Fali (footballer, born 1993) explained

Fali
Full Name:Rafael Jiménez Jarque[1]
Birth Date:12 August 1993
Birth Place:Valencia, Spain
Height:1.86 m
Position:Centre-back, defensive midfielder
Currentclub:Cádiz
Clubnumber:3
Youthclubs1:Benimarc
Youthyears2:2003–2009
Youthclubs2:Villarreal
Youthyears3:2009–2010
Youthclubs3:Catarroja
Youthyears4:2010–2012
Youthclubs4:Levante
Years1:2011–2013
Caps1:33
Goals1:1
Years2:2013–2015
Caps2:66
Goals2:3
Years3:2015–2019
Caps3:49
Goals3:4
Years4:2016–2018
Clubs4:Barcelona B (loan)
Caps4:72
Goals4:1
Years5:2019
Clubs5:Cádiz (loan)
Caps5:4
Goals5:0
Years6:2019–
Caps6:147
Goals6:1
Club-Update:4 June 2024

Rafael Jiménez Jarque (born 12 August 1993), known as Fali, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for La Liga club Cádiz as a centre-back or a defensive midfielder.

Club career

Levante and Huracán

Born in Valencia, Fali joined Levante UD's youth setup in 2010 at age 17, after starting out at Villarreal CF and Catarroja CF. He made his senior debut with their reserves, spending one season apiece in Segunda División B and Tercera División.[2]

Fali terminated his contract with the Valencians on 16 August 2013,[3] and signed with third-tier club Huracán Valencia CF just hours later.[4] In the 2014–15 campaign he appeared in 42 matches and scored three goals, as the team missed out on promotion in the play-offs.[5]

Gimnàstic

On 6 July 2015, Fali agreed to a two-year deal with Gimnàstic de Tarragona, newly promoted to Segunda División.[6] He played his first game as a professional on 30 August, coming on as a 46th-minute substitute for Sergio Tejera in a 2–1 away win against CD Tenerife.[7]

Fali scored his first goal in the second division on 19 December 2015, his team's second in a 3–1 home victory over Real Zaragoza.[8] On 7 January of the following year, he was loaned to FC Barcelona Atlètic until June.[9]

On 11 July 2016, Fali's loan was extended until 2018 with a buyout clause.[10] He returned to Nàstic in late January 2018.[11]

Cádiz

On 10 May 2019, Fali moved to fellow division two side Cádiz CF on loan until the end of the season, as a replacement to injured Aleksandar Pantić.[12] On 8 July, he signed a permanent three-year deal.[13]

Fali renewed his contract 10 February 2020, until 2024.[14] He scored once from 30 appearances that season, helping to a return to La Liga after 14 years.[15]

On 20 September 2020, Fali made his debut in the Spanish top flight, playing the second half of the 2–0 away defeat of SD Huesca.[16]

Personal life

Fali is from a gypsy community; he was married at age 16, and had a child at 17. He worked in a scrapyard.[2]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cupTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Levante B2012–13Segunda División B230230
Huracán2013–14Segunda División B24010250
2014–15Segunda División B423423
Total66310673
Gimnástic2015–16Segunda División711081
Barcelona B (loan)2015–16Segunda División B160160
2016–17Segunda División B361361
2017–18Segunda División200200
Total72100721
Gimnástic2017–18Segunda División140140
2018–19Segunda División28310293
Total49420514
Cádiz (loan)2018–19Segunda División4040
Cádiz2019–20Segunda División30110311
2020–21La Liga34010350
2021–22La Liga28030310
2022–23La Liga25000250
2023-24La Liga 30000300
Total1471501521
Career total3619803699

Notes and References

  1. News: Fali. Diario AS. 5 July 2022.
  2. Web site: Fali: One of Spain's most unique footballers hoping to help Cadiz survive. BBC Sport. Andy. West. 26 November 2021. 26 November 2021.
  3. Web site: Fali se desvincula del Levante UD B. Fali cuts ties with Levante UD B. Levante UD. es. 16 August 2013. 7 July 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130818191725/http://es.levanteud.com/noticias/levante20447.html. 18 August 2013.
  4. Web site: Huracán CF ficha a Fali. Huracán CF sign Fali. Huracán Valencia. es. 16 August 2013. 7 July 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130930072434/http://www.huracancf.com/noticias/2013/08/16/hurac-n-cf-ficha-fali. 30 September 2013.
  5. News: Fali, fichado; Edu Oriol, en cartera. Fali, signed; Edu Oriol, being studied. Diari de Tarragona. es. 7 July 2015. 5 July 2022.
  6. Web site: Fali, nueva incorporación del Nàstic. Fali, new addition of Nàstic. Gimnàstic Tarragona. es. 6 July 2015. 7 July 2015.
  7. News: Le vuelven a voltear un marcador. They allow another comeback. Marca. es. 30 August 2015. 30 August 2015.
  8. News: Un gran Nástic vuelve a la promoción de ascenso. A great Nástic return to promotion zone. Marca. es. 19 December 2015. 21 December 2015.
  9. News: 'Fali', cedido al Barça B; Ondoa se marcha al Nàstic. 'Fali', loaned to Barça B; Ondoa goes to Nàstic. Mundo Deportivo. Ferran. Martínez. es. 7 January 2016. 8 January 2016.
  10. News: Fali, dos temporadas más cedido al Barça B. Fali, two more seasons loaned to Barça B. Mundo Deportivo. es. 11 July 2016. 23 February 2018.
  11. Web site: Fali vuelve al Nàstic después de su cesión al FC Barcelona 'B'. Fali returns to Nàstic after his loan to FC Barcelona 'B'. Gimnàstic Tarragona. es. 31 January 2018. 23 February 2018. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20180224211524/http://www.gimnasticdetarragona.cat/es/fali-torna-al-nastic-despres-de-la-cessio-al-fc-barcelona-b/. 24 February 2018.
  12. Web site: Fali ocupará la ficha de Pantic. Fali will take Pantic's place. Cádiz CF. es. 10 May 2019. 10 May 2019.
  13. News: El Cádiz ficha a Fali al pagar su cláusula al Nàstic. Cádiz sign Fali after paying his clause to Nàstic. Diario AS. es. 8 July 2019. 8 July 2019.
  14. News: Fali será cadista hasta 2024. Fali will be a cadista until 2024. Marca. Isabelo. Bejarano. es. 10 February 2020. 28 February 2020.
  15. Web site: Las notas del curso en el Cádiz: el 1x1 de un ascenso histórico. Campaign grades at Cádiz: 1x1 of an historic promotion. El Desmarque. Carlos. Villadiego. es. 21 July 2020. 5 April 2021.
  16. Web site: Jornada 2 Huesca 0–2 Cádiz La eficacia del Cádiz decanta el duelo de recién ascendidos ante el Huesca. Matchday 2 Huesca 0–2 Cádiz Cádiz efficiency decides clash of newly promoted against Huesca. RTVE. es. 20 September 2020. 5 April 2021.