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Luna (footballer)

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Luna
Personal information
Full name Francisco Javier Aguilera Blanco
Date of birth (1971-09-23) 23 September 1971 (age 53)
Place of birth Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
Flamenco
Sanluqueño
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991 Sanluqueño 10 (0)
1991–1992 Puerto Real
1992–1993 San Fernando
1993–1994 Mármol Macael 32 (6)
1994–1995 Almería 38 (14)
1995–1996 Albacete 39 (13)
1996–2000 Sporting Gijón 45 (7)
1998–1999 → Hércules (loan) 27 (6)
2000 → Dundee (loan) 9 (3)
2000–2001 Monterrey 24 (1)
2001–2003 Hibernian 43 (8)
2003–2006 Almería 97 (17)
2006–2009 Écija 88 (26)
Total 452 (101)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Francisco Javier Aguilera Blanco (born 23 September 1971), commonly known as Luna 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.

Club career

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Born in Jerez de la Frontera, Province of Cádiz,[1] Luna made his professional debut with UD Almería – also in Andalusia – in Segunda División, after spending the first part of his career as a senior in lower league or amateur football.[2]

In December 1995, 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 Castilla–La Mancha side were relegated after five years.[2]

Luna signed with Sporting de Gijón also of 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 team Dundee in 2000;[3] he impressed in his beginnings in Scotland by netting three times in five starts, but cited family reasons for leaving the country.[1][3]

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.[3] 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, 3–4 aggregate exit).[4]

Luna had a less successful second year, however, and was allowed to come back to Spain in January 2003,[5] returning to former club Almería where he produced three and a half respectable seasons in the second level. In the summer of 2006 he signed for another team in his native area, lowly Écija Balompié.[6][2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c THE FULL Luna; Sunday Herald, 23 December 2001
  2. ^ a b c Entrevista a Paco Luna, repasando su carrera deportiva (Interview to Paco Luna, talking about his sporting career); El Córner del Sur, 18 June 2018 (in Spanish)
  3. ^ a b c 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
  4. ^ My team: Hibernian; The Observer, 2 March 2003
  5. ^ Luna returns to Spain; BBC Sport, 31 January 2003
  6. ^ Paco Luna ficha por el Écija Balompié (Paco Luna signs for Écija Balompié); Xerez Mania, 2006 (in Spanish)
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