Francisco José "Paco" López Fernández (born 19 September 1967) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a forward.

Paco López

López in 2019
Personal information
Full name	Francisco José López Fernández
Date of birth	(1967-09-19) 19 September 1967 (age 55)
Place of birth	Silla, Spain
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
	Valencia
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1985–1989	Valencia B
1989	Carcaixent
1989–1991	Torrent	34	(8)
1991–1994	Hércules	90	(23)
1994–1995	Extremadura	7	(1)
1995	Levante	16	(11)
1995–1998	Castellón	89	(28)
1998–1999	Murcia	29	(7)
1999–2002	Benidorm
Teams managed
2004–2005	Villarreal C
2005–2008	Catarroja
2008–2009	Benidorm
2009–2011	Alcoyano
2011	Cartagena
2012–2013	Valencia B
2013–2014	Villarreal C
2014–2017	Villarreal B
2017–2018	Levante B
2018–2021	Levante
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

In his playing career, he achieved Segunda División totals of 28 games and three goals for Hércules and Extremadura, but spent most of his years in Segunda División B in service of six clubs.

As a manager, he worked mainly in the lower leagues, and spent 31⁄2 years in charge of Levante in La Liga.

Playing career

Born in Silla, Province of Valencia, López graduated from Valencia CF's youth setup. He made his senior debut with the reserves, in Tercera División.

In the summer of 1991, López joined Segunda División B club Hércules CF. After appearing regularly in the 1992–93 season, which ended in promotion, he played his first match as a professional on 19 September 1993, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 away loss against Real Burgos CF in the Segunda División.[1]

López scored his first professional goal on 16 October 1993, his team's third in a 4–0 home win over Villarreal CF.[2] In 1994, he moved to CF Extremadura also in the second tier.

After being sparingly played, López signed with division three side Levante UD in January 1995. In July, he moved to CD Castellón in the same league, and scored a career-best 16 goals in the 1997–98 campaign.[3]

In 1998, López joined Real Murcia. At the end of the season, he dropped down to Tercera División and signed for Benidorm CF, eventually retiring at the age of 34.[3]

Coaching career

López started working as a manager in 2004, with Villarreal's third team. In July 2008, after three full seasons at Catarroja CF, he signed with a club he had represented as a player, Benidorm.[4]

On 16 July 2009, López was appointed at CD Alcoyano also in the third division.[5] He was dismissed on 11 April 2011, after falling from first to fourth in only five matches.[6]

López joined division two club FC Cartagena on 27 May 2011.[7] He was relieved of his duties on 19 September, after failing to collect one single point in the first four games.[8]

López returned to Mestalla on 24 October 2012, replacing the fired Sergio Ventosa.[9] On 17 June of the following year, after narrowly avoiding relegation from the third tier, he left[10] and returned to Villarreal C on 13 November.[11]

On 22 May 2014, López was promoted to the reserves after the departure of Lluís Planagumà.[12] On 22 June 2017, he moved to another reserve team, Atlético Levante UD also in the third division.[13]

López was named manager of the main squad on 4 March 2018, following the sacking of Juan Ramón Muñiz.[14] His first match in La Liga took place six days later, and he led his side to a 1–0 away win against Getafe CF.[15]

López signed a one-year contract with an option for a further season on 8 May 2018,[16] and five days later his team ended FC Barcelona's unbeaten league run by defeating the opposition 5–4 at home.[17] In 2020–21, he led the Granotes to their first Copa del Rey semi-final after defeating Villarreal in the last minute of extra time;[18] they lost that tie 3–2 on aggregate to Athletic Bilbao, again after extra time.[19]

On 4 October 2021, López was fired, having earned only four points from as many draws at the start of the season. He had managed a club record 133 top-flight games, and had a lower losses percentage in the division than any other Levante manager bar Joaquín Caparrós.[20]

Managerial statistics

As of match played 2 October 2021

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	Nat	From	To	Record								Ref
				G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Villarreal C		30 June 2004	1 July 2005	34	23	7	4	66	17	+49	067.65	[21]
Catarroja		1 July 2005	22 July 2008	126	53	29	44	155	141	+14	042.06	[22]
Benidorm		22 July 2008	22 March 2009	34	10	13	11	36	32	+4	029.41	[23]
Alcoyano		16 July 2009	11 April 2011	78	36	22	20	96	65	+31	046.15	[24]
Cartagena		27 May 2011	19 September 2011	5	0	1	4	2	11	−9	000.00	[25]
Valencia B		24 October 2012	17 June 2013	29	9	11	9	31	33	−2	031.03	[26]
Villarreal C		13 November 2013	22 May 2014	25	12	5	8	37	22	+15	048.00	[27]
Villarreal B		22 May 2014	25 May 2017	116	50	36	30	171	118	+53	043.10	[28]
Levante B		22 June 2017	4 March 2018	30	18	8	4	53	23	+30	060.00	[29]
Levante		4 March 2018	3 October 2021	147	49	41	57	207	221	−14	033.33	[30]
Total				624	260	173	191	854	683	+171	041.67	—

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paco López Fernández.

• Paco López at BDFutbol
• Paco López manager profile at BDFutbol
• Paco López coach profile at Soccerway

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