Kiko (Spanish footballer)

Kiko
Personal information
Full name Francisco Miguel Narváez Machón
Date of birth (1972-04-26) 26 April 1972
Place of birth Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Centre forward
Youth career
Pueblo Nuevo
1985–1990 Cádiz
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1991 Cádiz B
1991–1993 Cádiz 78 (12)
1993–2001 Atlético Madrid 225 (48)
2002 Extremadura 11 (1)
Total 314 (61)
National team
1991 Spain U19 1 (0)
1992–1994 Spain U21 5 (2)
1991–1992 Spain U23 12 (7)
1992–1998 Spain 26 (4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Francisco Miguel Narváez Machón (born 26 April 1972), known as Kiko, is a Spanish retired footballer who spent most of his career with Atlético Madrid.[1]

A centre forward with tremendous technical ability and field vision, he possessed nonetheless a poor aerial game despite being almost 190 cm tall. In ten La Liga seasons (also played one year with his main club in Segunda División), he amassed totals of 271 games and 60 goals.

Kiko was an instrumental squad member at the 1992 Summer Olympics as the Spain national team won gold, on home soil. Additionally, he appeared at full level in one World Cup and one European Championship.

Club career

Cádiz

Born in Jerez de la Frontera, Province of Cádiz, Kiko's career began with local Cádiz CF, and he first appeared in La Liga on 14 April 1991 in a 2–3 home loss against Athletic Bilbao. Even though he played in only five further matches in the season he was intimately connected with the Andalusia club's fate as, on 9 June, in only 25 minutes of play, he gained a penalty kick and scored an 83-minute winner in a 2–1 home win over Real Zaragoza;[2] the team would miraculously retain their status, after the playoffs against CD Málaga.[3]

Atlético

After two more seasons as an undisputed starter Kiko moved, alongside teammate José María Quevedo to Atlético Madrid, upon Cádiz's 1993 relegation. There, he developed into one of Spain's most important footballers during the 90's, being an instrumental piece in Atlético's historical double in 1995–96, with goals and assists alike.

Atlético was relegated in 2000, but Kiko stayed with the club for a further campaign, not managing one single goal in 52 league appearances combined. He finished out his career with CF Extremadura also in Segunda División in 2002 (six-month spell, teaming up with another longtime league player, Pier).

International career

For Spain, Kiko was capped 26 times and scored four goals. His debut came on 16 December 1992, in a 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Latvia where he played the full 90 minutes.[4]

Kiko would take part at UEFA Euro 1996 and the 1998 World Cup. He netted once against Bulgaria in the latter tournament, during a 6–1 thrashing; however, this did not count for anything as Spain were ultimately ousted in the group stage.[5]

Previously, Kiko represented the nation at the 1992 Summer Olympics, in Barcelona. He scored a last-minute winner against Poland in the final, a 3–2 victory, his second of the game.[6][7]

International goals

[8]

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.15 November 1995Martínez Valero, Elche, Spain Macedonia1–03–0Euro 1996 qualifying
2.7 February 1996Insular, Las Palmas, Spain Norway1–01–0Friendly
3.24 September 1997Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia Slovakia0–11–21998 World Cup qualification
4.24 June 1998Félix Bollaert, Lens, France Bulgaria6–16–11998 World Cup

Honours

Club

Atlético Madrid

International

Spain U23

Spain U21

References

  1. ↑ Kiko Narváez, el poeta del área (Kiko Narváez, the poet of the box) Archived 13 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine.; Atlético de Madrid Fansite, 20 October 2009 (in Spanish)
  2. ↑ "El Cádiz dribla el descenso" [Cádiz dribble relegation]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 10 June 1991. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  3. ↑ "El Cádiz consuma el milagro" [Cádiz work miracle]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 20 June 1991. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  4. ↑ "Cinco goles para un triunfo vital de la selección" [Five goals for national team vital win]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 17 December 1992. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  5. ↑ "Spain beats Bulgaria 6–1 but fails to qualify". Sports Illustrated. 24 June 1998. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  6. ↑ "Supervivientes de oro" [Golden survivors]. El País (in Spanish). 25 February 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  7. ↑ El triunfo en el fútbol, broche de oro para España en Barcelona 92 (Football win, icing on the cake for Spain in Barcelona 92); Dame Un Silbidito, April 2010 (in Spanish)
  8. ↑ "Kiko". European Football. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  9. ↑ "La Roja de 1992, nuestra medalla de oro Olímpica" [1992's La Roja, our Olympic gold medal] (in Spanish). Antena 3. 3 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
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