Francisco Rufete was born on November 20, 1976 in Benejúzar, Province of Alicante, Spain. He is a footballer who works as a right inside, and his first club was FC Barcelona.
Rufete started in the lower divisions of FC Barcelona, making his debut in the last game of the 1995-1996 season with the first team.
Because his coaches did not trust him, he decided to leave to gain more experience. His first transfer was to CD Toledo of the Spanish Second Division.
After a very good season with the second division team, his pass was bought by Real Mallorca, where he did not make his debut with the first team and was transferred again to Málaga CF.
With the Andalusian team he achieved an excellent season in the second division, which earned him promotion to the first. After two excellent seasons with Málaga, in which he scored 9 goals in total, he was signed by another Spanish club, Valencia CF.
In the “Che” team he played five seasons, in which without being the undisputed starter, he managed to participate in many matches being irregular during 2005-2006.
Although he was never a scorer for a team, his goals have been quite important, such as the one he scored on December 15, 2001, against Espanyol, which enabled the team to come back and win the match. That goal was quite important as it prevented the dismissal of Rafa Benítez, who was the team’s coach, and allowed Valencia to win the league title after 31 years.
In the summer of 2006, the Valencia team granted him the letter of freedom, allowing him to be signed by RCD Espanyol.
With the Spanish National Soccer Team, his official debut took place on March 29, 2000, in a match where Spain beat Italy by two goals to zero. Since that game he only played two more.
Clubs:
Barcelona B (-1996)
CD Toledo (1996-1997)
Real Mallorca (1997-1998)
Málaga CF (1998-2001)
Valencia CF (2001-2006
RC Deportivo Espanyol (2006-)
Titles (all with Valencia CF):
National championships:
2 Leagues (2001-2002 and 2003-2004)
International cups:
1 UEFA Cup (2004)
1 European Super Cup (2004)