Piti (footballer)

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Medina and the second or maternal family name is Luna.

Piti
Piti in action for Rayo Vallecano in 2011
Personal information
Full name Francisco Medina Luna
Date of birth (1981-05-26) 26 May 1981 (age 42)
Place of birth Reus, Spain
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Winger, forward
Team information
Current team
 Lamia (technical director)
Youth career
Atlético Segre
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2002 Novelda 17 (0)
2002–2003 Tàrrega
2003–2004 Reus 36 (22)
2004–2005 Zaragoza B 27 (11)
2005–2006 Zaragoza 3 (0)
2005–2006 → Ciudad Murcia (loan) 30 (8)
2006–2007 Hércules 21 (2)
2007 → Rayo Vallecano (loan) 4 (0)
2007–2013 Rayo Vallecano 197 (52)
2013–2016 Granada 67 (8)
2016 Rayo Vallecano 15 (0)
2017 AEL Limassol 17 (5)
2017–2018 Lamia 27 (5)
2018–2019 AEL 15 (0)
2019 Lamia 10 (2)
2019–2020 Jamshedpur 6 (1)
2020 Atlético Pinto 4 (0)
2021 Lamia 9 (0)
Total 505 (116)
International career
2003–2015 Catalonia 6 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Francisco Medina Luna (born 26 May 1981), known as Piti, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a winger or a forward.

His name was mostly associated with Rayo Vallecano where he had three spells, and achieved La Liga totals of 148 games and 29 goals for that club, Zaragoza and Granada. He amassed 164 appearances and 34 goals in the Segunda División for Ciudad de Murcia, Hércules and Rayo, and spent several years of his later career in Cyprus, Greece and India.

Club career[edit]

Born in Reus, Tarragona, Catalonia, Piti was signed by Real Zaragoza in 2004 after playing almost exclusively in amateur football, notably scoring 22 goals for CF Reus Deportiu in the Tercera División.[1] During his spell in Aragon, however, he was mainly registered with the reserves – he appeared in three La Liga games, totalling 34 minutes[2]– also being loaned to Ciudad de Murcia of Segunda División for the 2005–06 season.[3]

Piti joined second-division club Hércules CF in the summer of 2006[4] but, in January of the following year, he moved to Rayo Vallecano of Segunda División B on loan. After featuring rarely for the Valencians in the first half of the 2007–08 campaign, he returned to Rayo[5] and helped the Madrid outskirts team to return to division two, scoring seven times in 21 matches.[6]

In the following second-tier seasons, Piti remained an important attacking player for Rayo Vallecano. In 2010–11 he contributed nine goals (second-best in the squad, tied with Óscar Trejo) as the side returned to the top flight after an eight-year absence.[7][8]

Piti came of age in 2012–13 at the age of 31, scoring 18 goals from 35 appearances, only five through penalties as Rayo posted their best season in the top division.[9][10][11] Highlights included braces at Málaga CF (2–1) and Levante UD (3–2 win), and at home against Getafe CF (3–1).[12][13][14]

In the following years, Piti represented Granada CF and (again) Rayo, always in the main tier. On 3 January 2017 the 35-year-old moved abroad for the first time in his career, joining Cypriot First Division club AEL Limassol until 30 June.[15]

On 29 July 2017, PAS Lamia 1964 announced the signing of Piti.[16] On 16 July 2018 he joined Athlitiki Enosi Larissa F.C. also of the Super League Greece for an undisclosed fee[17] but, six months later, returned to his previous team.[18]

In October 2020, following a short spell in the Indian Super League with Jamshedpur FC, Piti returned to his homeland to act as player and part-owner of amateurs CA Pinto.[19] He worked as Lamia's technical director after retiring,[20] leaving the position on 21 February 2022.[21]

Piti returned to Lamia in January 2023, in the same capacity.[22]

International career[edit]

Uncapped by Spain at any level, Piti represented the non-FIFA Catalonia side. On 24 May 2006, he scored in a 2–0 win against Costa Rica in Terrassa as the opponents prepared for the upcoming World Cup.[23]

Career statistics[edit]

As of match played on 6 May 2019
Club Season League National cup[a] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Zaragoza B 2004–05[24] Segunda División B 27 11 — — 27 11
Zaragoza 2004–05[24] La Liga 3 0 0 0 — 3 0
Ciudad Murcia (loan) 2005–06[24] Segunda División 30 8 1 0 — 31 8
Hércules 2006–07[24] Segunda División 15 2 3 2 — 18 4
2007–08[24] Segunda División 6 0 2 1 — 8 1
Total 21 2 5 3 0 0 26 5
Rayo Vallecano (loan) 2006–07[24] Segunda División B 4 0 0 0 3[b] 3 7 3
Rayo Vallecano 2007–08[24] Segunda División B 21 7 0 0 4[b] 0 25 7
2008–09[24] Segunda División 37 8 2 1 — 39 9
2009–10[24] Segunda División 35 7 6 1 — 41 8
2010–11[24] Segunda División 34 9 0 0 — 34 9
2011–12[24] La Liga 35 3 1 0 — 36 3
2012–13[24] La Liga 35 18 0 0 — 35 18
Total 201 52 9 2 7 3 217 57
Granada 2013–14[24] La Liga 26 5 2 0 — 28 5
2014–15[24] La Liga 33 1 0 0 — 33 1
2015–16[24] La Liga 7 2 0 0 — 7 2
Total 66 8 2 0 0 0 68 8
Rayo Vallecano 2015–16[24] La Liga 8 0 — — 8 0
2016–17[24] Segunda División 7 0 1 0 — 8 0
Total 15 0 1 0 0 0 16 0
AEL Limassol 2016–17[25] Cypriot First Division 17 5 3 1 — 20 6
Total 17 5 3 1 0 0 20 6
Lamia 2017–18[25] Super League Greece 27 5 3 2 — 30 7
2018–19[25] Super League Greece 10 2 3 0 — 13 2
Total 37 7 6 2 0 0 43 9
AEL 2018–19[25] Super League Greece 15 0 2 0 — 17 0
Career total 436 93 28 8 7 3 471 104
  1. ^ Includes Copa del Rey, Cypriot Cup, Greek Football Cup
  2. ^ a b Appearances in Segunda División B promotion play-offs

