Franco Jara

Franco Jara

Personal information
Full name	Franco Daniel Jara [1]
Date of birth	(1988-07-15) 15 July 1988 (age 36) [2]
Place of birth	Villa María, Argentina [2]
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) [3]
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Belgrano
Number	29
Youth career
	Arsenal Sarandí
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–2010	Arsenal Sarandí	49	(9)
2010–2015	Benfica	29	(6)
2011–2012	→ Granada (loan)	31	(3)
2012–2013	→ San Lorenzo (loan)	26	(2)
2013–2014	→ Estudiantes (loan)	23	(4)
2015	Olympiacos	12	(3)
2015–2020	Pachuca	130	(63)
2020–2022	FC Dallas	82	(17)
2023–	Belgrano	48	(18)
International career
2010–2011	Argentina	4	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:53, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

Franco Daniel Jara (born 15 July 1988) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Belgrano.

Club career

Born in Villa María, Córdoba, Jara made his professional debut with Arsenal de Sarandí, first appearing in the Primera División in a 0–1 home loss against Argentinos Juniors on 23 May 2008. He scored his first goal for the club on 10 April of the following year, in a 1–1 draw at Club Atlético Colón. ^[4]

On 30 January 2010, Jara signed a five-year deal with Portuguese champions S.L. Benfica for a transfer fee of €5.5 million, effective for the beginning of 2010–11. ^[5] He scored in his second official game, a 1–2 home loss to Académica de Coimbra on 15 August, ^[6] and finished his first season with 43 competitive appearances (11 goals). ^[7]

Jara was loaned to newly promoted La Liga side Granada CF in late August 2011, moving to Andalusia alongside several other Benfica teammates. ^[8] On 21 July of the following year, still owned by the latter, he joined San Lorenzo de Almagro, ^[9] and the same happened in the 2013–14 campaign, this time with Estudiantes de La Plata. ^[10]

On 24 January 2015, Jara signed for two and a half years with Olympiacos F.C. in a €1.5 million transfer fee. ^{[11] [12]} His Super League Greece debut occurred on 1 February in a 2–0 away win over Veria FC. He scored his first goal two months later, in a 3–1 victory at Panthrakikos FC. ^[13]

On 23 May 2015, Jara intercepted a backward pass inside the area in the last minute of the first half of the final of the Greek Football Cup, helping the Piraeus-based team to a record 27th conquest after defeating Skoda Xanthi F.C. 3–1 at the Olympic Stadium. ^{[14] [15]} On 9 September, he joined Mexican club C.F. Pachuca on a free transfer. ^[16] He scored a career-best 17 times while at the service of the latter side in 2015–16's Liga MX, helping them win the Clausura tournament, ^[17] adding six in eight matches for the champions of the following season's CONCACAF Champions League and being voted the competition's best player. ^[18]

Jara signed for FC Dallas of the Major League Soccer on 21 January 2020, with the deal being made effective in July. ^[19] On 10 January 2023, Jara and Dallas mutually agreed to terminate his contract at the club. ^[20]

On 11 January 2023, Jara signed a contract with Belgrano while he was a free agent.

International career

On 19 January 2010, Jara was called up to the Argentina national team for a friendly match with Costa Rica on the 27th. ^[21] The game finished 3–2, and he scored the match-winning goal. ^[22]

Jara earned his second cap on 10 February 2010, in a 2–1 win against Jamaica. ^[23]

Personal life

On 10 September 2014, Jara suffered a car accident and crashed into a tree, but did not suffer major injuries. ^{[24] [25]}

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 10 December 2024 ^{[26] [27] [28]}

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Arsenal Sarandí	2007–08	Primera División	2	0	—		—		—		—		2	0
	2008–09		13	2	—		—		2 [a]	0	—		15	0
	2009–10		34	7	—		—		—		—		34	7
	Total		49	9	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	51	7
Benfica	2010–11	Primeira Liga	26	6	2	0	5	3	9 [b]	2	1 [c]	0	43	11
	2011–12		1	0	—		1 [d]	0	—		—		2	0
	2014–15		2	0	—		—		—		0	0	2	0
	Total		29	6	2	0	6	3	9	2	1	0	47	11
Granada (loan)	2011–12	La Liga	31	3	2	0	—		—		—		33	3
San Lorenzo (loan)	2012–13	Primera División	26	2	1	0	—		—		—		27	2
Estudiantes (loan)	2013–14	Primera División	23	4	1	0	—		—		—		24	4
Olympiacos	2014–15	Super League	10	3	5	3	—		—		—		15	6
	2015–16		2	0	—		—		—		—		2	0
	Total		12	3	5	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	17	3
Pachuca	2015–16	Liga MX	25	14	5	1	—		—		7 [e]	3	37	18
	2016–17		25	14	—		—		8 [f]	6	2 [g]	0	35	20
	2017–18		22	4	7	3	—		3 [h]	1	—		32	8
	2018–19		32	16	4	5	—		—		1 [g]	0	37	21
	2019–20		26	15	2	1	—		—		—		28	16
	Total		130	63	18	10	0	0	11	5	10	3	169	83
FC Dallas	2020	MLS	21	7	—		—		—		2 [i]	0	23	7
	2021		29	7	—		—		—		—		29	7
	2022		32	3	2	2	—		—		—		34	5
	Total		82	17	2	2	0	0	0	0	2	0	86	19
Belgrano	2023	Primera División	25	3	1	0	—		—		—		26	3
	2024		23	15	—		—		7	3	—		30	18
	Total		48	18	1	0	0	0	7	3	0	0	56	21
Career total			430	125	31	12	6	3	29	10	13	3	509	153

1. Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana
2. Six appearances and two goals in UEFA Europa League and three appearances in UEFA Champions League
3. Appearance(s) in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
4. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
5. Six Appearances and three goals in Liga MX Playoffs and one appearance in Copa Campeón de Campeones
6. Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League
7. Appearance(s) in Liga MX Playoffs
8. Appearance(s) in FIFA Club World Cup
9. Appearance(s) in MLS Cup Playoffs

International

^[29]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Argentina	2010	3	1
	2011	1	0
Total		4	1

International goals

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	26 January 2010	Ingeniero Hilario Sánchez, San Juan, Argentina	Costa Rica	3–2	3–2	Friendly	[22]

Honours

Benfica

• Primeira Liga: 2014–15 ^[30]
• Taça da Liga: 2010–11 ^[31]
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2014 ^[31]

Olympiacos

• Super League Greece: 2014–15 ^{[31] [32]}
• Greek Cup: 2014–15 ^[31]

Pachuca

• Liga MX: Clausura 2016 ^[31]
• CONCACAF Champions League: 2016–17 ^[33]

Individual

• CONCACAF Champions League Golden Ball: 2016–17 ^[34]

References

1. "FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2017: List of Players: CF Pachuca" (PDF). FIFA. 29 November 2017. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 December 2017.
2. "Franco Jara – Player Profile". Eurosport . Retrieved 6 August 2020.
3. "Franco Jara". FC Dallas. Archived from the original on 23 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
4. "El cielo está embrujado" [The sky is falling]. Olé (in Spanish). 11 April 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
5. "Franco Jara confirmado à CMVM" [Franco Jara confirmed to PSMC]. Record (in Portuguese). 30 January 2010. Archived from the original on 1 February 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
6. Kundert, Tom (15 August 2010). "Last-gasp wonder goal sinks Benfica at the Luz". PortuGOAL. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
7. "Jara recorda partida pregada no Benfica: "Quem terá sido o filho da puta?"" [Jara remembers prank at Benfica: "Who could have this motherfucker been?"]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 7 April 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
8. "El Granada obtiene la cesión del argentino Franco Jara" [Granada get loan of Argentine Franco Jara]. Marca (in Spanish). 30 August 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
9. "Jara regressa à Argentina" [Jara returns to Argentina]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 21 July 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
10. "Estudiantes de La Plata incorporó a Franco Jara a su plantel" [Estudiantes de La Plata added Franco Jara to squad]. El Sol (in Spanish). 10 August 2013. Archived from the original on 13 August 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
11. "Jara joins Olympiacos". Olympiacos F.C. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
12. "Franco Jara transferido para o Olympiakos" [Franco Jara transferred to Olympiakos] (in Portuguese). S.L. Benfica. 24 January 2015. Archived from the original on 27 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
13. "Panthrakikos – Olympiacos 1–3". Olympiacos F.C. 15 April 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
14. "Olympiakos defeat Xanthi in Greek Cup final". ESPN FC. 23 May 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
15. "Olympiakos beats Xanthi 3–1 in Greek Cup final". Yahoo!. 23 May 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
16. "Jara joins Pachuka[sic]". SDNA. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
17. "Franco Jara se convirtió en el goleador histórico de Pachuca" [Franco Jara became Pachuca's historical scorer] (in Spanish). TyC Sports. 3 November 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
18. "Franco Jara, ganador al Balón de Oro Liga de Camepones" [Franco Jara, Champions League Golden Ball winner] (in Spanish). CONCACAF League. 27 April 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
19. "FC Dallas signs Liga MX forward Franco Jara". FC Dallas. 21 January 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
20. Dallas, F. C. "FC Dallas and Franco Jara Mutually Agree to Terminate Contract". FC Dallas.
21. "Franco Jara, otro convocado por Maradona" [Franco Jara, another Maradona callup] (in Spanish). Torneos y Competencias. 20 January 2010. Archived from the original on 26 January 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
22. "Puso la Jara" [Jaratastic]. Olé (in Spanish). 27 January 2010. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
23. "Argentina sufre para imponerse a Jamaica" [Argentina suffer to best Jamaica]. Marca (in Spanish). 11 February 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
24. "Franco Jara sofre acidente de viação e não apresenta lesões relevantes" [Franco Jara suffers car accident and doesn't show relevant injuries] (in Portuguese). S.L. Benfica. 10 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
25. "Benfica's Franco Jara crashed his Mustang into a tree. Car totalled, player lucky to be OK [Pictures]". 101 Great Goals. 11 September 2014. Archived from the original on 12 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
26. Franco Jara at BDFA (in Spanish)
27. Franco Jara at Soccerway
28. Franco Jara – UEFA competition record ( archive )
29. Franco Jara at National-Football-Teams.com
30. Cunha, Pedro Jorge (17 May 2015). "Benfica bicampeão: 28 com as faixas e dois à espera" [Benfica back-to-back champion: 28 with the sashes and two await] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
31. "F. Jara – Trophies". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
32. "ΕΛΛΑΔΑ – Super League" [Greece – Super League] (in Greek). Sport Data. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
33. González, Édgar (26 April 2017). "Pachuca es campeón de la 'Concachampions'" [Pachuca are champions of the 'Concachampions']. Milenio (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 June 2018.
34. "Jara named Scotiabank CCL Golden Ball winner". CONCACAF. 27 April 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2018.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}

External links

• Franco Jara at BDFA (in Spanish)
• Argentine League statistics at Fútbol XXI ^[usurped] (in Spanish)
• "Statistics at Irish Times". Archived from the original on 17 September 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2009.
• Franco Jara at ForaDeJogo (archived)
• Franco Jara at National-Football-Teams.com
• Franco Jara at Soccerbase