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 12 in)
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current team
Almería
Number 3
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)
2011–2012Logroñés (loan) 28 (1)
2013–2014 Almería B 26 (2)
2014– Almería 51 (1)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 June 2016.


This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Vélez and the second or maternal family name is Jiménez.

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

Club career

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]

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]

Personal life

Vélez's older brother, José Antonio, is also a footballer. Both played for Gimnàstic and Pobla.[14]

Club statistics

As of 22 March 2015[15]
Club Season Competition League Cup Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Gimnàstic 2009–10 Segunda División 4040
2012–13 Segunda División B 34410354
Total 38410394
Pobla de Mafumet 2010–11 Tercera División 293293
Logroñés 2011–12 Segunda División B 28130311
Almería B 2013–14 Segunda División B 262262
Almería 2013–14 La Liga 411051
2014–15 17000170
2015–16 Segunda División 000000
Total 21110221
Career totals 142115014711

References

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