Paco Jémez
Spanish footballer and manager
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Francisco "Paco" Jémez Martín (born 18 April 1970) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a central defender.
|
Jémez in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Francisco Jémez Martín | ||
| Date of birth | 18 April 1970 | ||
| Place of birth | Las Palmas, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Córdoba | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1988–1991 | Córdoba | 81 | (4) |
| 1991–1992 | Murcia | 35 | (0) |
| 1992–1993 | Rayo Vallecano | 38 | (0) |
| 1993–1998 | Deportivo La Coruña | 94 | (1) |
| 1998–2004 | Zaragoza | 168 | (1) |
| 2004 | Rayo Vallecano | 17 | (0) |
| 2005 | Lugo | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 433 | (6) | |
| International career | |||
| 1998–2001 | Spain | 21 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2007 | Alcalá | ||
| 2007–2008 | Córdoba | ||
| 2009 | Cartagena | ||
| 2010–2011 | Las Palmas | ||
| 2011–2012 | Córdoba | ||
| 2012–2016 | Rayo Vallecano | ||
| 2016 | Granada | ||
| 2016–2017 | Cruz Azul | ||
| 2017–2018 | Las Palmas | ||
| 2019–2020 | Rayo Vallecano | ||
| 2021–2022 | Ibiza | ||
| 2022–2024 | Tractor | ||
| 2024–2025 | Ibiza | ||
| 2026 | West Ham United (assistant) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Over 11 seasons, he played 269 La Liga matches in representation of three teams, mainly Deportivo and Zaragoza. He appeared for Spain at Euro 2000.
Jémez started working as a manager in 2007, going on to work with several clubs.
Club career
Jémez was born in Las Palmas, Canary Islands. During his career, he played for Córdoba, Real Murcia, Rayo Vallecano (first appearing in La Liga and playing all 38 matches of the season), Deportivo de La Coruña (only totalling ten games in his first two seasons as the club achieved two consecutive runner-up spots, being more used afterwards) and Real Zaragoza,[1] which he helped to victory in the 2000–01 edition of the Copa del Rey.[2] In January 2004 he returned to Rayo, now in the Segunda División.[1]
After one year out of football, Jémez returned with Lugo – Tercera División – before retiring at the age of 35.[3]
International career
Over almost three years, Jémez played 21 times for the Spain national team. His debut was on 23 September 1998 in a friendly against Russia in Granada,[4] and he was a participant at UEFA Euro 2000, taking part in three matches in an eventual quarter-final exit.[5][6][7]
Coaching career
Spain
Jémez took up coaching in 2007, first with lowly Alcalá. He moved to the second division the following campaign, with Córdoba, being sacked with eleven matches to go.[8]
In early 2009, Jémez signed with Cartagena,[9] ultimately being the coach that earned the Murcia club a first ever promotion to the second tier.[10] He left in July.
On 12 April 2010, following Sergije Krešić's dismissal, Jémez was appointed coach at struggling Las Palmas in division two.[11] He eventually led his hometown side safe from the relegation zone in a 17th-place finish,[12] being fired on 27 February 2011.[13]
After taking Córdoba to the first round in the second-division promotion playoffs,[14] Jémez joined his former club Rayo on 22 June 2012.[15] After leading the team to their best-ever ranking in the top flight, eighth, he renewed his contract until June 2015.[16]
On 26 May 2016, after Rayo's top-tier relegation, Jémez failed to agree new terms[17] and became manager of Granada on 20 June.[18] However, on 28 September, he was dismissed after only six games in charge, no wins and a club-worst start to a season in more than 70 years.[19]
Mexico
On 28 November 2016, Jémez was named head coach of Cruz Azul in the Mexican Liga MX.[20] He led the team to their first playoff appearance in three years but, in November 2017, decided not to renew his contract and left.[21]
Back to Spain
Jémez returned to Las Palmas on 21 December 2017, becoming the third permanent manager in charge of the club during the campaign.[22] He rejoined Rayo Vallecano in late March 2019, replacing Míchel who had been dismissed two days earlier after losing seven league games in a row, which left the team at risk of top-flight relegation, and agreeing to a deal until June 2020;[23] they eventually went down in last place.[24]
On 26 December 2021, after more than a year of inactivity, Jémez took over second-division newcomers Ibiza until the end of the season.[25] He managed to avoid relegation, but still left as his contract expired on 31 May.[26]
Iran and return to Ibiza
In December 2022, Jémez went back abroad, being appointed at Tractor in the Persian Gulf Pro League.[27] He returned to both Spain and Ibiza on 12 November 2024, with the team now in the Primera Federación.[28]
Jémez was sacked by Ibiza on 21 October 2025, after a poor start to the season.[29]
West Ham United
On 15 January 2026, Jémez joined Premier League club West Ham United as first-team coach under his former Deportivo teammate Nuno Espírito Santo.[30][31]
Personal life
Managerial statistics
- As of 26 October 2025
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Alcalá | 25 March 2007 | 28 June 2007 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 21 | 11 | +10 | 41.67 | [33] |
| Córdoba | 28 June 2007 | 31 March 2008 | 32 | 7 | 15 | 10 | 40 | 46 | −6 | 21.88 | [34] |
| Cartagena | 3 February 2009 | 1 July 2009 | 19 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 33 | 16 | +17 | 47.37 | [35] |
| Las Palmas | 12 April 2010 | 27 February 2011 | 37 | 9 | 13 | 15 | 52 | 69 | −17 | 24.32 | [36] |
| Córdoba | 8 June 2011 | 13 June 2012 | 50 | 23 | 13 | 14 | 60 | 54 | +6 | 46.00 | [37] |
| Rayo Vallecano | 22 June 2012 | 26 May 2016 | 164 | 55 | 29 | 80 | 206 | 303 | −97 | 33.54 | [38] |
| Granada | 20 June 2016 | 28 September 2016 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 15 | −8 | 0.00 | [39] |
| Cruz Azul | 28 November 2016 | 27 November 2017 | 48 | 17 | 18 | 13 | 56 | 52 | +4 | 35.42 | [40] |
| Las Palmas | 21 December 2017 | 25 May 2018 | 23 | 2 | 6 | 15 | 12 | 41 | −29 | 8.70 | [41] |
| Rayo Vallecano | 20 March 2019 | 31 July 2020 | 56 | 17 | 25 | 14 | 76 | 73 | +3 | 30.36 | [42] |
| Ibiza | 26 December 2021 | 31 May 2022 | 21 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 34 | 36 | −2 | 33.33 | [43] |
| Tractor | 6 December 2022 | 15 April 2024 | 45 | 24 | 8 | 13 | 65 | 45 | +20 | 53.33 | [27] |
| Ibiza | 12 November 2024 | 21 October 2025 | 36 | 17 | 7 | 12 | 51 | 38 | +13 | 47.22 | [44] |
| Total | 549 | 192 | 153 | 204 | 713 | 799 | −86 | 34.97 | — | ||
Honours
Player
Deportivo
Zaragoza
Manager
Cartagena