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

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and former player who played mainly as a

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He is the head coach of

Malaysia Super League The Malaysia Super League (), known simply as the Super League (), is the men's top professional Football in Malaysia, football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnersh ...

club

Johor Darul Ta'zim Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore to the south and Indonesia to the east and w ...

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

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

, spending four years at Betis, also representing

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

, Recreativo and Levante and winning the 2004 UEFA Cup with Valencia. Starting in 2011, he played four seasons in Georgia with

Dinamo Tbilisi Dinamo Tbilisi is a sports club from Tbilisi, Georgia (country), Georgia. It was founded in 1925. Among its highest honors, is the European trophy earned by its Association football, football team which won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1981, beating ...

. In 2019, Xisco rejoined Dinamo Tbilisi as part of the technical team, and in 2020 became their head coach. In December 2020, he was appointed at

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

, achieving promotion to the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

in his first season but being sacked in October 2021 despite the club sitting 15th. That same month, he became manager of

Huesca Huesca (; ) is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon between 1096 and 1118. It is also the capital of the Spanish Huesca (province), ...

, before being replaced in June 2022. He signed for

Anorthosis Anorthosis Famagusta (), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Famagusta multi-sport club founded in 1911 in Varosha, Famagusta.

in October that year, but left three months later. In July 2023, he joined

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

as head coach before being dismissed in October after failing to win any matches in charge.

Playing career

Valencia

Xisco was born in

Manacor Manacor () is a town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality on the island of Mallorca, part of the Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is the second-largest town in Mallorca, after the capi ...

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

. He began in the youth ranks of local

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

, making ten senior appearances for the B team in the

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: 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 ...

in 1998. After two years with

equivalent Equivalence or Equivalent may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Album-equivalent unit, a measurement unit in the music industry *Equivalence class (music) *'' Equivalent VIII'', or ''The Bricks'', a minimalist sculpture by Carl Andre *'' Equiva ...

, he moved on loan to

Recreativo de Huelva Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Huelva, Andalucia, Spain. Founded on 23 December 1889, they are the oldest football club in Spain, and currently play in , holding home ...

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

, scoring ten goals in his first season. He then joined

for 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 The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

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

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

Betis

Xisco signed with

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

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, Spain, Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spani ...

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 . The club was founded in 1886 an ...

as the

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

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 Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

, on 11 January 2009.

Levante and later years

In the dying minutes of the August 2009

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

, Xisco rescinded his Betis contract and joined Levante also in the second division, 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 is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

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

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 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 Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

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

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and sharing teams with several compatriots. In

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, he won the

Erovnuli Liga The Erovnuli Liga ( ka, ეროვნული ლიგა; ) is the top Division (sport), division of professional top tier Association football, football in Georgia (Country), Georgia. Since 1990, it has been organized by the Professional ...

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 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. 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, and is currently the manager of La Liga club Osasuna. He spent most of his career with Xerez, appearing in 412 offici ...

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

farm team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...

Pobla de Mafumet in the

Tercera División Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...

, 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 "Vladan" Ivić (; born 7 May 1977) is a Serbian football manager and former player, who is the head coach of UAE Pro League club Al-Ain. A former Serbia and Montenegro international, Ivić is best remembered for his time with Partiz ...

. His debut in the

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

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

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

. 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 Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

Vicarage Road Vicarage Road is a stadium in Watford, England, and is the home stadium of EFL Championship, Championship club Watford F.C., Watford. An all-seater stadium, its current capacity is 22,200. History It has been the home of Watford since 1922, w ...

. Xisco was sacked on 3 October 2021, with 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

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

José Ángel Ziganda José Ángel "Cuco" Ziganda Lakunza (born 1 October 1966) is a Spanish Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player who played as a centre-forward. He played 381 La Liga matches over the course of 12 ...

Anorthosis

On 4 October 2022, Xisco was appointed manager of

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

club

until the end of the season. Three months later, after a series of five winless games, he was replaced by

Vesko Mihajlović Vesko Mihajlović (Serbian Cyrillic: Веско Михајловић; born 17 March 1968) is a Serbian association football, football manager (association football), manager and former player. He is widely considered to be one of the best foreig ...

Sheffield Wednesday

On 4 July 2023, Xisco joined

as head coach; he brought in his brother Miguel as assistant, Roberto Cuesta as first-team coach and Antonello Brambilla as goalkeeper coach, all of whom he had worked with at Watford. His first competitive game in charge was at home to newly relegated

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, a 2–1 defeat, and culminated in a 1–0 away loss to

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

on 3 October. He had led the Owls to their worst ever start to a season, with just two points from the first ten matches. A day later, he was dismissed.

DAC Dunajská Streda

On 19 November 2023, Xisco signed as manager of

DAC Dunajská Streda DAC may refer to: Businesses and organisations * DacEasy, originally Dac Software, Inc. * Danish Architecture Centre, an international cultural attraction * Defense Ammunition Center (United States), of the United States Department of Defense * ...

until the end of the campaign, with the option of another year. He was relieved of his duties on 27 November 2024.

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 Association football, 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 offic ...

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 ( ka, საქართველოს თასი) is the main annual association football knockout cup competition in Georgia. It is organized by the Georgian Football Federation (GFF) and is open to clubs of all divisions. Th ...

, 2013–14 * Georgian Super Cup: 2014 Individual *Erovnuli Liga top scorer: 2012–13, 2013–14 *Erovnuli Liga Player of the Year: 2013–14

Manager

Dinamo Tbilisi *Erovnuli Liga:

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Watford *

runner-up:

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Individual * EFL Championship Manager of the Month: March 2021

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Xisco Munoz 1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Manacor 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Mallorca Men's 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 Europa League–winning players Spain men's youth international footballers Spain men's under-21 international footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's 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 Sheffield Wednesday F.C. managers Cypriot First Division managers Anorthosis Famagusta FC managers Slovak First Football League managers FC DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda managers Malaysia Super League managers Spanish expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Georgia (country) Expatriate football managers in England Expatriate football managers in Cyprus Expatriate football managers in Slovakia Expatriate football managers in Malaysia Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Slovakia Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Malaysia