Francisco Avilán

Born in Monterrey, Mexico, Avilán's father was an amateur footballer and his brother, Arnulfo, played for Monterrey.[2] His other brother, Pedro, played in the Mexican second division.[2]

He followed in the footsteps of his brother Arnulfo when he joined Monterrey in 1958.[2]

Avilán was handed his first team debut by Uruguayan manager Roberto Scarone in 1964 against Club Deportivo Nacional, helping Monterrey to a 2–0 win.[2] He remained with Monterrey until 1970, when he had a short stint with Atlas, before returning to Monterrey.[2] He signed with Guadalajara before retiring in 1974.[2]

He was called up to the Mexico national football team on several occasions, making two appearances between 1971 and 1972.[3] In doing so, he became the first Monterrey player to represent Mexico.[2]

Avilán returned to Monterrey at the end of the 1970s, initially managing the youth sector, which included future Mexican internationals Francisco Javier Cruz, Héctor Becerra and Missael Espinoza.[2]

After studying football management in Yugoslavia, Avilán was named manager of Monterrey in 1984.[2] With signings such as Guillermo Muñoz, he led Monterrey to the México 86 title, the first in the club's history.[2]

While serving as manager of the Mexico national under-20 football team, it was found Mexico had knowingly fielded four overage players at the 1988 CONCACAF U-20 Tournament. The scandal, known as Cachirules, saw several Mexican officials banned from football for life; however, Avilán himself received no sanction, and said that if he had known these players were overaged, he would not have selected them.[4][5]

Avilán returned to management in 2008, when he was named manager of Jaguares de Chiapas on an interim basis.[4]

Avilán died in February 2021, following a bout of COVID-19.[4][6][7]