Slava Fran Ric, a Galician whom Mendilibar invited as an assistant

After the apotheosis of celebrating the seventh European League in Sevilla’s history, Fran Rico (Portonovo, 1987) sat for a few minutes on the lawn of the Puskas Arena in Budapest, the stands already empty, in the company of his sons Mikel and André. He wanted to enjoy the success he achieved as assistant coach to Jose Luis Mendilibar.

If Fran Rico has shown anything in his career, it’s the ability to bounce back in the face of adversity. As a football player, managed to perform again after a very serious knee injury which removed him from the field of play for 840 days while he belonged to Granada. Physical problems stemming from injuries hastened the retirement of the player who grew up in Pontevedra, played in Real Madrid’s youth system and found the environment he longed for on loan at Eibar. When he terminated his contract with Granada in July 2019 at the age of 31 to hang up his football boots, Fran Rico had already decided that he would continue his career in the offices of Eibar.

The Basque club included him as a scout in their technical structure, and he was getting more and more established in sports management. In Eibar, he coincided with José Luis Mendilibar. In June 2022, Javier Rico, then Sporting Director of Gijon, made him a tempting offer. He offered him the position of technical secretary of the Asturian club. In Eibar, they wanted to continue to count on Fran, who eventually accepted the opportunity presented to him in Gijon to make a breakthrough. The second part was not told to Galičanin. That the club, like the USA, is immersed in the sales process. Within weeks of completion, the new owners decided to do without it. The opportunity turned into poisoned candy and Rico’s contract was terminated.

He received a call in March. Jose Luis Mendilibar, whom Sevilla had turned to in order to save himself, asked him to be her assistant. I agree. Therefore, the Europa League seemed like a chimera.