Spanish left fullback Juanfran joins Ajax on loan
12 August: Ajax have found the left fullback Danny
Blind wanted to add to his squad so badly. Juan Francisco
García, known in football as Juanfran, joined the
Amsterdam club on loan from Turkish top flight outfit Besiktas
today. Ajax also have the option to land the 29 year-old
Spaniard on a permanent deal at the end of the season.
According to Spanish newspaper Marca Ajax paid
Besiktas 550,000 euros for the loan and
the 'option-to-buy'.
Juan Francisco 'Juanfran' García (born Valencia,
Spain, 15 July 1976) started his professional career in the
1994-1995 season at Levante, playing in the Segunda
División of La Liga. He played 48 league
games for the club in just over two seasons and scored one
goal. Juanfran's play drew the attention of Primera
División powerhouse Valencia CF. He joined the club
in the summer of 1996 and played there for two seasons (41
league games in total).
His best years, however, Juanfran had as the superb left
fullback of Celta de Vigo. He joined the club in the summer of
1999 and played for them for five seasons, in which he was
always a starter and a key player for Celta. In March 2000 he
was invited for the Spanish national team for the first time.
He was in the Spanish squad for the World Cup 2002, where
he had three appearances. In total he played
11 matches for his country.
Juanfran won his last cap for Spain in June 2003, but
then lost his spot, mainly due to the fact that Celta
were sliding downhill at increasing speed. In 2004
relegation to the Segunda División was a fact and
Juanfran was one of the players to leave the club and make a
new start elsewhere, after 128 league appearances (6 goals) for
the Vigo side.
Juanfran's new club was Besiktas, one of the powerhouses
from the Turkish capital of Istanbul, where Spaniard Vicente
del Bosque was the man in charge. The first half of the
season, under Del Bosque, was alright: Juanfran was a
starter for Besiktas and scored one goal in 13 games. But Del
Bosque got fired halfway the season and the new manager
did not rate the Spaniard, who hardly saw any action for
Besiktas after that. His move to Amsterdam is
Juanfran's 'liberation' and a chance to draw the
attention of the coaches of the Spanish national team again,
and get into the Spanish squad for the World Cup 2006.
Ajax boss Danny Blind must be happy man: his squad for the
2005-2006 season is now complete. Blind wanted to add a left
fullback to his squad. Now that Maxwell is
badly injured young Urby Emanuelson is the only
real left fullback in the Ajax squad, although players
such as Julien Escudé, Olaf Lindenbergh and Thomas
Vermaelen can also play there. Juanfran, however, is a
real left fullback and not just an ordinary one: he's
experienced, offensive thinking and knows the very
highest level. The first Spaniard ever to play for
Ajax will wear the jersey with number 22, which is
available again due to the departure of
Rasmus Lindgren to FC Groningen.
With Celta de Vigo Juanfran played two Champions League
group games against Ajax in the 2003-2004 season. For what it's
worth: Celta advanced, Ajax didn't, but the Amsterdammers would
have eliminated Celta had it been a knock-out round: on
04 November 2003 Juanfran and Celta beat Ajax at
Vigo's Balaídos Stadium (3-2), two weeks after
having
lost 1-0 at the Amsterdam ArenA. That one was his
first ever game at Ajax's home ground. His second will
follow really soon. (MP)
Source: Ajax.nl, VI.nl
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