Francisco Molina
Personal information
Full name Francisco Molina Simón
Date of birth (1930-03-29)29 March 1930
Place of birth Súria, Bages, Spain
Date of death 14 November 2018(2018-11-14) (aged 88)
Place of death Antofagasta, Chile
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Midfielder[1]
Youth career
Deportivo Roberto Parra
Santiago Wanderers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1948–1950 Santiago Wanderers 30 (8)
1951–1952 Universidad Católica 27 (12)
1953–1956 Atlético Madrid 84 (21)
1957–1959 Audax Italiano 42 (14)
1960 Unión Española 23 (4)
1961 Universidad Católica 21 (5)
1963–1964 Coquimbo Unido
Total 227 (64)
International career
1953–1959 Chile 8 (7)
Managerial career
1963–1964 Coquimbo Unido
1965 Deportes La Serena
1966–1967 Unión Española
1968–1969 Colo-Colo
1970–1972 Antofagasta Portuario
1980 O'Higgins
1981 Everton
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Francisco "Paco" Molina Simón (29 March 1930 – 14 November 2018) was a football player and manager. Born in Spain, he played for the Chile national team at international level.

Life and club career

Born in Súria, Province of Barcelona, Spain, Molina alongside his family moved to Chile when he was nine in 1939.[2] They settled at Valparaíso after arriving there on board of SS Winnipeg as one of the 2.200 exiles which escaped from the Spanish Civil War. In 1942 he was naturalized Chilean.[3]

During 1940s Molina joined Santiago Wanderers youth set-up with prior spell playing at amateur club Deportivo Roberto Parra. Finally in 1948, he was promoted to Wanderers first-adult team squad aged eighteen. In Chile, he played for Universidad Católica, Audax Italiano, Unión Española and Coquimbo Unido. He is considered the first Chilean player to be successful in Spain after his step in Atlético Madrid from 1953 to 1956.[4]

International career

Molina made his international debut in a friendly match versus Yugoslav club Hajduk on 18 February 1953, where he scored a goal and Chile won 4–1. Including this match, he made a total of 8 appearances for the Chile national team,[5] representing it at both the 1953 South American Championship, becoming the top goalscorer of the tournament with 8 goals in 6 matches, and the friendly match versus Brazil in 1959.[6]

Coaching career

He began his coaching career in Coquimbo Unido, at the same he was a player. Next, he coached several clubs at the Chilean Primera División, including Colo-Colo.[4]

Honours

Audax Italiano

Universidad Católica

Individual

References

  1. ^ Francisco Molina at WorldFootball.net Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ "Paco Molina: El ídolo chileno de Atlético de Madrid, el líder español". La Tercera (in Spanish). 19 April 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  3. ^ "'Paco' Molina: el goleador chileno que fue desterrado dos veces por la dictadura española". BioBioChile (in Spanish). Radio Bío-Bío. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  4. ^ a b Soto, Rosario (15 November 2018). "Adiós, Paco goleador". Radio JGM (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  5. ^ Marín, Edgardo (1985). La Roja de todos (Selección chilena de fútbol 1910-1985) (PDF). Santiago, Chile: SOEM Service Impresores. pp. 98, 215. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  6. ^ "[20/09/1959] Brasil-Chile 1:0". Partidos de La Roja (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 July 2022.

External links

Chile squad – 1953 South American Championship fourth place
Francisco Molina – Managerial positions
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