References[edit]

  1. ^ Sierra, R. (24 March 2009). "El 'Pirata' del Rayo por fin vio puerta" [Rayo's 'Pirate' finally found the net]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  2. ^ Giménez, Paco (18 December 2016). "Piti, goleador del Rayo, jugó 3 partidos con el Real Zaragoza" [Piti, Rayo scorer, played 3 matches with Real Zaragoza]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  3. ^ Iglesias, Quique (31 August 2005). "Consiguen la cesión de Diego Milito por dos años" [They get Diego Milito on a two-year loan]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  4. ^ "Hércules confirma el fichaje del delantero Piti" [Hércules confirm signing of forward Piti]. Marca (in Spanish). 13 July 2006. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  5. ^ Burgos, Julián (1 May 2007). "Piti se va al Rayo y Xisco regresará al Villarreal B" [Piti goes to Rayo and Xisco returns to Villarreal B]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  6. ^ Martín, Maite (13 June 2018). "¿Qué fue del once del ascenso rayista de la 2007–08?" [What happened to the eleven Rayo men who promoted in 2007–08?]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  7. ^ "El delantero Álex Geijo acaba en la cuarta plaza de la clasificación de realizadores" [Forward Álex Geijo finishes in fourth place in scoring charts]. Ideal (in Spanish). 4 June 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  8. ^ Huerta, Daniel (5 June 2011). "El Rayo vuelve a la Liga" [Rayo return to League] (in Spanish). UEFA. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  9. ^ Marro, José María (27 April 2013). "Piti hace olvidar a Michu y recoge los galones de Míchel" [Piti makes people forget about Michu and succeeds Míchel as captain] (in Spanish). El Gol Digital. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  10. ^ "Piti: "Jémez me dijo que si marcaba sólo tres goles me echaba"" [Piti: "Jémez told me that if i only scored three goals he would send me packing"]. Marca (in Spanish). 20 May 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  11. ^ "Piti dice "adiós" al Rayo y cierra "un capítulo maravilloso" de su vida" [Piti says "goodbye" to Rayo and closes "a wonderful chapter" in his life]. La Información (in Spanish). 16 June 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  12. ^ "Piti at the double to down Malaga". ESPN FC. 3 November 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  13. ^ "Rayo build momentum". ESPN FC. 7 January 2013. Archived from the original on 4 May 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  14. ^ "Rayo up to eighth after win". ESPN FC. 18 May 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  15. ^ Álvarez Villacé, Carlos (3 January 2017). "Piti, nuevo jugador del AEL Limassol" [Piti, new AEL Limassol player]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  16. ^ "Πίτι και επίσημα στην Λαμία" [Piti to Lamia officially] (in Greek). Gazzetta. 29 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  17. ^ "Ανακοίνωσε Πίτι η ΑΕΛ" [Piti announced at AEL] (in Greek). Sport FM. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  18. ^ "Και πάλι στη Λαμία ο Πίτι" [Piti back to Lamia] (in Greek). Nova Sports. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  19. ^ "Piti, copropietario y jugador del Atlético Pinto a los 39 años" [Piti, part-owner and player of Atlético Pinto at the age of 39] (in Spanish). Telemadrid. 16 October 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  20. ^ "Τεχνικός διευθυντής στην Λαμία ο Πίτι" [Piti technical director at Lamia] (in Greek). Gazzetta. 29 September 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  21. ^ "Λαμία: Το «αντίο» του Πίτι από τη θέση του τεχνικού διευθυντή" [Lamia: Piti "goodbye" to technical director position] (in Greek). Gazzetta. 21 February 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  22. ^ Kouveli, Maria (13 January 2023). "Λαμία: Ο Πίτι επέστρεψε και ανέλαβε τη θέση του τεχνικού διευθυντή" [Lamia: Piti returned and took over as technical director] (in Greek). Sport 24. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  23. ^ "Fútbol.– La selección catalana derrota a la de Costa Rica (2–0) con goles de Piti y Roger, de penalti" [Football.– The Catalan national team defeat Costa Rica (2–0) with goals from Piti and Roger, from the penalty spot] (in Spanish). Europa Press. 25 May 2006. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Piti: Francisco Medina Luna". BDFutbol. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  25. ^ a b c d "Piti". Soccerway. Retrieved 6 April 2015.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Piti.
  • Piti at BDFutbol
  • Piti at Futbolme (in Spanish)
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