Juanfran (footballer, born 1985)

Juanfran
Juanfran with Atlético Madrid in 2018
Personal information
Full name Juan Francisco Torres Belén
Date of birth (1985-01-09) 9 January 1985
Place of birth Crevillent, Spain
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Playing position Right back
Club information
Current team
 Atlético Madrid
Number 20
Youth career
Kelme
Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2005 Real Madrid B 56 (7)
2004–2006 Real Madrid 6 (0)
2005–2006 → Espanyol (loan) 30 (1)
2006–2011 Osasuna 148 (12)
2011– Atlético Madrid 227 (3)
National team‡
2003 Spain U17 4 (1)
2003 Spain U18 3 (0)
2004 Spain U19 4 (1)
2003–2005 Spain U20 11 (3)
2004–2006 Spain U21 9 (0)
2012– Spain 22 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 October 2018
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 27 June 2016

Juan Francisco Torres Belén (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxwan fɾanˈθisko ˈtorez βeˈlen];[lower-alpha 1] born 9 January 1985), known as Juanfran (pronounced [ˈxwamfɾan]), is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Atlético Madrid as a right back.

After starting out at Real Madrid, he went on to make a name for himself in La Liga with Osasuna and Atlético Madrid, signing for the latter in 2011 and going on to win six major titles, including the 2014 national championship and the 2012 and 2018 Europa League tournaments.

A Spanish international since 2012, Juanfran was part of the squad that won that year's European Championship, and also represented the nation at the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016.

Club career

Real Madrid

Born in Crevillent, Alicante, Valencian Community, Juanfran was a product of Real Madrid's youth academy. He had his first main squad opportunity on 24 January 2004, playing 15 minutes in a 2–1 home win against Villarreal CF[2] after solid performances with the B-team. Over the course of that and the following seasons, he would play on a further five La Liga matches.

Juanfran was loaned out to RCD Espanyol for 2005–06[3] and, although the Catalan side barely avoided relegation, he featured heavily throughout the campaign, scoring on 22 March 2006 in a 1–1 draw at Athletic Bilbao.[4] He started his career as a winger.[5]

Osasuna

Juanfran signed with CA Osasuna[6] after a deal that allowed Osasuna to get the player without having to pay a transfer fee and with per-set price of €10 million,[7] adding several specifics, which included a possibility of a January 2007 recall by Madrid who also retained a buying option at the end of the season. He played his first game for the Navarrese on 24 September 2006 in a 2–0 win at Celta de Vigo, and scored the second goal of the match;[8] additionally, he appeared in nine games and netted once[9] in their semi-final run in the UEFA Cup.

In 2008–09, Juanfran was again an everpresent fixture in Osasuna's lineups. On 31 May 2009, in the last matchday, he scored from 30 yards in a 2–1 home win over former side Real Madrid, which kept the club in the top flight for another year;[10] in the following campaign, as the former fared better in the league by finishing 12th, he netted a career-best four goals.

Atlético Madrid

Juanfran (right) playing against Almería in 2013

On 11 January 2011, Juanfran signed for Atlético Madrid until June 2015 for a fee of just over €4 million.[11] He made his official debut for the Colchoneros two days later, starting in a 1–3 away loss against his first professional club Real Madrid for the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey.[12]

Juanfran scored his first goal for Atlético on 21 May 2011, in a 4–3 win at RCD Mallorca – the last game of the season – dedicating it to his father who had died two weeks beforehand.[13] In 2011–12 he began being regularly played as a right back, by both Gregorio Manzano and his successor, Diego Simeone.[14][15] In the Europa League final, which his team won 3–0 against Bilbao, he played in that position;[16] after the match, he dedicated the triumph to his late father, saying (according to UEFA.com) "My baby son Oliver is here with me; the only words he knows are 'mama' and 'Atleti',I dedicate this win to my family and to my dad, who passed away last year. I know he's up there looking down on us celebrating now."[17]

On 24 May 2014 Juanfran played all 120 minutes of the Champions League Final, which Atlético lost 1–4 to Real Madrid at the Estádio da Luz.[18] One month later he signed a contract extension, running until 2018.[19]

