Name Francisco Tejada Place of birth Palma, Spain Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | Playing position Current team Cordoba | |
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Full name Francisco Jimenez Tejada Date of birth (1986-06-26) 26 June 1986 (age 29) | ||
Francisco Jiménez Tejada (born 26 June 1986), known as Xisco, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for CA Osasuna.
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After making a name for himself with Deportivo de La Coruña, he signed in 2008 with Newcastle United, but he could only amass 11 official appearances for the club during his spell (one goal), also being loaned several times during his contract. He left in January 2013 and returned to his country, going on to spend four seasons with Córdoba and promote to La Liga in 2013–14.
Xisco participated with Spain at the 2009 European Under-21 Championship.
Deportivo
A product of Deportivo de La Coruña's youth ranks, Xisco was born in Palma, Majorca, Balearic Islands, and he made his La Liga debut on 26 April 2005 against Real Sociedad. His first (and second) goal arrived also that season, in a 2–2 away draw against Real Zaragoza on 15 May.
In 2007–08, after a season-long loan at Segunda División's UD Vecindario, Xisco emerged as a top flight striker, scoring five goals in two matches: a hat-trick in a 3–1 home win against Real Murcia on 30 March 2008, adding two at Racing de Santander (same result) the following week.
Newcastle United
On 1 September 2008, Xisco signed for Newcastle United for a reported initial fee of £5.7 million, although the fee could have eventually risen to £7 million subject to conditions. He made his debut for the club in the 1–2 home defeat against Hull City on 13 September, scoring in the game; however, he featured rarely during the season, being only seventh-choice behind Michael Owen, Obafemi Martins, Mark Viduka, Peter Løvenkrands, Shola Ameobi and Andy Carroll.
After only four months, Newcastle United attempted to sell Xisco only to be blocked by FIFA who did not allow for a player to be registered for three clubs in one season. In February 2009 he stated he had not made a mistake by moving, insisting he would eventually succeed.
After Newcastle were relegated, Xisco stated that he wasn't sure whether to stay at the club, and eventually was signed on loan by Racing Santander on 31 August 2009, in a season-long move. Two weeks later he made his debut for the Cantabrians during a 1–1 draw at Atlético Madrid, having come on as a substitute for Alexandre Geijo for the final twenty minutes – however, he was replaced by Toni Moral before the final whistle, injured. he netted his first goal for Racing on 3 January 2010, the second in a 2–0 win over CD Tenerife. On 27 January, in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey, he contributed to their 3–0 away triumph against CA Osasuna (5–1 on aggregate).
Manager Chris Hughton said that Xisco remained in his first-team plans upon the player's return to the Magpies in July 2010, with the latter stating he refused to give up on his future at the club. He came off the bench on 22 August in an impressive 6–0 home win against Aston Villa, setting up Carroll for his hat-trick in the 90th minute. After receiving a red card for an off-the-ball incident in a reserves game, he was suspended for three matches, and failed to appear for the team in the following months finding himself behind Ameobi, Carroll, Løvenkrands and Nile Ranger.
On 30 January 2011, Xisco returned to former club Deportivo on loan until the end of the season, being intermittently used and also suffering team relegation – he had been previously linked with a move to Real Zaragoza and a move back to Santander during the winter transfer window. On 11 August, he returned to the club in the same predicament.
Xisco featured sparingly during the second level season due to injuries. On 27 May 2012, however, he scored arguably the most important goal of the campaign, helping Deportivo come from behind to win it 2–1 at home against SD Huesca and seal promotion with one round remaining, as champions.
In the 2012 summer, Xisco revealed he could leave Newcastle, but opted to stay eventually. On 8 October 2012, he featured for the reserves for the first time since 2011, in a 2–1 win against Aston Villa's reserves, scoring a hat-trick against Stoke City two weeks later for the same competition; A month later he was included in the first-team squad, ahead of a UEFA Europa League match against Club Brugge KV.
Xisco's contract was terminated with immediate effect on 31 January 2013. After leaving Newcastle, he was named by the Newcastle Evening Chronicle as one of the club's worst strikers.
Córdoba
After his release, Xisco returned to his country by joining Córdoba CF in the second level– upon arriving, he spoke of his hopes to revive his career whilst helping his team. He made his debut for his new club on 9 March 2013, coming on as a substitute and scoring a goal in a 3–4 defeat at FC Barcelona B.
Xisco appeared regularly for the Andalusians during the 2013–14 campaign, scoring ten goals as they returned to the Spanish top flight after a 42-year absence. On 23 January 2015, after featuring sparingly, he was loaned to RCD Mallorca until June.
Later years
On 21 July 2017, after a one-season spell at Thailand's Muangthong United FC, Xisco signed a two-year contract with CA Osasuna.
International career
Xisco made his Spain under-21 debut in a friendly against England on 6 February 2007, in which he had a shot hit the foot of the post. He scored his first goal in the category against Georgia during the 2009 UEFA European Championship qualifiers, adding to his tally by netting against Russia with a subtle finish, also during that stage of the competition.
Xisco added another goal on 15 October 2008, in a 3–1 extra time win against Switzerland, helping Spain qualify for the finals where he did not score.