Francisco Molina

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

Francisco "Paco" Molina Simón (29 March 1930 – 14 November 2018) was a football player and manager. Born in Spain, he played for the Chile national team at international level.

Francisco Molina

Personal information
Full name	Francisco Molina Simón
Date of birth	(1930-03-29)29 March 1930
Place of birth	Súria, Bages, Spain
Date of death	14 November 2018(2018-11-14) (aged 88)
Place of death	Antofagasta, Chile
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder[1]
Youth career
	Deportivo Roberto Parra
	Santiago Wanderers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1948–1950	Santiago Wanderers	30	(8)
1951–1952	Universidad Católica	27	(12)
1953–1956	Atlético Madrid	84	(21)
1957–1959	Audax Italiano	42	(14)
1960	Unión Española	23	(4)
1961	Universidad Católica	21	(5)
1963–1964	Coquimbo Unido
Total		227	(64)
International career
1953–1959	Chile	8	(7)
Managerial career
1963–1964	Coquimbo Unido
1965	Deportes La Serena
1966–1967	Unión Española
1968–1969	Colo-Colo
1970–1972	Antofagasta Portuario
1980	O'Higgins
1981	Everton
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Life and club career

Born in Súria, Province of Barcelona, Spain, Molina alongside his family moved to Chile when he was nine in 1939.^[2] They settled at Valparaíso after arriving there on board of SS Winnipeg as one of the 2.200 exiles which escaped from the Spanish Civil War. In 1942 he was naturalized Chilean.^[3]

During 1940s Molina joined Santiago Wanderers youth set-up with prior spell playing at amateur club Deportivo Roberto Parra. Finally in 1948, he was promoted to Wanderers first-adult team squad aged eighteen. In Chile, he played for Universidad Católica, Audax Italiano, Unión Española and Coquimbo Unido. He is considered the first Chilean player to be successful in Spain after his step in Atlético Madrid from 1953 to 1956.^[4]

International career

Molina made his international debut in a friendly match versus Yugoslav club Hajduk on 18 February 1953, where he scored a goal and Chile won 4–1. Including this match, he made a total of 8 appearances for the Chile national team,^[5] representing it at both the 1953 South American Championship, becoming the top goalscorer of the tournament with 8 goals in 6 matches, and the friendly match versus Brazil in 1959.^[6]

Coaching career

He began his coaching career in Coquimbo Unido, at the same he was a player. Next, he coached several clubs at the Chilean Primera División, including Colo-Colo.^[4]

Honours

Audax Italiano

• Primera División de Chile: 1957

Universidad Católica

• Primera División de Chile: 1961

Individual

• South American Championship top scorer: 1953