Francisco Javier Muñoz Llompart (born 5 September 1980), known as Xisco, is a Spanish football

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

and former player who played mainly a

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He is the current manager of

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus official ...

club

Anorthosis Famagusta Anorthosis Famagusta ( el, Ανόρθωση Αμμοχώστου, translit=Anorthosi Ammochostou), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Anorthosis Famagusta multi-sport club f ...

. He played 194 matches and scored 20 goals over nine seasons in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

, spending four years at Betis, also representing

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the Archipelago, archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitant ...

, Recreativo and Levante and winning the 2004 UEFA Cup with Valencia. Starting in 2011, he played four seasons in Georgia with Dinamo Tbilisi. In 2019, Xisco rejoined Dinamo Tbilisi as part of the technical team, and in 2020 became the head coach of the club. In December 2020, he was appointed at

Watford Watford () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal en ...

, achieving promotion to the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

in his first season.

Playing career

Valencia

Xisco was born in

Manacor Manacor () is a town and municipality on the island of Mallorca, part of the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is the second largest town in Mallorca, after the capital of Palma. The municipality has tourist areas such as P ...

, Balearic Islands. He began in the youth ranks of local

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, S.A.D. (, ca, Reial Club Deportiu Mallorca , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or just Mallorca is a Spanish professional football club based in Palma on the island of Majorca in ...

, making ten senior appearances for the

B team B, or b, is the second letter of the Latin-script alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''bee'' (pronounced ), plural ''bees''. It re ...

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Fo ...

in 1998. After two years with

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol (, ca-valencia, València Club de Futbol ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF (or simply Valencia) is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top flight of the S ...

's equivalent he moved on loan to

Recreativo de Huelva Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. () is a Spanish football club based in Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 23 December 1889, 2 days before Christmas, they are the oldest football club in Spain, and currently play i ...

of the Segunda División, scoring ten goals during his first season. He then joined

CD Tenerife Club Deportivo Tenerife, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. Founded in 1912, the club plays in the Segunda División, holding home matches at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez L� ...

in 2001–02, before returning (always on loan) to his previous club for the 2002–03 campaign, still in

. Xisco returned to Valencia in summer 2003 for two additional seasons, making 22 appearances as the ''Che'' conquered the 2004 league title; he scored once as a substitute on 2 November 2003 to conclude a 5–0 away win against Mallorca. He added eight matches in their victorious run in the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, cla ...

also in that year, but remained on the bench in the final against

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club p ...

Betis

Xisco signed with

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vi ...

in 2005 on a six-year deal, often delivering in various attacking positions and displaying all-around teamwork. He netted three times in 2006–07, including a couple of late goals against

Racing de Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league syst ...

and

Gimnàstic de Tarragona Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona, commonly known as Gimnàstic Tarragona or sometimes just Nàstic, is a Spanish sports club based in Tarragona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Its football team plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2. ...

as the

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...

ns only avoided top-flight relegation in the last matchday. In a rocky 2008–09 season, which ended in relegation, Xisco only featured in nine games, scoring once. Dark spots included being replaced after having himself been used as a substitute in a 2–1 home defeat to

Málaga CF Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a football club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, that competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. They won the UEFA Intert ...

, on 11 January 2009.

Levante and later years

In the dying minutes of the August 2009

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer ...

, Xisco rescinded his Betis contract and joined

Levante UD Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. (, ca-valencia, Llevant Unió Esportiva ) is a Spanish football club in Valencia, in the namesake autonomous community. Founded on 9 September 1909, Levante play in Segunda División, holding home games at Ci ...

also in the second level, for two seasons. In his first he played the most he had in years, also scoring eight goals as the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous comm ...

side returned to the top division after a two-year absence. Xisco contributed 26 matches – 18 starts – in

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

, as Levante finally managed to stay afloat. On 22 January 2011 he scored his only goal of the campaign in a 4–1 away loss against

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA Eu ...

, and was released in May. Already aged 30, Xisco moved abroad for the first time, signing with

FC Dinamo Tbilisi FC Dinamo Tbilisi ( ka, დინამო თბილისი, ) is a Georgian professional football club based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that competes in the Erovnuli Liga, the top flight of Georgian football. Dinamo Tbilisi was one of the mo ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

and sharing teams with several compatriots. In

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

, he won the

Erovnuli Liga The Erovnuli Liga ( ka, ეროვნული ლიგა - lit. National League) is the top division of professional football in Georgia. Since 1990, it has been organized by the Professional Football League of Georgia and Georgian Football F ...

and also scored a career-best 22 goals, best in the competition. The player and the team retained their titles a year later, and his goal concluded the 3–0 win at FC Sioni Bolnisi that confirmed it. On 14 December 2014, Xisco returned to his homeland after agreeing to an 18-month deal with third-tier Gimnàstic de Tarragona. On 18 June 2016, he announced his retirement and became

Vicente Moreno Vicente Moreno Peris (born 26 October 1974) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder, currently manager of Saudi Professional League club Al Shabab. He spent most of his career with Xerez, appearing i ...

