Javier Pinillos


Francisco Javier 'Javi' Pinillos Fernández is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper and current assistant coach of Indian Super League club Bengaluru FC.

Playing career

Born in Santander, Cantabria, Pinillos graduated from local Racing de Santander's youth setup. He made his debut with the first team in 1990, appearing in seven games as they returned to Segunda División at the first attempt.
Pinillos played his first match as a professional on 15 December 1991, starting in a 0–1 away loss against Palamós CF for the second level championship. He added five appearances in the following campaign, as the club achieved another promotion.
Pinillos made his La Liga debut on 19 March 1994, coming on as a first half substitute for field player Dmitri Popov in a 1–1 home draw against FC Barcelona. Eight days later, he played the full 90 minutes in a 0–2 defeat at Real Zaragoza; during his spell, he acted as understudy to legendary José María Ceballos.
In the summer of 1995, Pinillos was loaned to second level team CD Logroñés. After appearing regularly he returned to Racing in the following year, but was demoted to third-choice and played no further matches.
Pinillos subsequently resumed his career in the lower leagues, representing Burgos CF, Jerez CF, Zamora CF, SD Ponferradina, Gimnástica de Torrelavega and CD Bezana, retiring with the latter in 2007.

Managerial career

In 2013, Pinillos returned to his first club Racing, now as a goalkeeper coach. On 3 March 2015, after Paco Fernández's dismissal, he was appointed manager of the main squad. In 2018 July he appointed as the goalkeeper coach of Indian Super League club Bengaluru FC. After two years with the club in 30 January 2020 he appointed as the assistant coach of the club.