Fran Vélez

Fran Vélez
Personal information
Full name Francisco Manuel Vélez Jiménez
Date of birth (1991-06-23) 23 June 1991
Place of birth Tarragona, Spain
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current team
 Wisła Kraków
Number 44
Youth career
2007–2009 La Floresta
2009–2010 Gimnàstic
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2013 Gimnàstic 38 (4)
2010–2011 Pobla Mafumet 29 (3)
2011–2012 → Logroñés (loan) 28 (1)
2013–2014 Almería B 26 (2)
2014–2017 Almería 75 (2)
2017– Wisła Kraków 4 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 August 2017.

Francisco 'Fran' Manuel Vélez Jiménez (born 23 June 1991) is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central defender or a right back for Polish club Wisła Kraków.

Club career

Gimnàstic

Born in Tarragona, Catalonia, Vélez began playing football for Club Esportiu La Floresta.[1] In the 2009 winter he signed a contract with local giants Gimnàstic de Tarragona, where he spent his last year as a junior.

On 10 April 2010, Vélez made his official Nàstic debut, starting against Albacete Balompié in a 1–1 away draw.[2] He made three more appearances during the season in Segunda División, against Real Betis, Cádiz CF (where he was sent off) and UD Las Palmas; in the following campaign he represented CF Pobla de Mafumet, the farm team.

In August 2011, Vélez was loaned to UD Logroñés in Segunda División B.[3] He scored his only goal of the season against Real Sociedad B, contributing to a 3–1 home win.[4]

On 14 July 2012, Vélez returned to Nàstic and its main squad.[5] On 26 August he played his first game in his second stint, against Valencia CF Mestalla;[6] he netted his first goal with the club on 7 October, scoring the opener in a 2–0 home success over CD Binissalem.[7]

Almería

On 2 September 2013, Vélez signed with UD Almería, initially being assigned to the B-side also in the third level.[8] He made his first-team debut on 14 January of the following year, starting as a right-back in a 0–2 home loss against Racing de Santander for the campaign's Copa del Rey (1–3 on aggregate).[9]

Vélez's maiden appearance in La Liga took place on 27 April 2014: he started and scored in a 2–1 win at RCD Espanyol, where he featured as a defensive midfielder before being replaced by Jonathan Zongo in the 71st minute.[10] He played a further three matches with the main squad, only contributing with four minutes in the last fixture, a 0–0 home draw against Athletic Bilbao.[11]

On 7 June 2014, Vélez was definitely promoted to the first team.[12] On 31 March 2015, he was ruled out for the remainder of the season after suffering a shoulder injury;[13] the season also ended in relegation.

Vélez was regularly used during the following second division campaigns, and cut ties with the club on 28 June 2017.[14]

Personal life

Vélez's older brother, José Antonio, is also a footballer. Both played for Gimnàstic and Pobla.[15]

Club statistics

As of 10 June 2017[16]
Club Season Competition League Cup Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Gimnàstic 2009–10 Segunda División 40—40
2012–13 Segunda División B 34410—354
Total 38410—394
Pobla de Mafumet 2010–11 Tercera División 293—293
Logroñés 2011–12 Segunda División B 28130—311
Almería B 2013–14 Segunda División B 262—262
Almería 2013–14 La Liga 4110—51
2014–15 17000—170
2015–16 Segunda División 30020—320
2016–17 24100—241
Total 75230—782
Career totals 1961270—20311

References

  1. ↑ El juvenil Vélez podría jugar de titular contra el Albacete (Youth player Vélez could start against Albacete); Nàstic Grana, 10 April 2010 (in Spanish)
  2. ↑ El Nástic frena la racha manchega (Nástic stops manchego streak); Marca, 10 April 2010 (in Spanish)
  3. ↑ Fran Vélez, cedit a la UD Logroñés (Fran Vélez, loaned to UD Logronés); Gimnàstic Tarragona, 4 August 2011 (in Catalan)
  4. ↑ El Sanse terminó con nueve jugadores en Logroño (Sanse ended with nine players in Logroño); El Diario Vasco, 22 March 2012 (in Spanish)
  5. ↑ Fran Vélez torna al Nàstic (Fran Vélez returns to Nàstic); Gimnàstic Tarragona, 14 July 2012 (in Catalan)
  6. ↑ Debut con empate (Debut with draw); Blog del Nàstic, 26 August 2012 (in Spanish)
  7. ↑ 3 puntos y algo más. (3 points and something more.); Blog del Nàstic, 7 October 2012 (in Spanish)
  8. ↑ Fran Vélez marxa traspassat a la UD Almería (Fran Vélez transferred to UD Almería); Gimnàstic Tarragona, 2 September 2013 (in Catalan)
  9. ↑ Un monumento al Racing (A monument to Racing); Marca, 14 January 2014 (in Spanish)
  10. ↑ Suso se inventa una nueva esperanza (Suso invents new hope); Marca, 27 April 2014 (in Spanish)
  11. ↑ Más que suficiente (More than enough); Marca, 18 May 2014 (in Spanish)
  12. ↑ Fran Vélez pasa a tener contrato profesional y sube al primer equipo (Fran Vélez now has a professional contract and is promoted to the first team); UD Almería, 7 June 2014 (in Spanish)
  13. ↑ Fran Vélez dice adiós a la temporada (Fran Vélez says goodbye to the season); UD Almería, 31 March 2015 (in Spanish)
  14. ↑ La UD Almería y Fran Vélez llegan a un acuerdo para rescindir el contrato (UD Almería and Fran Vélez reach an agreement to terminate the contract); UD Almería, 28 June 2017 (in Spanish)
  15. ↑ Fran Vélez pide irse (Fran Vélez asks to leave); Diari de Tarragona, 22 June 2013 (in Spanish)
  16. ↑ "Fran Vélez". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
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