Guillermo Franco

Template:Short description {{#invoke:Other people|otherPeople}} Template:Family name hatnote Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox football biography

Guillermo "Guille" Luis Franco Farquarson<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> (born 3 November 1976) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born and raised in Argentina, he played for the Mexico national team.

Early life

Guillermo Franco was born in Corrientes, the capital city of the Corrientes Province in Argentina.

Club career

San Lorenzo

Franco began his career with Argentine Primera División side San Lorenzo, playing with the team from 1996 to 2002 mainly as a right winger.

Monterrey

He then joined Mexican Monterrey in the middle of 2002, and made his debut during the 2002 Apertura. Franco was very successful with the Rayados, and led the league in scoring during the 2004 Apertura with 15 goals in 16 games, playing as a striker. He was part of the team that won the Mexican Primera División championship in 2003 and achieved runner-up position twice in 2004 and 2005.

Villarreal

Subsequently, Franco spent three years in Spain playing for Villarreal, but his spell was plagued with injuries. In his first season, Franco helped Villarreal reach the semifinal of the UEFA Champions League where they lost to Arsenal. Franco also scored a goal that qualified Villarreal for the UEFA Cup, in a 1–0 victory against Celta de Vigo.

West Ham United

In September 2009, Franco signed for West Ham United on a one-year contract, becoming the first Mexican to play for the Hammers.<ref>Franco signs Template:Webarchive www.whufc.com</ref> On 25 September, it was disclosed that due to West Ham's perilous financial situation following former chairman Björgólfur Guðmundsson's financial collapse, West Ham's CEO Scott Duxbury, and their Sporting and Football Technical Director Gianluca Nani, had part financed the deal from their own salaries.<ref>West Ham chiefs pay for striker with their own money Template:Webarchive www.thisislondon.co.uk</ref> Franco made his debut for West Ham on 17 October 2009 in a 2–1 away defeat to Stoke City.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He scored his first goal for the team on 31 October 2009 to put them 1–0 up against Sunderland away from home, in a game that finished 2–2.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Franco became the third Mexican player to score in the Premier League, Jared Borgetti and Carlos Vela being the first and second respectively.Template:Citation needed On 24 April 2010, Franco assisted Scott Parker, who scored for the winner in a 3–2 victory against Wigan Athletic; a win which would see them safe from relegation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In May it was announced that West Ham would release Franco.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Vélez Sársfield

The striker then spent one semester as a free agent, until he joined Vélez Sársfield back in Argentina in January 2011.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He signed a one-year deal, and made his debut coming on as a second-half substitute for Santiago Silva in a 2–2 draw at Independiente in the first fixture of the 2011 Clausura. Subsequently, he played the starting minutes of the Copa Libertadores debut against Caracas FC, suffering a shoulder injury that left him out for the remainder of the season.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Having played less than 30 minutes, he offered the club to terminate his contract, or suspend his salary until he recovered,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> though Vélez rejected it. He returned for the 2011 Copa Libertadores quarter-finals, entering the field and scoring one goal from a penalty in a 4–2 victory over Libertad. He also played the last 5 games of the 2011 Clausura (one as a starter),<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> helping his team win the Argentine league title.

Pachuca

On 21 January 2012, he joined Pachuca of the Mexican Primera División. The next season, the Chicago Fire signed him.<ref name="chicago-fire1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Chicago Fire

Franco signed with Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire on 14 September 2012.<ref name="chicago-fire1"/> On 21 January 2013 the club announced Franco's contract option was not picked up for the new season.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On 29 January 2013, Franco announced his retirement from football.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

International career

In 2004, Franco became a naturalized Mexican citizen<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> after settling in Mexico in 2002; and made senior national team debut in 2005.

Franco played at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and was a part of the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup squad. During the 2010 World Cup qualification, he contributed two goals in six games. He played in all four matches for Mexico at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

In September 2010, Franco announced his retirement from international football.

Career statistics

Club

citation

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Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
San Lorenzo	1995–96	Argentine Primera División	3	0					3	0
	1996–97		6	0					6	0
	1997–98		10	1					10	1
	1998–99		6	0					6	0
	1999–2000		26	10					26	10
	2000–01		19	7					19	7
	2001–02		26	5					26	5
	Total		76	23					76	23
Monterrey	2002–03	Liga MX	39	15					39	15
	2003–04		30	12					30	12
	2004–05		28	23					28	23
	2005–06		22	13					22	13
	Total		119	63					119	63
Villarreal	2005–06	La Liga	12	4			5	0	17	4
	2006–07		27	2	5	0			32	2
	2007–08		24	8			6	1	30	9
	2008–09		18	0	1	1	6	1	25	2
	Total		81	14	6	1	17	2	104	17
West Ham United	2009–10	Premier League	23	5					23	5
Vélez Sársfield	2010–11	Argentine Primera División	6	0			3	1	9	1
	2011–12		12	5			6	4	18	9
	Total		18	5			9	5	27	10
Pachuca	2011–12	Mexican Primera División	12	0					12	0
Chicago Fire	2012	MLS	3	0					3	0
Career total			332	110	6	1	26	7	364	118

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year<ref name="nft"/>

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Mexico	2005	4	1
	2006	6	1
	2007	0	0
	2008	2	0
	2009	8	4
	2010	5	1
Total		25	7

Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Franco goal.

List of international goals scored by Guillermo Franco

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	8 October 2005	Estadio Alfonso Lastras, San Luis Potosí, Mexico	Template:Fb	1–1	5–2	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2	1 March 2006	Pizza Hut Park, Frisco, United States	Template:Fb	1–0	1–0	Friendly<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
3	10 June 2009	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico	Template:Fb	1–0	2–1	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
4	23 July 2009	Soldier Field, Chicago, United States	Template:Fb	1–0	5–3 (p.s.o.)	2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
5	26 July 2009	Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, United States	Template:Fb	5–0	5–0	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
6	5 September 2009	Estadio Ricardo Saprissa, San José, Costa Rica	Template:Fb	2–0	3–0	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
7	24 May 2010	Wembley Stadium, London, England	Template:Fb	1–2	1–3	Friendly

Honours

San Lorenzo

• Argentine Primera División: 2001 Clausura
• Copa Mercosur: 2001

Monterrey

• Mexican Primera División: 2003 Clausura

Vélez Sársfield

• Argentine Primera División: 2011 Clausura

Mexico

• CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2009

Individual

• Mexican Primera División Golden Ball: Clausura 2003
• Mexican Primera División Golden Boot: Apertura 2004

External links

• Template:Soccerbase
• FootballDatabase.com Profile
• Template:MedioTiempo
• Template:FIFA player
• Template:NFT
• Template:Usurped at Fútbol XXI Template:In lang