Francisco Higuera

Francisco Higuera Fernández (born 30 January 1965) is a Spanish former footballer who played mostly as an attacking midfielder – sometimes, he could operate as a forward.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Higuera and the second or maternal family name is Fernández.
Francisco Higuera
Personal information
Full name Francisco Higuera Fernández
Date of birth (1965-01-30) 30 January 1965
Place of birth Escurial, Spain
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Youth career
Mallorca
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1982–1988 Mallorca 174 (27)
1988–1997 Zaragoza 276 (63)
1997–1998 Puebla 34 (7)
1998–2000 Xerez 57 (1)
Total 524 (95)
National team
1982 Spain U16 1 (0)
1983 Spain U18 3 (0)
1992–1995 Spain 6 (1)
Teams managed
2013–2014 Xerez
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Nicknamed Paquete,[1] he appeared in 367 La Liga games over 12 seasons (76 goals), in representation of Mallorca and Zaragoza.

Club career

Higueras was born in Escurial, Province of Cáceres. After playing in all the youth categories at RCD Mallorca he made his senior debut at only 17, in a 3–0 Segunda División home win against Deportivo de La Coruña on 10 October 1982, and finished his first season with 16 matches and two goals as the Balearic Islands club promoted to La Liga. His first appearance in the top level occurred on 24 September 1983 in a 0–3 loss at Atlético Madrid, and he went on to experience two relegations from that tier with the team.

In summer 1988, Higuera signed with Real Zaragoza, being an everpresent fixture with the Aragonese.[2] In the 1993–94 campaign he scored a career-best 12 goals while also scoring the decisive penalty in the shootout victory over RC Celta de Vigo, in the Copa del Rey final,[3] and being instrumental in their 1995 triumph in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, all this while often partnered offensively with Juan Esnáider, Miguel Pardeza and Gustavo Poyet (they recorded, in 1994–95, an impressive 5–4 away defeat of FC Barcelona for the Supercopa de España).[4][5]

Higuera decided to have an abroad experience in 1997 at the age of 32, and joined Mexico's Puebla FC, being accompanied by Pardeza in the adventure. He returned home after one season, signing with lowly Xerez CD of Segunda División B and retiring in 2000.

After serving as general manager to the Andalusians for several seasons,[6] Higuera switched to another modest club in 2009, Lorca Deportiva CF, also in that capacity.[7]

International career

Higuera earned six caps for Spain, the first arriving on 15 January 1992 in a friendly match against Portugal where he replaced injured Emilio Butragueño early into the 0–0 draw in Torres Novas.[8]

International goals
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.7 September 1994Tsirion Stadium, Limassol, Cyprus Cyprus0–11–2Euro 1996 qualifying[9]

Honours

Zaragoza

References
  1. "'Paquete' Higuera: "El Zaragoza tendrá que estar los 95 minutos en tensión"" ['Paquete' Higuera: "Zaragoza will have to be in tension for 95 minutes"] (in Spanish). Heraldo de Aragón. 27 March 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  2. Pardeza e Higuera (Pardeza and Higuera); Mundo Deportivo, 8 January 1992 (in Spanish)
  3. Un gol de Francisco Higuera en el décimo penalti dio la Copa del Rey a los aragoneses (A goal by Francisco Higuera in the tenth penalty gives the Aragonese the King's Cup); El Mundo, 21 April 1994 (in Spanish)
  4. "El Barça paga un precio muy alto" [Barça pay a heavy price] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 31 August 1994. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  5. "¿Qué fue de 'los héroes de París'?" [What happened to the 'heroes of Paris'?] (in Spanish). Heraldo de Aragón. 4 May 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  6. "Francisco 'Paquete' Higuera: "Tras ganar la Recopa empezaron a retirarnos, fue algo rarísimo"" [Francisco 'Paquete' Higuera: "After winning the Cup Winners' Cup people started retiring us, it was very strange"] (in Spanish). El Periódico de Aragón. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  7. "'Paquete' Higuera asume el reto de la dirección deportiva del Lorca" ['Paquete' Higuera takes on challenge of Lorca's sporting direction] (in Spanish). La Verdad. 23 April 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  8. "España no pasa de mediocre" [Spain can only be mediocre] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 16 January 1992. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  9. "Chipre hace sufrir a España" [Cyprus make Spain suffer] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 8 September 1994. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
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