On 10th February 2020, just before the pandemic that changed everyone's lives, Sevilla FC announced that they would induct into the club's Hall of Fame one of their most celebrated academy graduates, Francisco López Alfaro. Tomorrow, he will finally become the thirteenth inductee, with a ceremony at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán taking place at midday. Francisco, as he was always known in football, joins a select group of players, which currently consists of Juan Arza, José María Busto, Marcelo Campanal, Ignacio Achucarro, Antonio Valero, Paco Gallego, Enrique Lora, Curro Sanjosé, Antonio Álvarez, Enrique Montero, Pablo Blanco and Juan Carlos Unzué.
The ceremony, which will be broadcast live on Sevilla FC TV and the club's social media accounts, will take place before a special edition of Solo el Sevilla, on Sevilla FC Radio, which will be live until 15:00, featuring a subsequent talk show with the participants. Of course, the club will be well-represented at the event, and Francisco will be joined by relative, teammates and friends, as well as fellow professionals who he played against, as well as pundits who commentated on his career at the time.
Born in Osuna, Sevilla on 1st November 1962, he began his football career with Altair and became a classy, skilful midfielder at the club's academy. He spent sixteen seasons in top-flight football between 1981 and 1997, split between just two teams: Sevilla FC for nine seasons, and RCD Espanyol for the remaining seven. Francisco made 302 appearances for the club: 258 in the league, 30 in the Copa del Rey, 8 in the UEFA Cup and 6 in the Spanish League Cup, scoring 28 goals in all competitions. He was also capped 20 times, and featured at the 1984 European Championship, where Spain were runners-up, as well as the 1986 World Cup.