Nino
Nino as a Tenerife player in 2010
Personal information
Full name Juan Francisco Martínez Modesto[1]
Date of birth (1980-06-10) 10 June 1980[1]
Place of birth Vera, Spain
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
Elche B (assistant)
Youth career
CD Vera
1995–1997 Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–1998 Elche B
1998–2006 Elche 273 (88)
2006–2008 Levante 19 (1)
2007–2008Tenerife (loan) 40 (18)
2008–2011 Tenerife 119 (60)
2011–2016 Osasuna 143 (27)
2016–2021 Elche 170 (38)
Total 764 (232)
Managerial career
2021– Elche B (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Juan Francisco Martínez Modesto (born 10 June 1980), known as Nino, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker, currently assistant manager of Elche CF Ilicitano.

Over 14 seasons, he amassed Segunda División totals of 571 matches and 194 goals, mainly with Elche.[2] In La Liga, he represented Levante, Tenerife, Osasuna and Elche.

Club career

An extremely prolific goalscorer in Segunda División, Nino was born in Vera, Province of Almería, and first appeared professionally with Elche CF, helping the club achieve promotion from the Segunda División B in 1998–99. In the following campaign he made his debut in division two, with 16 matches and two goals, and would go on to develop as an influential figure for the Alicante province team.[3][4]

After having scored 20 goals during 2004–05, Nino made his La Liga debut two seasons later, joining neighbours Levante UD.[4] However, he would only find the net once throughout the entire campaign, in a 2–1 loss at CA Osasuna on 20 December 2006,[5] but the Valencians managed to avoid relegation after finishing in 15th position.[6]

Nino returned to the second tier in 2007–08, loaned to CD Tenerife, and finished the campaign with 18 goals, second best in the league behind Xerez CD's Yordi. The move was made permanent afterwards, on a three-year deal.[7][8]

In 2008–09, Nino was finally crowned the second division's top scorer at 29 goals and Tenerife returned to the top flight after a seven-year hiatus.[9][10] In the next season, he was again their main attacking reference: on 18 April 2010 he scored a hat-trick at home against Getafe CF (3–2),[11] totalling 14 at the end of the season but in an eventual relegation.[12] He bettered to 17 the following campaign, but the Canary Islands side dropped down another league.[13]

Nino rejoined the top flight in early July 2011, with the 31-year-old signing a 2+1 contract with Osasuna.[14] He netted in only his second official game, a 2–1 home win over Sporting de Gijón.[15]

On 19 August 2016, after the Navarrese were promoted back into the main division, Nino remained in the second one with Elche, rejoining the club a decade after leaving.[16] He scored 12 times in his first season back at the Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero, including two in a 4–4 draw with Gimnàstic de Tarragona on 8 October,[17] but his team was relegated.[18]

On 3 January 2021, at the age of 40, Nino competed in Elche's 1–0 La Liga away defeat to Athletic Bilbao. In doing so, he became the first player to reach 700 games in Spain's two professional divisions.[19]

Nino announced his retirement from professional football on 9 June 2021, one day shy of his 41st birthday.[20] On 2 September, he was named assistant manager of René Martínez at his last club's reserves.[21]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[22]
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Elche 1998–99 Segunda División B 172004[lower-alpha 1]1213
1999–00 Segunda División 16210172
2000–01 4012104112
2001–02 4217104317
2002–03 4110104210
2003–04 3412113513
2004–05 4120304420
2005–06 4213004213
Total 27388814128590
Levante 2006–07 La Liga 19111202
Tenerife 2007–08 Segunda División 4018004018
2008–09 4229104329
2009–10 La Liga 3814204014
2010–11 Segunda División 3917114018
Total 159784116379
Osasuna 2011–12 La Liga 36600366
2012–13 25310263
2013–14 400040
2014–15 Segunda División 4111004111
2015–16 377003[lower-alpha 2]0407
Total 14327103014727
Elche 2016–17 Segunda División 3912214113
2017–18 Segunda División B 3812206[lower-alpha 3]44616
2018–19 Segunda División 37710387
2019–20 407204[lower-alpha 4]1468
2020–21 La Liga 16031191
Total 1703810210519045
Career total 76423224500176805243

Honours

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Nino". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  2. "REPORTAJE | Cien veces Nino" [REPORT | One hundred times Nino] (in Spanish). Elche CF. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  3. Visiedo, Víctor (3 December 2019). "Nino, el delantero veratense que ha hecho historia en Elche" [Nino, the Vera-born forward who has made history in Elche]. Diario de Almería (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  4. 1 2 Ramírez, Alberto (23 August 2020). "Nino, el "dios" cuarentón que ha devuelto al Elche a Primera División" [Nino, the forty-year-old "god" who has returned Elche to Primera División]. El Confidencial (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  5. "Osasuna 2–1 Levante". ESPN Soccernet. 20 December 2006. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
  6. Santos, Jorge; Zea, Antonio; Martínez, Ángel David; Dalence, Daniel. "Spain 2006/07". RSSSF. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  7. "El Tenerife se hace en propiedad con Nino, que ha firmado por tres años" [Tenerife complete outright acquisition of Nino, who has signed for three years]. El Diario (in Spanish). 31 January 2008. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  8. "Nino es el tercer máximo goleador de la historia del Tenerife" [Nino is the third all-time scorer in the history of Tenerife]. Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). 15 October 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  9. Santos, Javier (31 May 2009). "El Tenerife acaricia el ascenso al son de Nino" [Tenerife caress promotion with the soundtrack of Nino]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  10. "Nino, máximo goleador de la temporada" [Nino, season top scorer]. Marca (in Spanish). 21 June 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  11. "Nino treble inspires Tenerife". ESPN Soccernet. 18 April 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
  12. "Nino agrandó su leyenda tras anotar catorce goles" [Nino's legend grows larger as he scores fourteen goals]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 24 May 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  13. Rodríguez, Ubay (20 March 2015). "Nino, un futbolista especial" [Nino, a special footballer] (in Spanish). Vavel. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  14. "Osasuna ficha a Nino" [Osasuna sign Nino] (in Spanish). CA Osasuna. 8 July 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  15. "Osasuna claim first win". ESPN Soccernet. 11 September 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  16. "El Elche anuncia el regreso de Nino, diez años después" [Elche announce the return of Nino, ten years later]. Marca (in Spanish). 19 August 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  17. "El Nàstic no gana ni en un partido loco" [Nàstic do not even win in a crazy match]. Marca (in Spanish). 8 October 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  18. Galicia, Samuel (3 July 2017). "Nino seguirá en el Elche para devolverlo a Segunda división" [Nino will remain at Elche to return them to Segunda división]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  19. Díaz, Adrián (3 January 2021). "Nino, primer jugador que alcanza los 700 partidos de Liga entre Primera y Segunda" [Nino, first player to reach 700 league games between Primera and Segunda]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  20. Díaz, Adrián (9 June 2021). "Nino: "Me retiro de lo que más quiero, la ilusión se ha acabado"" [Nino: "I retire from what I love the most, the hunger has gone"]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  21. Sirera, Quique (2 September 2021). "Nino se convierte en el segundo entrenador del Ilicitano" [Nino becomes the assistant manager of Ilicitano]. Super Deporte (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  22. Nino at Soccerway
  23. 1 2 "Forlán y Valdés recogen el Pichichi y el Zamora 2008–09" [Forlán and Valdés get 2008–09 Pichichi and Zamora]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 27 October 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  • Nino at BDFutbol
  • Nino at Futbolme (in Spanish)
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