Francisco Higuera

Francisco Higuera
Personal information
Full name Francisco Higuera Fernández
Date of birth (1965-01-30) 30 January 1965
Place of birth Escurial, Spain
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Attacking midfielder
Youth career
Mallorca
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1982–1988 Mallorca 174 (27)
1988–1997 Zaragoza 276 (63)
1997–1998 Puebla 34 (7)
1998–2000 Xerez 57 (1)
Total 524 (95)
National team
1982 Spain U16 1 (0)
1983 Spain U18 3 (0)
1992–1995 Spain 6 (1)
Teams managed
2013–2014 Xerez

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (goals)
This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Higuera and the second or maternal family name is Fernández.

Francisco Higuera Fernández (born 30 January 1965) is a Spanish retired footballer who played mostly as an attacking midfielder – sometimes he could appear in the forward position.

Nicknamed Paquete, he appeared in 367 La Liga games over the course of 12 seasons (76 goals), in representation of Mallorca and Zaragoza.

Club career

Higueras was born in Escurial, Province of Cáceres. After playing in all the youth categories at RCD Mallorca he made his senior debut at only 17, in a 3–0 Segunda División home win against Deportivo de La Coruña on 10 October 1982, and finished his first season with 16 matches and two goals as the Balearic Islands club promoted to La Liga. His first appearance in the top level occurred on 24 September 1983 in a 0–3 loss at Atlético Madrid, and he went on to experience two relegations from the category with the team.

In the 1988 summer Higuera signed with Real Zaragoza, being an everpresent fixture with the Aragonese.[1] In the 1993–94 campaign he scored a career-best 12 goals while also scoring the decisive penalty in the shootout win over Celta de Vigo, in that season's Copa del Rey final,[2] and being instrumental in the club's 1995 victory in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, all this while often partnered offensively with Juan Esnáider, Miguel Pardeza and Gustavo Poyet (they recorded, in 1994–95, an impressive 5–4 away win against FC Barcelona).

Higuera decided to have an abroad experience in 1997 at the age of 32, and joined Mexico's Puebla FC, being accompanied by Pardeza in the adventure. He returned home after one season, signing with lowly Xerez CD in Segunda División B and retiring in 2000.

After serving as general manager to the Andalusians for several seasons, Higuera switched to another modest club in 2009, Lorca Deportiva CF, also in that capacity.

International career

Higuera gained six caps for Spain, the first arriving on 15 January 1992 in a friendly match with Portugal.

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 7 September 1994 Tsirion Stadium, Limassol, Cyprus  Cyprus 0–1 1–2 Euro 1996 qualifying

Honours

Zaragoza

References

  1. ↑ Pardeza e Higuera (Pardeza and Higuera); Mundo Deportivo, 8 January 1992 (Spanish)
  2. ↑ Un gol de Francisco Higuera en el décimo penalti dio la Copa del Rey a los aragoneses (A goal by Francisco Higuera in the tenth penalty gives the Aragonese the King's Cup); El Mundo, 21 April 1994 (Spanish)

External links

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