Francisco Galindo

Lore & Background

Born in Mexico City, Mexico, Galindo began practicing with Cruz Azul at the age of six, climbing up the youth ranks. He made his debut with the first team in the 2002 spring season and was a solid starter by the 2003 Clausura season. He was a member of the senior national team and played for numerous Mexico youth teams, starting for the U-23 team at the 2004 Summer Olympics. During the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, Galindo and teammate Salvador Carmona were separated from the national team; the federation later confirmed both tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, resulting in a one-year ban that barred him from the 2005 Apertura, 2006 Clausura, and the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

In Their Own Story

The floodlights hummed above the Azteca on a Tuesday night in February, the kind of cold that settles into the joints of a man who has just tracked a winger for the sixtieth time in ninety minutes. Galindo stood at the centre circle, chest heaving, the blue-and-white shirt dark with sweat across his shoulders. The scoreboard read 1-0, América ahead, and the crowd was a single sustained roar that vibrated in his molars. He looked up at the fourth tier, where a section of fans had painted their faces blue and were chanting his name — 'GAL-LIN-DO, GAL-LIN-DO' — like a prayer. He raised one fist, not in celebration, but in acknowledgment. *I hear you. I'm still here. I'm not done yet.* Then the whistle blew, the ball was kicked in, and he was running again, because that is what El Gallo did. He never stopped running.

Reader's Guide

Galindo signed with Hércules CF of the Spanish second division in summer 2006 but played few games. In February 2007, he joined Swiss club Grasshopper Club Zürich, scoring his first goal for them on 17 February 2007 against FC Thun. On 28 July 2007, he signed a two-year contract with German club Eintracht Frankfurt. On 8 January 2009, he returned to Mexico to play for Club Deportivo Guadalajara, scoring his first goal for them on 28 February 2009. On 7 June 2011, he signed with Santos Laguna. On 8 July 2013, he was loaned to Toluca. On 1 September 2017, he returned to Spain to play for CD Toledo.

Did You Know?

• Galindo scored his first goal in the Swiss Super League on 17 February 2007, helping Grasshopper Club Zürich to a 2–0 win over FC Thun.
• He received a one-year ban after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs during the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup.
• Galindo was a starter for Mexico's U-23 team at the 2004 Summer Olympics.