Juanfran started both legs of the round-of-16 Champions League tie against PSV Eindhoven. On 15 March 2016, in the second match, he took the decisive penalty in the 8–7 shootout win (0–0 on aggregate);[20][21] in the final of the competition, also decided on penalties after a 1–1 draw in Milan, he was the only player to fail to convert in an eventual defeat to his former club Real Madrid.[22]

International career

Youth

Juanfran had an extraordinary performance at the 2004 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, as Spain won the tournament and the player received the Golden Player award.[23] In a rare achievement, he took part in two FIFA World Youth Championships, the first in the United Arab Emirates where the national team took the silver medal;[24] in the 2005 edition they reached the quarter-finals, eventually ousted by winners Argentina.[25]

Senior

Juanfran made his full side debut on 26 May 2012, playing the entire match in a 2–0 friendly win with Serbia in St. Gallen, as a right-back.[26] He was selected by manager Vicente del Bosque for his squad for UEFA Euro 2012, being an unused player as Spain won the tournament in Poland and Ukraine.

Juanfran scored his first international goal on 16 November 2013, playing the entire 2–1 friendly victory in Equatorial Guinea.[27] However, this match was ruled invalid by FIFA as they had not been notified early enough that the referee would be from Equatorial Guinea.[28]

Juanfran was named in Spain's 30-man provisional squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup,[29] and was also included in the final list.[30] With the country already eliminated, he made his tournament debut in the last group game against Australia, playing the whole 90 minutes and assisting David Villa for the first goal of a 3–0 win.[31]

Juanfran featured in the La Roja roster for UEFA Euro 2016, going on to play all four tournament matches.[32] Unused since Euro 2016, in October 2018, Juanfran stated that he was still available for selection by the national side.[32]

Personal life

Juanfran married Verónica Sierras, with whom he had two children, Óliver and Alexia.[33][34]

Career statistics

Club

As of 20 May 2018[35]
Club Season League Copa del Rey Continental Total
Division AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Real Madrid 2003–04 La Liga50000050
2004–05 La Liga10000010
Total 60000060
Espanyol 2005–06 La Liga3010000301
Total 3010000301
Osasuna 2006–07 La Liga2820000282
2007–08 La Liga3430000343
2008–09 La Liga3520000352
2009–10 La Liga3343000364
2010–11 La Liga1812100202
Total 14812510015313
Atlético Madrid 2010–11 La Liga1512000171
2011–12 La Liga26020161441
2012–13 La Liga3516040451
2013–14 La Liga35080120550
2014–15 La Liga35050100500
2015–16 La Liga35110120481
2016–17 La Liga2307260362
2017–18 La Liga17030100300
Total 22133427013256
Career total 4051639370151420

International

As of 27 June 2016[36]
Spain
YearAppsGoals
201250
201321
201450
201540
201660
Total221

International goals

As of 16 November 2013 (Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Juanfran goal)[36]
GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.16 November 2013Nuevo Estadio, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea2–12–1Friendly

Honours

Club

Espanyol

Atlético Madrid

International

Spain U19

Spain U20

Spain

Individual

Notes

  1. ↑ In isolation, Torres and Belén are pronounced [ˈtores] and [beˈlen] respectively.

