.jpg) Juanfran withAtlético Madrid in 2018 | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Juan Francisco Torres Belén[1] | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1985-01-09)9 January 1985 (age 40) | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Crevillent, Spain | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | |||||||||||||
| Position | Right-back | |||||||||||||
| 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) | |||||||||||
| 2011–2019 | Atlético Madrid | 243 | (3) | |||||||||||
| 2019–2021 | São Paulo | 50 | (0) | |||||||||||
| Total | 533 | (23) | ||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||
| 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) | |||||||||||
| 2012–2016 | Spain | 22 | (1) | |||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||
Juan Francisco Torres Belén (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈxwaɱfɾanˈθiskoˈtoresβeˈlen];[a] born 9 January 1985), known asJuanfran (pronounced[ˈxwaɱfɾan]), is a Spanish former professionalfootballer who played as aright-back.
After starting out atReal Madrid, he went on to make a name for himself inLa Liga withOsasuna andAtlético Madrid, signing for the latter club in 2011 and going on to win seven major titles, including the2014 national championship and the2012 and2018 Europa League tournaments. He totalled 427 appearances in Spain's top flight.[3]
ASpanish international since 2012, Juanfran was part of the squad thatwon that year's European Championship, and also represented the nation at the2014 World Cup andEuro 2016.
Born inCrevillent,Alicante,Valencian Community, Juanfran was a product ofReal Madrid's youth academy. He had his first main squad opportunity on 24 January 2004, playing 15 minutes in a 2–1 home win againstVillarreal CF[4] after solid performances with theB team. He would appear in a further fiveLa Liga matches overthat and thefollowing seasons, totalling 11 appearances.[5]
Juanfran was loaned out toRCD Espanyol for2005–06[6] and, although theCatalan side barely avoided relegation, he featured heavily throughout the campaign, scoring on 22 March 2006 in a 1–1 draw atAthletic Bilbao.[7] He started his career as awinger.[8]
Juanfran signed withCA Osasuna[9] 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,[10] adding several specifics, which included a possibility of a January 2007 recall by Madrid who also retained a buying option at the end ofthe season. He played his first game for theNavarrese on 24 September 2006 in a 2–0 away victory overRC Celta de Vigo, and scored the second goal of the match.[11] Additionally, he appeared in nine games and netted once[12] in theirsemi-final run in theUEFA Cup.
In2008–09, Juanfran was again ever-present in Osasuna's lineups. On 31 May 2009, in the last matchday, he scored from 30 yards in a 2–1 home defeat of former side Real Madrid, which kept the club in the top flight for another year.[13] Inthe following campaign, as the former fared better in the league by finishing 12th, he scored a career-best four goals.
On 11 January 2011, Juanfran signed forAtlético Madrid until June 2015 for a fee of just over €4 million.[14] He made his official debut two days later, starting in a 3–1 away loss against his first professional club Real Madrid in thequarter-finals of theCopa del Rey.[15]
Juanfran scored his first goal for Atlético on 21 May 2011, in a 4–3 win atRCD Mallorca – the last game ofthe season – dedicating it to his father who had died two weeks beforehand.[16] In2011–12 he began being regularly played as aright-back, by bothGregorio Manzano and his successor,Diego Simeone.[17][18] In theEuropa League final, which his teamwon 3–0 against Athletic, he played in that position;[19] after the match, he dedicated the triumph to his late father, saying "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."[20]
On 24 May 2014, Juanfran played all 120 minutes of theChampions League final, lost 4–1 to Real Madrid at theEstádio da Luz.[21] He signed a contract extension one month later, running until 2018.[22]
Juanfran started both legs of theround-of-16 Champions League tie againstPSV Eindhoven; on 15 March 2016, in the second match, he took the decisivepenalty in the 8–7shootout win (0–0 on aggregate).[23][24] Inthe final of the competition, also decided on penalties after a 1–1 draw inMilan, he was the only player to fail to convert in an eventual defeat to his former club Real Madrid.[25]
Juanfran left Atlético upon the expiration of his contract on 30 June 2019, having made 355 appearances and won seven trophies for the club.[26]
On 3 August 2019, Juanfran joinedSão Paulo FC on a contract running until December 2020.[27] He became the second Spanish footballer to play for the Brazilian club, after Fernando Carazzo Castro in 1936.[28] He made his debut in theCampeonato Brasileiro Série A fifteen days later, a 1–0 home victory overCeará Sporting Club.[29]
