Piti (footballer)

Francisco Medina Luna (born 26 May 1981), known as Piti, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Greek club PAS Lamia 1964 as a winger or a forward.

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
Place of birth Reus, Spain
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Winger, forward
Club information
Current team
 Lamia
Number 9
Youth career
Atlético Segre
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2002 Novelda 17 (0)
2002–2003 Tàrrega
2003–2004 Reus 36 (23)
2004–2005 Zaragoza B 27 (11)
2005–2006 Zaragoza 3 (0)
2005–2006 → Ciudad Murcia (loan) 29 (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
National team‡
2003– Catalonia 6 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 November 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 25 December 2015

His name was most 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 Segunda División for Ciudad de Murcia, Hércules and Rayo, and spent several years of his later career in Cyprus, Greece and India.

Club career

Born in Reus, Tarragona, Catalonia, Piti was signed by Real Zaragoza in 2004 after playing almost exclusively in amateur football, notably scoring 23 goals for CF Reus Deportiu in Tercera División. During his spell in Aragon, however, he was mainly registered with the reserves – he appeared in three La Liga games, totalling 37 minutes – also being loaned to Ciudad de Murcia of Segunda División for the 2005–06 season.

In the summer of 2006, Piti joined Hércules CF in the second level[1] 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 2007–08 (six appearances, 120 minutes), he returned to Rayo[2] and helped the Madrid outskirts team return to division two, scoring seven goals in 21 matches.

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.[3][4]

Piti came of age in 2012–13 at the age of 31, scoring 18 goals in 35 matches, only five through penalties as Rayo posted their best campaign in the top division.[5][6] Highlights included braces at Málaga CF (2–1) and Levante UD (3–2 win), and at home against Getafe CF (3–1).[7][8][9]

In the following years, Piti represented Granada CF and (again) Rayo, always in the first division. 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.[10]

On 29 July 2017, PAS Lamia 1964 announced the signing of Piti.[11] On 16 July 2018 he joined Athlitiki Enosi Larissa F.C. also of the Super League Greece for an undisclosed fee[12] but, six months later, returned to his previous team.[13]

International career

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.[14]

Club statistics
As of match played on 6 May 2019
Club Season League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Zaragoza B 2004–05[15] Segunda División B 2711——2711
Zaragoza 2004–05[15] La Liga 3000—30
Ciudad Murcia (loan) 2005–06[15] Segunda División 30810—318
Hércules 2006–07[15] Segunda División 15232—184
2007–08[15] Segunda División 6021—81
Total 2125300265
Rayo Vallecano (loan) 2006–07[15] Segunda División B 40003[lower-alpha 1]373
Rayo Vallecano 2007–08[15] Segunda División B 217004[lower-alpha 1]0257
2008–09[15] Segunda División 37821—399
2009–10[15] Segunda División 35761—418
2010–11[15] Segunda División 34900—349
2011–12[15] La Liga 35310—363
2012–13[15] La Liga 351800—3518
Total including loan 20152927321757
Granada 2013–14[16] La Liga 26520—285
2014–15[15] La Liga 33100—331
2015–16[15] La Liga 7200—72
Total 6682000688
Rayo Vallecano 2015–16[15] La Liga 80——80
2016–17[15] Segunda División 7010—80
Total 1501000160
AEL Limassol 2016–17[16] Cypriot First Division 17531—206
Total 1753100206
Lamia 2017–18[16] Super League Greece 27532—307
2018–19[16] Super League Greece 10230—132
Total 3776200439
AEL 2018–19[16] Super League Greece 15020—170
Career total 4369328873471104
  1. Appearances in Promotion Play-offs

References
  1. Hércules confirma el fichaje del delantero Piti (Hércules confirm signing of forward Piti); Marca, 13 July 2006 (in Spanish)
  2. Piti se va al Rayo y Xisco regresará al Villarreal B (Piti goes to Rayo and Xisco returns to Villarreal B); Diario AS, 1 May 2007 (in Spanish)
  3. "El delantero Álex Geijo acaba en la cuarta plaza de la clasificación de realizadores" [Forward Álex Geijo finishes in fourth place in scoring charts] (in Spanish). Ideal. 4 June 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  4. "El Rayo vuelve a la Liga" [Rayo return to League] (in Spanish). UEFA. 5 June 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  5. Piti hace olvidar a Michu y recoge los galones de Míchel (Piti makes people forget about Michu and succeeds Míchel as captain); Te Interesa, 27 April 2013 (in Spanish)
  6. 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, 20 May 2013 (in Spanish)
  7. Piti at the double to down Malaga; ESPN FC, 3 November 2012
  8. Rayo build momentum Archived 4 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine; ESPN FC, 7 January 2013
  9. Rayo up to eighth after win; ESPN FC, 18 May 2013
  10. Piti, nuevo jugador del AEL Limassol (Piti, new AEL Limassol player); Marca, 3 January 2017 (in Spanish)
  11. "Πίτι και επίσημα στην Λαμία" [Piti to Lamia officially] (in Greek). Gazzetta. 29 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  12. "Ανακοίνωσε Πίτι η ΑΕΛ" [Piti announced at AEL] (in Greek). Sport FM. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  13. "Και πάλι στη Λαμία ο Πίτι" [Piti back to Lamia] (in Greek). Nova Sports. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  14. "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.
  15. "Piti: Francisco Medina Luna". BDFutbol. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  16. "Piti". Soccerway. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  • Piti at BDFutbol
  • Piti at Futbolme (in Spanish)
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