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Leonardo "Leo" Neoren Franco (born 20 May 1977) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for Spanish club SD Huesca as a goalkeeper. After starting out at Independiente in 1995 he went on to spent the vast majority of his career in Spain, playing 328 La Liga games over the course of 14 seasons in representation of Mallorca, Atlético Madrid and Zaragoza. An Argentine international for two years, Franco represented the nation at the 2006 World Cup. ==Club career== Born in San Nicolás de los Arroyos, Buenos Aires, Franco started his career at Club Atlético Independiente, moving at the age of 20 to Spain with CP Mérida where he did not appear in La Liga, barred by Carlos Navarro Montoya and suffering team relegation. In the following year he joined RCD Mallorca, spending his first season with the B-team and again dropping down a level, now in the second division. Franco would be however promoted to the Balearic Islands side's main squad, going on to establish himself as the starter after replacing compatriot Carlos Roa in the pecking order. In the 2000–01 campaign he appeared in 27 games as Mallorca finished in a best-ever third position, and helped the club win the Copa del Rey two years after. Franco was signed by Atlético Madrid in 2004, being first-choice from the beginning. Until the end of 2007–08 he saved seven penalties, including two against Sevilla FC on 23 March 2006 (0–1 home loss) and two more at Real Betis on 2 December (1–0 win).〔(Leo Franco detuvo su séptimo penalti con el Atlético en Liga (Leo Franco saved seventh penalty with Atlético in the league) ); Marca, 11 November 2007 〕〔(Leo Franco mete en Champions al Atlético (Leo Franco puts Atlético in Champions League) ); El País, 3 December 2006 〕 Precisely during that season, he was challenged by newly signed Christian Abbiati (loaned by A.C. Milan), but regained his starting status in the 2008–09 season, relegating veteran Grégory Coupet to the bench. On 1 July 2009, aged 32, after not seeing his contract with the ''Colchoneros'' renewed, Franco left Atlético – as Coupet〔(Leo Franco and Gregory Coupet close to Atletico Madrid exits ); Goal.com, 22 June 2009〕– and signed with Galatasaray S.K. in Turkey.〔('Galatasaray Leo Franco ile sözleşme imzaladı' ('Leo Franco signed a contract with Galatasaray') ); Hurriyet, 11 June 2009 〕〔('Galatasaray benim için meydan okuma' ('Galatasaray is a challenge for me') ); NTV, 25 June 2009 〕 His first Süper Lig appearance took place on 9 August, in a 3–2 away win against Gaziantepspor. Franco returned to Spain after only one year, signing with Real Zaragoza for two seasons. He made his official debut on 29 August 2010, keeping a clean sheet at Deportivo de La Coruña in a 0–0 draw.〔(Deportivo La Coruña 0–0 Real Zaragoza ); ESPN Soccernet, 29 August 2010〕 Franco left the Aragonese side in the 2014 summer, and subsequently moved to San Lorenzo de Almagro. On 24 July 2015, after appearing rarely, he moved to SD Huesca, newly promoted to the second tier.〔(Leo Franco, nuevo fichaje (Leo Franco, new signing) ); Huesca's official website, 24 July 2015 〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Leo Franco」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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