In February 2021 – with hissecond season having overrun due to theCOVID-19 pandemic – Juanfran was released, having totalled 56 games for theTricolor.[30] Having retired, he returned to Spain and joined the Intercityfutsal club in his hometown in July.[31]
Juanfran had an extraordinary performance at the2004 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, asSpain won the tournament and the player received the Golden Player award.[32] In a rare achievement, he took part in twoFIFA World Youth Championships, the first in theUnited Arab Emirates wherethe national team tookthe silver medal;[33] in the2005 edition they reached the quarter-finals, eventually ousted by winnersArgentina.[34]
Juanfran made hisfull side debut on 26 May 2012, playing the entire match in a 2–0friendly win withSerbia inSt. Gallen, as a right-back.[35] He was selected by managerVicente del Bosque for hissquad forUEFA Euro 2012,[36] being an unused player as Spain won the tournament inPoland andUkraine.[37]
On 16 November 2013, Juanfran scored his only goal, playing the entire 2–1 friendly victory inEquatorial Guinea.[38] However, this match was ruled invalid byFIFA as they had not been notified early enough that the referee would be from Equatorial Guinea.[39]
Juanfran was named in Spain's 30-man provisional squad for the2014 FIFA World Cup,[40] and was also included in thefinal list.[41] With the country already eliminated, he made his tournament debut in the last group game againstAustralia, playing the whole 90 minutes andassistingDavid Villa for the first goal of a 3–0 win.[42]
Juanfran featured in theroster forEuro 2016, where he played all of his team's four games. After two years in the international wilderness, in October 2018 the 33-year-old stated that he was still available for selection by the national side.[43]
A former winger, Juanfran usually played as a right-back. While an accomplished defender, he was also known for his ability to get forward and provide accuratecrosses for teammates inside the box.[44]
Juanfran married Verónica Sierras, with whom he had two children, Óliver and Alexia.[45][46]
| Club | Season | League | Cups | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Real Madrid | 2003–04 | La Liga | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 2004–05 | La Liga | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| Espanyol | 2005–06 | La Liga | 30 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 1 |
| Osasuna | 2006–07 | La Liga | 28 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 2 |
| 2007–08 | La Liga | 34 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 3 | |
| 2008–09 | La Liga | 35 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 2 | |
| 2009–10 | La Liga | 33 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 4 | |
| 2010–11 | La Liga | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | |
| Total | 148 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 158 | 12 | ||
| Atlético Madrid | 2010–11 | La Liga | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 |
| 2011–12 | La Liga | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 44 | 1 | |
| 2012–13 | La Liga | 35 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 45 | 1 | |
| 2013–14 | La Liga | 35 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 55 | 0 | |
| 2014–15 | La Liga | 35 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 50 | 0 | |
| 2015–16 | La Liga | 35 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 48 | 1 | |
| 2016–17 | La Liga | 23 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 36 | 2 | |
| 2017–18 | La Liga | 17 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 30 | 0 | |
| 2018–19 | La Liga | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 30 | 0 | |
| Total | 243 | 3 | 36 | 2 | 76 | 1 | 355 | 6 | ||
| São Paulo | 2019 | Série A | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| 2020 | Série A | 23 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 0 | |
| Total | 40 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 448 | 16 | 57 | 2 | 77 | 1 | 581 | 19 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2012 | 5 | 0 |
| 2013 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 6 | 0 | |
| Total | 22 | 1 | |
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 16 November 2013 | Estadio de Malabo, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea |  Equatorial Guinea | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
Espanyol
Atlético Madrid
Spain U19
Spain U20
Spain
Individual
Spain squads | |||||||||||||
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