References

  1. ↑ "Juanfran". Atlético Madrid. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  2. ↑ "A zarpazos" [Clawing it]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 25 January 2004. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  3. ↑ "Madrid loan lifts Espanyol". UEFA. 15 August 2005. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  4. ↑ "Yeste llega al rescate" [Yeste comes to the rescue]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 23 March 2006. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  5. ↑ "Juanfran, el lateral con alma de extremo" [Juanfran, the full-back with the soul of a winger] (in Spanish). La Rioja. 8 June 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  6. ↑ "Osasuna secure Juanfran deal". UEFA. 29 August 2006. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  7. ↑ "Juanfran firma con el CA Osasuna para las próximas cuatro temporadas" [Juanfran signs with Osasuna for the next four seasons] (in Spanish). CA Osasuna. 29 August 2006. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
  8. ↑ "Osasuna gana por primera vez en Balaídos" [Osasuna win at Balaídos for the first time]. El Norte de Castilla (in Spanish). 25 September 2006. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  9. ↑ "Osasuna saca jugo de un inofensivo Parma" [Osasuna profit from harmless Parma]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 14 December 2006. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  10. ↑ "Osasuna 2–1 Real Madrid". ESPN Soccernet. 31 May 2009. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  11. ↑ "Atletico signs winger Juanfran from Osasuna". Sports Illustrated. 12 January 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  12. ↑ "El Madrid derrota a un débil Atlético en la Copa del Rey" [Madrid beat weak Atlético in the King's Cup]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 13 January 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  13. ↑ "La Liga: Mallorca 3–4 Atlético". Atlético Fans. 21 May 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  14. ↑ "Manzano prueba a Juanfran como lateral derecho" [Manzano tests Juanfran as right back]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 6 October 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  15. ↑ "El Atlético reinventa a Juanfran" [Atlético reinvent Juanfran]. ABC (in Spanish). 12 March 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  16. ↑ "Falcao at double as Atlético march to title". UEFA. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  17. ↑ "Emotional Juanfran dedicates Atletico Madrid's Europa League triumph to late father". Goal. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  18. ↑ "Real Madrid 4–1 Atlético Madrid". BBC Sport. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  19. ↑ "Koke y Juanfran prolongan sus contratos hasta 2019 y 2018" [Koke and Juanfran extend their contracts until 2019 and 2018]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 25 June 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  20. ↑ "Ten-man PSV hold off Atlético". UEFA. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  21. ↑ "Atlético Madrid overcome PSV in lengthy shoot-out". UEFA. 15 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  22. ↑ "Atletico's Champions League defeat will cut deep as curse of 'El Pupas' strikes again". The Daily Telegraph. 28 May 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  23. ↑ "2004: Juanfran". UEFA. 1 April 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  24. ↑ "Spain-Brazil". FIFA. 19 December 2003. Archived from the original on 11 December 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2007.
  25. ↑ "Argentina-Spain". FIFA. 25 June 2005. Archived from the original on 9 December 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2007.
  26. ↑ "Adrián está listo para la Eurocopa" [Adrián is ready for Euro]. Marca (in Spanish). 26 May 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  27. ↑ "De pasear la estrella a ver las estrellas" [From parading star to seeing stars]. Marca (in Spanish). 17 November 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  28. ↑ "La FIFA anula el Guinea-España" [FIFA annul Guinea-Spain]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 31 December 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  29. ↑ "World Cup 2014: Diego Costa and Fernando Torres in Spain squad". BBC Sport. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  30. ↑ "World Cup 2014: Spain drop Alvaro Negredo and Jesus Navas". BBC Sport. 31 May 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  31. ↑ Chowdhury, Saj (23 June 2014). "Australia 0–3 Spain". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  32. 1 2 "Juanfran still hoping for Spain recall Juanfran still hoping for Spain recall". Perform. Diario AS. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018. line feed character in |title= at position 39 (help)
  33. ↑ Naranjo, Alma (27 May 2016). "Las mujeres del Madrid ganan a las del Atlético en la final de la Champions" [Madrid's women defeat Atlético's in Champions final] (in Spanish). El Español. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  34. ↑ "Griezmann, Juanfran, Siqueira...: Pluie de bébés à l'Atletico Madrid!" [Griezmann, Juanfran, Siquiera...: It's raining babies at Atlético Madrid!] (in French). Pure People. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  35. ↑ "Juanfran". Soccerway. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  36. 1 2 "Juanfran". European Football. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  37. ↑ "Atletico Madrid win La Liga". Sport 24. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  38. ↑ "Real Madrid – At. Madrid" (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. 17 May 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  39. ↑ "Barcelona 0–0 Atletico Madrid: Catalans win Spanish Super Cup". BBC Sport. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  40. ↑ "Falcao at double as Atlético march to title". UEFA. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  41. ↑ Shamoon Hafez (16 May 2018). "Marseille 0–0 Atlético Madrid". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  42. ↑ "Chelsea 1–4 Atletico Madrid". BBC Sport. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  43. ↑ Emma Sanders (15 August 2018). "Real Madrid 2–4 Atlético Madrid". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  44. ↑ "Madrid finally fulfil Décima dream". UEFA. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  45. ↑ "The Liga BBVA team of the season". La Liga. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  46. ↑ "UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season". UEFA. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  47. ↑ "Atletico dominate UEFA's La Liga team of the season". Marca. 16 May 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
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