Francisco Acuña

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Acuña and the second or maternal family name is Víctor.
Francisco Acuña
Personal information
Full name Francisco Javier Acuña Víctor
Date of birth (1988-01-19) 19 January 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico
Height 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
2007–2008 Tigres UANL
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2012 Tigres UANL 55 (7)
2008–2009 → UANL Premier 8 (0)
2013 → San Luis (loan) 10 (0)
2013 → Atlante (loan) 0 (0)
2014 → Morelia (loan) 2 (0)
2014–2019 Puebla 71 (6)
2015–2016 → BUAP (loan) 10 (1)
2020 Atlético Ottawa 7 (2)
2021 Necaxa 1 (0)
2021–2024 Sonora 56 (9)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 October 2022

Francisco Javier Acuña Víctor (born 19 January 1988) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liga de Expansión MX club Sonora.

Club career

UANL

Acuña developed with the youth squads of Tigres UANL.[1] In 2008, he made his debut with the reserves in the Primera División A, making eight appearances that season.[2] He later made his Mexican Primera División debut for UANL on 19 October 2008 as a substitute in a 4–1 win over Monterrey, and scored his first professional goal in the 90th minute of the same match.[3] He also made two appearances for UANL in the 2009 InterLiga.[2]

In the 2009–10 season, Acuña made ten league appearances, scoring two goals.[2] The following year, he played his first full season of professional football, making 27 league appearances and scoring four goals.[2] He also appeared in the second leg of UANL's Clausura Liguilla series against Guadalajara.[4]

In the 2011–12 season, Acuña saw a sharp reduction in playing time, making only seven league appearances and two in the Copa Libertadores, as well as one appearance in the Apertura Liguilla against Pachuca.[2] In the first half of the 2012–13 season, he made two league appearances and two appearances in CONCACAF Champions League before being loaned out until the end of the season.[2]

Loan to San Luis

On 6 December 2012, Acuña was loaned to San Luis until the end of the season.[5] He made ten league appearances and three in the Copa Mexico for San Luis that year.[2]

Loan to Morelia

In 2014, he went on loan to Monarcas Morelia, where he made two league appearances and one in the Copa Libertadores that season.[2][6]

Atlético Ottawa

On 30 March 2020, Acuña signed with Canadian Premier League side Atlético Ottawa.[7] He made his debut in Ottawa's inaugural match on August 15 against York9.[8]

Necaxa

On 5 January 2021, Acuña returned to Mexico, signing with Liga MX side Necaxa.[9]

Personal life

Acuña was nicknamed "El Messi" throughout his career, a nickname he would later say generated unrealistic high expectations.[10]

Career statistics

As of 5 January 2021[2]
Club statistics
Club Season League National cup[a] Continental[b] Other[c] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
UANL Premier 2008–09 Primera División A 8 0 — — — 8 0
Tigres UANL 2008–09 Mexican Primera División 9 1 — — — 9 1
2009–10 Mexican Primera División 10 2 2 0 2 0 — 14 2
2010–11 Mexican Primera División 27 4 — — 1 0 28 4
2011–12 Mexican Primera División 7 0 — 2 0 1 0 10 0
2012–13 Liga MX 2 0 — 2 0 — 4 0
Total 55 7 2 0 6 0 2 0 65 7
San Luis (loan) 2012–13 Liga MX 10 0 3 0 — — 13 0
Morelia (loan) 2013–14 Liga MX 2 0 — 1 0 — 3 0
Puebla 2014–15 Liga MX 2 1 7 0 — — 9 1
2016–17 Liga MX 15 1 2 0 — — 17 1
2017–18 Liga MX 30 3 4 0 — — 34 3
2018–19 Liga MX 21 1 9 1 — — 30 2
2019–20 Liga MX 3 0 4 0 — — 7 0
Total 71 6 26 1 0 0 0 0 97 7
BUAP (loan) 2015–16 Ascenso MX 15 2 10 4 — — 25 6
2016–17 Ascenso MX 10 1 5 0 — — 15 1
Total 25 3 15 4 0 0 0 0 40 7
Atlético Ottawa 2020 Canadian Premier League 7 2 — — — 7 2
Career total 178 18 46 5 7 0 2 0 233 23

  1. ^ Includes Interliga and Copa MX
  2. ^ Includes North American Superliga, Copa Libertadores and CONCACAF Champions League
  3. ^ Includes Liga MX Liguilla

Honours

Tigres UANL

References

  1. ^ Francisco Acuña – Liga MX stats at MedioTiempo.com (archived) (in Spanish)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "F. Acuña". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  3. ^ "Monterrey vs. Tigres UANL - 19 October 2008". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  4. ^ "Tigres UANL vs. Guadalajara - 8 May 2011". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  5. ^ "Francisco Acuña deja a Tigres y se va a San Luis". mediotiempo.com. 6 December 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  6. ^ Francisco Acuña Biografía, Numeritos, Noticias
  7. ^ "Atlético Ottawa Adds Midfielder Francisco Acuña". Atlético Ottawa. 30 March 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  8. ^ "Canadian Premier League". August 15, 2020.
  9. ^ @ClubNecaxa (5 January 2021). "Damos la bienvenida a Francisco Acuña, quien se une a nuestra escuadra de cara al" (Tweet) (in Spanish) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "'Messi', apodo que creó falsas expectativas en Francisco Acuña".


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