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.
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 â all starts â and one goal, helping the former to finish seventh.
In the 1992âÂÂ93 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 1996âÂÂ97, 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 and top-tier CD Numancia. He was dismissed after ten rounds in the 2004âÂÂ05 season, as the latter were eventually relegated. In July 2006, he joined Segunda División B team CF Badalona.
Midway through the 2008âÂÂ09 campaign, López was sacked as manager of CD Atlético Baleares, also in division three. Subsequently, he was appointed at Sevilla FC C in the Tercera División.
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. His debut came on 27 October 1982, in a 1âÂÂ0 win over Iceland in the Euro 1984 qualifiers.
At the 1984 European Championships, Francisco made two appearances for the runners-up. One was them was in the 2âÂÂ0 final loss against the hosts France, due to injury or suspension to three habitual starters.
Espanyol
Spain
Spain Under-21