He smiles, screams and jumps when the ball hits the net, but he’s much calmer. Eyes reveal the wisdom of an athlete who knows his importance to the team. He knows that he can, in a mere moment, give Gil Vicente valuable points.
It started by being crucial in a campaign that took Gelestas to Europe and hasn’t slowed down this year, even with a few holes in the team below. Today, when a goal is sung in Barcelos, we all know the name of the culprit: Fran Navarro is, after all, Europe’s top scorer.
With the goal he scored against FC Porto on Sunday, setting the stage for the victory over the champions (1-2), remained the spearhead in the fight for the Silver Boot, but more importantly isolated himself Gil Vicente’s all-time leading scorer in the league. a zero zero Take the opportunity to delve into the Spanish past.
Fran, by those who know him
When he signed in June 2021, he described himself to his supporters as “Hardworking, Ambitious and Durable” He certainly lived up to that assertion. From Spain he brought a surname bullwhich also proved appropriate.
“He was a tireless worker and did not care about the position he played in, nor the coaching characteristics. Give up and leave it all on the field. They called him the bull for this very reason. He was always a diligent and humble child.”
The above words came from a mouth Miguel Angel Angulo. If the name does not sound strange to you, dear reader, it is because you remember the Spanish international who ended his career at Alvalade, in 2009/10. Today he is a coach and speaks to zero zeroHe talked about the days when Fran Navarro was on his team:
“It was rewarding to work with him. He was a kid of great discipline and character. I always wanted to win. He has a good character and his main feature was always trying to overpower himself, trying to be better, even while maintaining discipline. He remembers he just wanted to be a professional.”
Angulo emerged as a player at Valencia, and it was there that he made his career as a coach. He passed through the lower ranks, was an assistant to the main team and today leads the B team – Valencia Mestalla – With very positive results (on his way to his second consecutive promotion). He still had time to peek at his former disciples.
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′ It is true that Fran is having a great season, and that is down to work and an innate ability to score goals. A player with pace who finds plenty of goalscoring opportunities… It’s no surprise that he made history in Gil Vicente!
′′ We already knew that, if he got away with injuries, he could reach the elite. At the moment, he can sign with a first-class team in Europe. He is a child who deserves this and I wish him all the best in the world.”
(training) band roaring
He was in 2015/2016 in the team Valencia U19with which Navarro and Angulo intersected. The young coach has mentored a talented group of kids who will often make it to professional football and even to the international stages. The list of names is really impressive…
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Only among the spearheads did Fran have a dragon rivalry. Tony Martinez from Raphael Mir, who is now scoring goals for Sevilla. There was also Carlos Solerwho is today international and plays for PSG, and names like Gonzalo Villar (Getafe), Tony Lato (Valencia) or Fran Villalba (Malaga). until Pedro Gonsalves It passed through the team that season, though the Portugal international only trained with Navarro – they never played together.
“We had a team with excellent players, with good technical characteristics. We had a lot of fun that year, with Tony Martinez, Rafa Mir, Soler, Lato… They were very talented players and for that reason, we also played amazing, amazing football. Angulo told us that we were balanced in this aspect ».
With so many options, Gil Vicente’s goalkeeper had to adapt. At times in the starting line-up, at other times Rafa Mir and Tony Martinez appeared at the top of the pyramid, although they lined up The three in the same elevenFran didn’t always have the lead, but he was very competent in attack and that’s why he had so many minutes. Sometimes he played to the extreme, because he was so much fun and made himself available for what the team needed,” Angulo shot.
It was this position that allowed him to go from being a junior option to a B-class star, before finally leaving Valencia to head to Portugal. Today, you no longer need to adjust to your peers or shy away from the spotlight. He’s the star who’s really asking for the jump.
Fran Navarro surpasses Paulo Alves and is Gil Vicente’s all-time top scorer in the league 🇵🇹: These are the top 10 goalscorers of Gil Vicente in the competition pic.twitter.com/6x8xprp2ge
– Playmaker (playmaker_PT) February 27, 2023
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