Paco López


Francisco José 'Paco' López Fernández is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a forward, and the manager of Levante UD.

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 0–2 away loss against Real Burgos CF for the Segunda División championship.
López scored his first professional goal on 16 October 1993, netting his team's third in a 4–0 home win over Villarreal CF. In 1994, he moved to CF Extremadura also in the second level.
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 tier, and scored a career-best 16 goals in the 1997–98 campaign.
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 with the latter at the age of 34.

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.
On 16 July 2009, López was appointed at CD Alcoyano also in the third division. He was relieved of his duties on 11 April 2011, after falling from first to fourth in only five matches.
On 27 May 2011, López joined second level club FC Cartagena. He was sacked on 19 September, after failing to collect one single point in the first four games.
On 24 October 2012, López returned to Mestalla after replacing fired Sergio Ventosa. On 17 June of the following year, after narrowly avoiding relegation from the third tier, he left and returned to Villarreal C on 13 November.
On 22 May 2014, López was promoted to the reserves after the departure of Lluís Planagumà. On 22 June 2017, he moved to another reserve team, Atlético Levante UD also in division three.
On 4 March 2018, López was named manager of the main squad following the sacking of Juan Ramón Muñiz. 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.
López signed a one-year contract with an option for a further season on 8 May 2018, and five days later his team ended FC Barcelona's unbeaten league run by defeating the opposition 5–4 at home.

Managerial statistics