Juanfran (footballer, born 1985)

Juan Francisco Torres Belén (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxwamfɾan ˈtorez βeˈlen]; born 9 January 1985), known as Juanfran, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Atlético Madrid as a right back.
After starting out at Real Madrid, he went on to make a name for himself in La Liga with Osasuna and Atlético Madrid, signing for the latter in 2011 and going on to win five major titles, including the 2014 national championship.
A Spanish international since 2012, Juanfran was part of the squad that won that year's European Championship, and also represented the nation at the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016.

Real Madrid

Born in Crevillent, Alicante, Valencian Community, Juanfran was a product of Real Madrid's youth academy. He had his first main squad opportunity on 24 January 2004, playing 15 minutes in a 2–1 home win against Villarreal CF after solid performances with the B-team. Over the course of that and the following seasons, he would play on a further five La Liga matches.

Juanfran was loaned out to RCD Espanyol for 2005–06 and, although the Catalan side barely avoided relegation, he featured heavily throughout the campaign, scoring on 22 March 2006 in a 1–1 draw at Athletic Bilbao. He started his career as a winger.

Osasuna

Juanfran signed with CA Osasuna after a deal that allowed Osasuna to get the player without having to pay a transfer fee and with per-set price of €10 million, adding several specifics, which included a possibility of a January 2007 recall by Madrid, which also retained a buying option at the end of the season. He played his first game for the Navarrese on 24 September 2006 in a 2–0 win at Celta de Vigo, and scored the second goal of the match; additionally, he appeared in nine games scoring once, in the club's semifinal run in the UEFA Cup.

In 2008–09, Juanfran was again an everpresent fixture in Osasuna's lineups. On 31 May 2009, in the season's closer, he scored from 30 yards in a 2–1 home win over former side Real Madrid, which kept the club in the top flight for another year; in the following campaign, as Osasuna fared better in the league by finishing 12th, he scored a career-best four goals.

Atlético Madrid

Juanfran (right) playing against Almería in 2013

On 11 January 2011 Juanfran signed for Atlético Madrid until June 2015, for a fee of just over €4 million. He made his official debut for the Colchoneros two days later, starting in a 1–3 away loss against his first professional team Real Madrid, for the season's Copa del Rey.

Juanfran scored his first goal for Atlético on 21 May 2011, in a 4–3 win at RCD Mallorca – the last game of the campaign – dedicating it to his father who had died two weeks beforehand. In 2011–12 he begun being regularly played as a right back, by both Gregorio Manzano and his successor, Diego Simeone. In the season's Europa League final, which the club won 3–0 against Bilbao, he played in that position; after the match, he dedicated the triumph to his late father, saying (according to UEFA.com) "My baby son Oliver is here with me; the only words he knows are 'mama' and 'Atleti',I dedicate this win to my family and to my dad, who passed away last year. I know he's up there looking down on us celebrating now."

On 24 May 2014 Juanfran played all 120 minutes of the Champions League Final, which Atlético lost 1–4 to Real Madrid at the Estádio da Luz. One month later he signed a contract extension, running until 2018.

Juanfran started both legs of the round-of-16 Champions League tie against PSV Eindhoven. On 15 March 2016, in the second match, he took the decisive penalty in the 8–7 shootout win (0–0 on aggregate); in the final of the competition, also decided on penalties after a 1–1 draw in Milan, he was the only player to fail to convert in an eventual defeat to his former club Real Madrid.

Juanfran had an extraordinary performance at the 2004 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, as Spain won and the player received the Golden Player award. In a rare achievement he took part in two FIFA World Youth Championships, the first in the United Arab Emirates where the national team took the silver medal; in the 2005 edition Spain reached the quarterfinals, eventually ousted by winners Argentina.

Juanfran made his full side debut on 26 May 2012, playing the entire match in a 2–0 friendly win with Serbia in St. Gallen, as a right-back. He was selected by manager Vicente del Bosque for his UEFA Euro 2012 squad, being an unused player as Spain won the tournament in Poland and Ukraine.

Juanfran scored his first international goal on 16 November 2013, playing the entire 2–1 friendly win in Equatorial Guinea. However, this match was ruled invalid by FIFA as they had not been notified early enough that the referee would be from Equatorial Guinea.

Juanfran was named in Spain's 30-man provisional squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and was also included in the final list. With the country already eliminated, he made his tournament debut in the last group game against Australia, playing the whole 90 minutes and assisting David Villa for the first goal of a 3–0 win.

Juanfran married Verónica Sierras, with whom he had two children, Óliver and Alexia.

Club

As of 28 May 2016

International

As of 27 June 2016

International goals

Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first.

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	16 November 2013	Nuevo Estadio, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea	Equatorial Guinea	2–1	2–1	Friendly

Club

Espanyol

• Copa del Rey: 2005–06

Atlético Madrid

• La Liga: 2013–14
• Copa del Rey: 2012–13
• Supercopa de España: 2014; Runner-up 2013
• UEFA Europa League: 2011–12
• UEFA Super Cup: 2012
• UEFA Champions League: Runner-up 2013–14, 2015–16

International

Spain U19

• UEFA European Under-19 Championship: 2004

Spain U20

• FIFA U-20 World Cup Runner-up: 2003

Spain

• UEFA European Championship: 2012

Individual

• La Liga: Squad of the Season 2013–14
• UEFA Champions League: Squad of the Season 2015–16

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• "Real Madrid – At. Madrid" (in Spanish). RFEF. 17 May 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2015. 
• "Barcelona 0–0 Atletico Madrid: Catalans win Spanish Super Cup". BBC Sport. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2015. 
• "Falcao at double as Atlético march to title". UEFA.com. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2015. 
• "Chelsea 1–4 Atletico Madrid". BBC Sport. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2015. 
• "Madrid finally fulfil Décima dream". UEFA.com. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2015. 
• "The Liga BBVA team of the season". La Liga. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2016. 
• "UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season". UEFA.com. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.