's assistant. In September of the following year, he stood in as manager of

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

CF Pobla de Mafumet in the

Tercera División Tercera División ( en, Third Division) was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segunda División'', and the semi-professional ''Segunda Di ...

, after the promotion of Rodri to the ''Nàstic'' job.

Coaching career

Dinamo Tbilisi

Xisco returned to Dinamo Tbilisi in January 2019, as part of Zaur Svanadze's staff. He left at the end of the year, after the team had recovered their league crown following a three-year absence. In August 2020, Xisco again returned to Dinamo, now as head coach of the club. With several compatriots on the pitch and the bench, they won the league in December.

Watford

Xisco was appointed as manager of

on 21 December 2020, after the dismissal of

Vladimir Ivić Vladimir Ivić (; born 7 May 1977) is a Serbian football manager and former player who is currently head coach of Krasnodar. A former Serbia and Montenegro international, Ivić is best remembered for his time with Partizan and PAOK at club lev ...

. His debut in the

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

was five days later, a 1–0 home victory over leaders

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 2 ...

. After a run of five straight wins, Xisco was awarded the Championship Manager of the Month award for March 2021. On 24 April, his team achieved promotion to the

with two games remaining, after a 1–0 win against

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, ea ...

Vicarage Road Vicarage Road is a stadium in Watford, England, and is the home stadium of championship club Watford. An all-seater stadium, its current capacity is 22,200. History It has been the home of Watford since 1922, when the club moved from Cass ...

. Xisco was sacked on 3 October 2021, despite the side being 15th after seven matches; it was the 13th change in the club's hotseat since the arrival of owner Gino Pozzo in 2012. In an official statement, Watford wrote that the coach had been presiding over a "negative trend at a time when team cohesion should be visibly improving".

Huesca

On 26 October 2021, Xisco signed as coach of

SD Huesca Sociedad Deportiva Huesca, S.A.D., is a Spanish football club in Huesca, in the autonomous community of Aragon. Founded on 29 March 1960, SD Huesca plays in the Segunda División, having played in the Spanish top division for the first time in ...

. Having finished in 13th in his only season with nine wins out of 30, he was replaced in June by José Ángel Ziganda.

Anorthosis

On 4 October 2022, Xisco was appointed manager of

club Anorthosis Famagusta F.C. until the end of the season.

Personal life

Xisco is the older brother of another footballer, Toni Muñoz. He appeared once for Mallorca's first team, but spent the vast majority of his career in the lower leagues of his country.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Valencia *

: 2003–04 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Dinamo Tbilisi *

, 2013–14 *

Georgian Cup The Georgian Cup (, ''Sakartvelos tasi'') is the main cup competition in Georgian football. The competition is a knockout (single elimination) tournament. Soviet era cup winners Previous winners are: * 1944: Team of Sukhumi * 1945: Dinamo Sukh ...

, 2013–14 *

Georgian Super Cup The Georgian Super Cup is a competition consisting of a single football match played between the champions of the Erovnuli Liga The Erovnuli Liga ( ka, ეროვნული ლიგა - lit. National League) is the top division of professio ...

: 2014 Individual *Erovnuli Liga top scorer:

, 2013–14 *Erovnuli Liga Player of the Year: 2013–14

Manager

Dinamo Tbilisi *Erovnuli Liga:

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

Individual * Championship Manager of the Month: March 2021

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Xisco 1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Manacor Spanish footballers Footballers from Mallorca Association football wingers La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players RCD Mallorca B players Valencia CF Mestalla footballers Valencia CF players Recreativo de Huelva players CD Tenerife players Real Betis players Levante UD footballers Gimnàstic de Tarragona footballers Erovnuli Liga players FC Dinamo Tbilisi players UEFA Cup winning players Spain youth international footballers Spain under-21 international footballers Spanish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Georgia (country) Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Georgia (country) Spanish football managers Segunda División managers Tercera División managers CF Pobla de Mafumet managers SD Huesca managers Erovnuli Liga managers FC Dinamo Tbilisi managers Premier League managers English Football League managers Watford F.C. managers Cypriot First Division managers Anorthosis Famagusta F.C. managers Expatriate football managers in Georgia (country) Expatriate football managers in England Expatriate football managers in Cyprus Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus