Francisco Fonseca

Francisco Fonseca
Personal information
Full name	José Francisco Fonseca Guzmán
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Santos Laguna
Number	17
	‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 2 July, 2006

José Francisco Fonseca Guzmán (born October 2, 1979 in León, Guanajuato), also known as Kikin, is a Mexican football International player, who currently plays as a striker for Santos Laguna in the Primera Division de Mexico.

Biography

Fonseca began his formation as a football player at Club Leon inferior divisions, he also played in Club Yucatan and Atlético Curtidores from Mexican second division, then made his first division debut in the Primera División de México playing for La Piedad in the 2001 Invierno season. After two seasons with La Piedad, in which he played mostly as a substitute, Fonseca moved to UNAM Pumas, where he emerged as a star player. After impressive showing in the 2003 Apertura and Clausura, he cemented his place in the Pumas starting lineup in the 2004 Clausura, during which he helped lead UNAM to a championship. On Monday July 24, 2006 he won the Mejor Delantero award of the FMF at the Banamex Center. After helping Pumas to a second title in the 2004 Apertura season, he was transferred to Cruz Azul, having registered 25 goals in 81 appearances for Pumas.

Fonseca is an emerging force at forward for the Mexican national team. On April 2, 2006, coach Ricardo Lavolpe selected him in the 23 man Mexican squad for the 2006 World Cup, in Germany. He scored his first goal in the 2006 FIFA World Cup against Portugal and won the "Man Of The Match Award "given by FIFA in the defeat of Mexico versus Portugal on June 20, 2006. On July 27, 2006, Fonseca signed a four year contract with Portuguese club, SL Benfica.

Nicknamed Kikin, the word comes from "Kiko", a popular character from a Mexican Television show El Chavo Del Ocho. Since Fonseca's father kind of looked like him,he was called "Kiko" by his friends, and his son went by Kikín. The story of how Fonseca got that nickname is more complex. When Fonseca was a child his eldest brother was the one with the nickname of "Kikín" in the family, but he died tragically of heart failure. His death shocked the Fonseca family."Kikín" was only a teenager that left many dreams unfulfilled, one of those dreams was to become a football player for UNAM Pumas and the Mexican national team. Kikin is a devout Roman Catholic.

Years later his dream inspired his little brother Francisco, who fought to become a football player and even more, play for the team his brother wanted to play for. The journey wasn't easy, he spent many years in lower division with few opportunities to become a starter, but finally Francisco fulfilled the dream of his brother when he got signed by UNAM Pumas, and as a tribute to the memory of his brother he decided to play under the nickname of "Kikín". Fonseca believes that his brother is looking after him, he has said that when he plays his brother is also playing, that's the reason of why after he scores a goal, sometimes he points to the sky. A fact is that the memory of his brother is a motivational factor that moves him to be a better player.

For Mexico ,Fonseca can play as a centre forward or on the right side of midfield. He scored 10 goals in 11 matches in qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ and two in four matches at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup making Kikin thrid in the World Cup qualifications after Pedro Pauleta and Jared Borgetti. ‘ El Kikin’ is a battling player, who makes the most of his ability by giving his all for club and country.

At the beginning of 2005, Fonseca moved to Cruz Azul in one of the biggest transfers in Mexican league history. In 2006, Fonseca moved to SL Benfica another transfer for a Mexican player.

Fonseca is one of the most charismatic, popular and beloved players of Mexican football, his status as a Mexican footaball star is surpassed only by the likes of Hugo Sánchez, Rafael Márquez, Oswaldo Sánchez, Jared Borgetti, Jorge Campos and Cuauhtémoc Blanco. His popularity has helped him to become the spokesman of multiple companies and NGOs. He's been an idol ever since he became a regular starter in Mexican first division, and was looking to become a regular starter with his new club SL Benfica. But unfortunately, never won the starting role for Benfica. He played in a total of 7 games in the Superliga and scored no goals. He did score a goal in a friendly match though. He signed on to Santos Laguna in December 2006 for an undisclosed amount.

Honours

Mexican Torneo de Clausura (2004)
Mexican Torneo de Apertura (2004)

External links