Luna (footballer)

Luna
Personal information
Full nameFrancisco Javier Aguilera Blanco
Date of birth23 September 1971
Place of birthJerez de la Frontera, Spain
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing positionStriker
Youth career
Flamenco
Sanluqueño
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1992–1993Puerto Real
1993–1994San Fernando
1994–1995Mármol Macael
1995Almería15(7)
1996Albacete39(13)
1997–2000Sporting Gijón45(7)
1998–1999→ Hércules (loan)27(6)
2000→ Dundee (loan)9(3)
2000–2001Monterrey24(1)
2001–2003Hibernian43(8)
2003–2006Almería97(17)
2006–2009Écija88(26)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Francisco Javier Aguilera Blanco, commonly known as Luna (born 23 September 1971) and sometimes Paco Luna, is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a striker.

After having spent the early part of his career in his country, his La Liga totals consisting of 60 matches and 17 goals, he appeared for two clubs in Scotland in his late 20s and early 30s.

Football career

Born in Jerez de la Frontera, Province of Cádiz,[1] Luna made his professional debuts with UD Almería – also in Andalusia – in Segunda División, after spending his first three years as a senior in amateur football.

In January 1996, his solid performances attracted the attention of La Liga club Albacete Balompié. He scored ten goals in the second part of the season, but the Castile-La Mancha side was relegated after a five-year stay.

Luna signed with Sporting de Gijón also in the top division, in another winter transfer move, but his stay in Asturias would not be very successful individually, also being loaned twice, first with Hércules CF. His second loan move was with Scottish Premier League club Dundee in 2000:[2] he impressed in his beginnings in Scotland by netting three times in five starts, but cited family reasons for leaving the country.[1][2]

After one year in Mexico with C.F. Monterrey, where he again linked up with his "mentor" Benito Floro,[1] Luna made a surprise return to Scotland with Hibernian.[2] He had a successful first season with Hibs, scoring twice in a UEFA Cup first-round tie against AEK Athens FC (3–2 home win, but 3–4 aggregate exit).[3]

Luna had a less successful second year, however, and was allowed to come back to Spain in January 2003,[4] returning to former side Almería where he produced three 1/2 respectable seasons in the second level. In the 2006 summer he signed for another team in his native area, lowly Écija Balompié.[5]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 THE FULL Luna; Sunday Herald, 23 December 2001
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 HIBS made a shock swoop into the transfer market today when they snapped up Spanish hit man Francisco Luna; Edinburgh Evening News, 4 July 2001
  3. ↑ My team: Hibernian; The Observer, 2 March 2003
  4. ↑ Luna returns to Spain; BBC Sport, 31 January 2003
  5. ↑ Paco Luna ficha por el Écija Balompié (Paco Luna signs for Écija Balompié); Xerez Mania (Spanish)

External links