Goal takes a look at the career of Hyderabad’s Spanish centre forward…
Hyderabad have signed Spanish forward Francisco Sandaza who is expected to partner Aridane Santana upfront in the upcoming season of the Indian Super League (ISL).
Sandaza is an atypical centre forward who will act as the target-man upfront, allowing Santana to take up a free role in the attacking third.
Goal takes a closer look at the forward who has been a journeyman throughout his career.
Jersey Number: 21
Youth Career and Professional Debut
Sandaza was born in Toledo, Spain. He spent his developmental years in Leganes and Coslada respectively. He started his senior career at Toledo Reserves and after a season, he was promoted to the senior team.
He went on to join Valencia Reserves where he shared the dressing room with current FC Barcelona full-back Jordi Alba. In the final season, he scored 23 goals for the Valencia reserves.
In 2008, Sandaza signed for Dundee United in Scotland on a three-year contract. He made his senior professional debut against Hamilton Accies on August 11, 2008. A week later he became an instant fan-favourite when he scored against Celtic in a 1-1 draw. He continued his rich vein of form, scoring a brace against Rangers, until December when he sustained an injury. In his first season at Dundee, he appeared in 31 matches and scored 10 league goals.
Injuries continued to trouble the ‘braveheart’ and he could make only seven appearances next season scoring just once. But he played 14 matches in the FA Cup and helped them clinch the title. Yet a move away looked inevitable and after his trial at Swansea City fell through, he was released as a free agent.
A Globetrotter
After leaving Dundee, he joined Brighton & Hove Albion in League One. He made his debut against Plymouth Argyle in a 2-0 win and a couple of games later he scored his first goal in a 2-1 win over Oldham Athletic. He carried his scoring boots in the FA Cup as well as he netted in two consecutive matches. At the end of the campaign, Brighton got promoted to Championship but the club chose not to renew his contract.
Sandaza returned to Scotland and joined St. Johnstone where he enjoyed a fruitful spell in his career. In 29 matches, he scored 14 goals. This prompted Rangers to offer him a pre-contract. But the forward rejected the approach and was set to sign an extension with the Saints. But the deal could not go through and he ultimately signed a three-year deal for Rangers in August 2012.
He started on a bright note but suffered a broken cheekbone injury after a clash of heads with Motherwell‘s Shaun Hutchinson which ruled him out for more than two months. He was catapulted to the centre of controversy in Rangers when he admitted in a hoax call that he was playing for money and if a suitable offer arrived, he would have no qualms in leaving the club. Soon after, Rangers terminated his contract.
After the ‘hoax call’ fiasco, he returned to Spain and joined CD Lugo. During this stint, he scored against Barcelona reserves but could not show consistency as he once again got injured in the middle of the season which sidelined him for months. He was released at the end of the season in which he scored five goals.
Sandaza went on to join Girona where he enjoyed the best days of his career. He was an undisputed starter for the Catalan club and during the course of the season, he made 38 appearances and scored 16 goals. In spite of having a good season, he decided to have a fresh challenge and looked East to join FC Tokyo in Japan.
But the striker could not find his feet in Japan and after a disappointing two-year spell, he came back to Girona. He recovered his form to some extent in familiar conditions and fired his side to a runner-up spot in the Segunda Division which helped them earn a spot in La Liga. But he could not play in La Liga as he was loaned out to Al Ahli SC (Qatar) but once again he got injured and had to spend a lengthy period in the sickroom.
In 2018, he joined Chinese side Qingdao Huanghai FC and he looked to be getting into his groove with five goals from 12 matches. But a turn of events saw him return to Spain and join Alcorcon in a two-and-half-year deal. He made 31 appearances and scored four goals before terminating his contract prematurely in September 2020, to join ISL side Hyderabad FC.
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