Paco Jémez

Francisco "Paco" Jémez Martín (born 18 April 1970) is a Spanish football manager of Botola Pro club Raja CA and former player who played as a central defender.

Over 11 seasons, he played 269 La Liga matches in representation of three teams, mainly Deportivo and Zaragoza. He appeared for Spain at Euro 2000.

Jémez started working as a manager in 2007, going on to work with several clubs.

Club career Jémez was born in Las Palmas, Canary Islands. During his career, he played for Córdoba, Real Murcia, Rayo Vallecano (first appearing in La Liga and playing all 38 matches of the season), Deportivo de La Coruña (only totalling ten games in his first two seasons as the club achieved two consecutive runner-up spots, being more used afterwards) and Real Zaragoza, which he helped to victory in the 2000–01 edition of the Copa del Rey. In January 2004 he returned to Rayo, now in the Segunda División.

International career Over almost three years, Jémez played 21 times for the Spain national team. His debut was on 23 September 1998 in a friendly against Russia in Granada, and he was a participant at UEFA Euro 2000, taking part in three matches in an eventual quarter-final exit.

Coaching career Spain Jémez took up coaching in 2007, first with lowly Alcalá. He moved to the second division the following campaign, with Córdoba, being sacked with eleven matches to go.

In early 2009, Jémez signed with Cartagena, ultimately being the coach that earned the Murcia club a first ever promotion to the second tier. He left in July.

On 12 April 2010, following Sergije Krešić's dismissal, Jémez was appointed coach at struggling Las Palmas in division two. He eventually led his hometown side safe from the relegation zone in a 17th-place finish, being fired on 27 February 2011.

After taking Córdoba to the first round in the second-division promotion playoffs, Jémez joined his former club Rayo on 22 June 2012. After leading the team to their best-ever ranking in the top flight, eighth, he renewed his contract until June 2015.

On 26 May 2016, after Rayo's top-tier relegation, Jémez failed to agree new terms and became manager of Granada on 20 June. However, on 28 September, he was dismissed after only six games in charge, no wins and a club-worst start to a season in more than 70 years.

Mexico On 28 November 2016, Jémez was named head coach of Cruz Azul in the Mexican Liga MX. He led the team to their first playoff appearance in three years but, in November 2017, decided not to renew his contract and left.

Back to Spain Jémez returned to Las Palmas on 21 December 2017, becoming the third permanent manager in charge of the club during the campaign. He rejoined Rayo Vallecano in late March 2019, replacing Míchel who had been dismissed two days earlier after losing seven league games in a row, which left the team at risk of top-flight relegation, and agreeing to a deal until June 2020; they eventually went down in last place.

On 26 December 2021, after more than a year of inactivity, Jémez took over second-division newcomers Ibiza until the end of the season. He managed to avoid relegation, but still left as his contract expired on 31 May.

Iran and return to Ibiza In December 2022, Jémez went back abroad, being appointed at Tractor in the Persian Gulf Pro League. He returned to both Spain and Ibiza on 12 November 2024, with the team now in the Primera Federación.

Jémez was sacked by Ibiza on 21 October 2025, after a poor start to the season.

West Ham United On 15 January 2026, Jémez joined Premier League club West Ham United as first-team coach under his former Deportivo teammate Nuno Espírito Santo.

Raja CA On 1 September 2026, Jémez was appointed as head coach of Botola Pro club Raja CA.

Personal life Jémez's father, Francisco Crespo Aguilar (known professionally as Lucas de Écija (1929–2018)), was a flamenco singer who released two records.

28 June 2007 31 March 2008

3 February 2009 1 July 2009

12 April 2010 27 February 2011

8 June 2011 13 June 2012

22 June 2012 26 May 2016

20 June 2016 28 September 2016

28 November 2016 27 November 2017

21 December 2017 25 May 2018

20 March 2019 31 July 2020

26 December 2021 31 May 2022

6 December 2022 15 April 2024

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Honours Player Deportivo Supercopa de España: 1995

Zaragoza Copa del Rey: 2000–01