Francisco Pavón
 Pavón in action with Zaragoza | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Francisco Pavón Barahona | ||
| Date of birth | 9 January 1980 | ||
| Place of birth | Madrid, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Centre back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Real Madrid | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1998–2000 | Real Madrid C | ||
| 2000–2001 | Real Madrid B | 38 | (1) |
| 2001–2007 | Real Madrid | 106 | (1) |
| 2007–2010 | Zaragoza | 43 | (5) |
| 2010–2011 | Arles-Avignon | 26 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 June 2011. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Francisco "Paco" Pavón Barahona (born 9 January 1980) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a central defender.
His name became associated with the Los Galácticos policy when Real Madrid – where he spent most of his professional career – president Florentino Pérez promised to build a team full of Zidanes and Pavones – expensive high profile recruits like Zinedine Zidane and youth team graduates like Pavón.[1][2]
Over the course of nine seasons Pavón amassed La Liga totals of 125 games and three goals, with his main club and Zaragoza.
Football career
Born in Madrid, Pavón progressed through the ranks at Real Madrid, starting with the junior side Tendillo until he established himself with the B-team. He made his La Liga debut against Athletic de Bilbao at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on 6 October 2001 and, shortly after that 2–0 win, signed a seven-year deal with the club,[3] going on to make a further 27 league appearances during the season and adding the campaign's UEFA Champions League.
In the subsequent two seasons Pavón played an additional 51 league matches, scoring a rare goal on 8 May 2004, in a 2–3 home loss to RCD Mallorca.[4] His role would diminish drastically onwards, as he made no competitive appearances whatsoever during 2006–07.[5]
On 25 April 2007, media speculation indicated that Pavón was close to agreeing a four-year deal with Premier League club Bolton Wanderers, rejoining former teammate Iván Campo, but nothing came of it. He eventually put pen-to-paper a four-year deal with Real Zaragoza on July, after his release from Real Madrid,[6] but appeared in just eight league games through 2007–08, as the Aragon side was relegated.
In 2008–09's Segunda División Pavón netted his first goal for Zaragoza, in a 2–1 home win over Real Murcia who had also been relegated the previous season. He contributed much more consistently as the team immediately promoted.
In the 2009–10 season Pavón was only third or fourth-choice stopper, but still managed to score twice as Zaragoza maintained its division status.[7][8] In the very last minute of the 2010 summer transfer window he signed with AC Arles-Avignon, reuniting with former Real Madrid teammate Álvaro Mejía.
In November 2011 Pavón went on trial with West Ham United in the Football League Championship,[9] but nothing came of it. After nearly two years without a club – during which he refused to be eligible for unemployment benefits, claiming "others need it more" –[10]he chose to retire, aged 33.
Honours
- Real Madrid
- UEFA Champions League: 2001–02
- Intercontinental Cup: 2002
- UEFA Super Cup: 2002
- Spanish League: 2002–03, 2006–07
- Spanish Supercup: 2003
References
- ↑ Real Madrid compiling a new galaxy of superstars; Times Online, 11 June 2009
- ↑ 'Zidanes y Pavones' sí funciona en el Camp Nou ('Zidanes and Pavones' does work at the Camp Nou); El País, 19 November 2004 (Spanish)
- ↑ Real deal for Pavon; BBC Sport, 27 December 2001
- ↑ Real Madrid 2–3 Mallorca; ESPN Soccernet, 8 May 2004
- ↑ Pavón: 'Todos sabemos lo que hay, de nada sirve hablar con Capello' (Pavón: 'We all know the deal, no use talking with Capello'); El Mundo, 27 March 2007 (Spanish)
- ↑ Zaragoza get Pavón and Matuzalem; UEFA.com, 18 July 2007
- ↑ Aguilar double downs Getafe; ESPN Soccernet, 27 September 2009
- ↑ Santander snatch a late point; ESPN Soccernet, 18 October 2009
- ↑ Hammers weigh up Pavon deal; Sky Sports, 17 November 2011
- ↑ Pavón, exjugador del Real Madrid, renuncia a cobrar el paro (Pavón, former Real Madrid player, refuses to go on the dole); 20 Minutos, 13 October 2012 (Spanish)