Paco Soler Explained

Paco Soler
Fullname:Francisco Manuel Soler Atencia
Birth Date:5 March 1970
Birth Place:Palma, Spain
Position:Midfielder
Youthclubs1:CIDE Mallorca
Years1:1988–1991
Caps1:69
Goals1:9
Years2:1991–2004
Caps2:339
Goals2:19
Totalcaps:408
Totalgoals:28
Nationalyears1:1991–1992
Nationalcaps1:11
Nationalgoals1:1
Manageryears1:2007
Manageryears2:2009–2010
Managerclubs2:Atlético Baleares
Manageryears3:2013
Managerclubs3:Atlético Baleares

Francisco Manuel "Paco" Soler Atencia (born 5 March 1970) is a Spanish retired football central midfielder and manager.

He only played with Mallorca during his career, amassing La Liga totals of 168 matches and three goals over nine seasons and spending 14 years with the first team. He subsequently became a coach.

Club career

A hard-nosed player, Soler was born in Palma de Mallorca, Balearic Islands, and spent his entire career with local club RCD Mallorca. He made his first-team debut in the 1990–91 season, and went on to make 419 competitive appearances for them.[1]

In 1996–97, Soler was instrumental in helping Mallorca return to La Liga, and also appeared regularly the following campaign as the team finished fifth. He was named on the substitutes bench for the final of the 1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.[2]

In his final two years, however, Soler played almost no part in the side's lineups, and retired after 2003–04 at the age of 34. Subsequently he took up coaching and, in January 2007, was appointed at Portuguese Primeira Liga club S.C. Beira-Mar after it signed a cooperation deal with Inverfutbol, a Spanish-based sporting company, not being able to help the Aveiro team avoid relegation.[3]

In February 2009, Soler returned to his native region, replacing former Spanish international Francisco at the helm of lowly CD Atlético Baleares and suffering another relegation.[4] Four years later, he left his post as director of football and again became their manager.[5]

International career

Soler was part of the Spain squad that won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, appearing in four matches for a total of 277 minutes.[6]

Honours

Mallorca

2002–03;[7] runner-up: 1997–98

1998[8]

Spain U23

1992[9]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Raíllo entra en la historia del Mallorca por lo bueno… y por lo malo. Raíllo makes Mallorca history books for good reasons… and bad ones. Okdiario. Tomeu. Maura. Spanish. 21 February 2024. 7 March 2024.
  2. News: El Mallorca pierde con orgullo. Mallorca lose proudly. El País. Santiago. Segurola. Spanish. 20 May 1999. 28 January 2016.
  3. Web site: Beira-Mar: Carvalhal despedido para dar lugar a Paco Soler. Beira-Mar: Carvalhal sacked to make way for Paco Soler. Portal d'Aveiro. Rui. Cunha. Portuguese. 9 January 2007. 9 November 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20170630043729/http://www.aveiro.co.pt/noticia.aspx?id=68478&notic=Beira-Mar:%20Carvalhal%20despedido%20para%20dar%20lugar%20a%20Paco%20Soler. 30 June 2017.
  4. News: El Baleares firma su descenso. Baleares sign their relegation. Diario de Mallorca. Spanish. 27 April 2009. 30 April 2020.
  5. News: Pep Sansó dimite como técnico del Balears. Pep Sansó resigns as Balears manager. Última Hora. Carlos. Montes de Oca. Spanish. 19 February 2013. 30 April 2020.
  6. Web site: La Roja de 1992, nuestra medalla de oro Olímpica. 1992's La Roja, our Olympic gold medal. Antena 3. Spanish. 3 July 2012. 13 July 2017.
  7. News: Eto'o pone Mallorca a brindar. Eto'o has Mallorca toasting. El País. José. Miguelez. Spanish. 29 June 2003. 7 March 2024.
  8. News: Se cumplen 25 años del primer título en la historia del RCD . 25th anniversary of the first title in RCD Mallorca's history. Diario AS. Gabriel. Forteza. Spanish. 22 August 2023. 7 March 2024.
  9. News: Supervivientes de oro. Golden survivors. El País. Juan. Morenilla. Spanish. 25 February 2007. 24 May 2018.