Francisco Acuña
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.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Francisco Javier Acuña Víctor | ||
| Date of birth | 19 January 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico | ||
| Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Sonora | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| 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– | Sonora | 56 | (3) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 October 2022 | |||
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]
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 | Season | League | National cup[lower-alpha 1] | Continental[lower-alpha 2] | Other[lower-alpha 3] | 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 | ||
- Includes Interliga and Copa MX
- Includes North American Superliga, Copa Libertadores and CONCACAF Champions League
- Includes Liga MX Liguilla
References
- Francisco Acuña – Liga MX stats at MedioTiempo.com (archive) (in Spanish)
- "F. Acuña". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- "Monterrey vs. Tigres UANL - 19 October 2008". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- "Tigres UANL vs. Guadalajara - 8 May 2011". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- "Francisco Acuña deja a Tigres y se va a San Luis". mediotiempo.com. 6 December 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- Francisco Acuña Biografía, Numeritos, Noticias
- "Atlético Ottawa Adds Midfielder Francisco Acuña". Atlético Ottawa. 30 March 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- "Canadian Premier League". August 15, 2020.
- @ClubNecaxa (5 January 2021). "Damos la bienvenida a Francisco Acuña, quien se une a nuestra escuadra de cara al" (Tweet) (in Spanish) – via Twitter.
- "'Messi', apodo que creó falsas expectativas en Francisco Acuña".