete earned three caps for the Spain national team in 2000,

Managerial career Rufete was released by Hércules in late 2011 after the club decided not to renew his contract, and retired from football shortly after. Two years later, he returned to Valencia after being appointed youth coordinator, but switched to director of football after a few months.

On 18 April 2018, Rufete was given his first managerial position at Ibiza of Tercera División. His team missed out on promotion with a penalty shootout defeat to Atlético Levante in the play-off final on 24 June.

Rufete returned to Espanyol as sporting director, and became their interim manager on 27 June 2020 when Abelardo Fernández was sacked from the last-placed club with six games to go. The next day, in his first professional game in charge, his side lost by a single goal at home to Real Madrid; he oversaw their first fall from the top flight since 1993.

Personal life Rufete's son, also named Franciso, was also a professional footballer. He also represented Valencia.

Managerial statistics

+ Managerial record by team and tenure TeamNatFromToRecord Ibiza18 April 20186 July 2018 Espanyol (interim)27 June 202020 July 2020 Total—

Honours Málaga Segunda División: 1998–99 UEFA Super Cup: 2004

Espanyol UEFA Cup runner-up: 2006–07