- George Dempsey
- 29 September 2023
Sheffield Wednesday vs Sunderland tips: Back Black Cats to pile more misery on Munoz
Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland will look to bounce back from defeat when they meet at Hillsborough on Friday night (2000).
As a player, Muonz turned out for Valencia, Levante and Real Betis among other Spanish sides in an 18-year career.
At Valencia he won La Liga, the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Cup in the 2003/04 season, while at Dinamo Tbilisi he won the Erovnuli Liga and the Georgian Cup twice.
He moved into management when his career came to an end, taking the reins at former club Dinamo Tbilisi in August 2020 where he won the league in a short four month spell before moving to Watford in December.
Munoz steered Watford back into the Premier League, but was sacked during November 2021 after just 36 games in charge.
He went on to have unsuccessful stints at Spanish side Huesca and Cypriot outfit Anorthosis, before landing the Sheffield Wednesday job in July 2023.
But he was sacked by the club in October of the same year after a winless start to the Championship campaign, which left the Owls bottom of the table.
Early career
Munoz began his career in the RCD Mallorca youth side before moving to Valencia CF to be in their youth set-up.
He got sent out on loan to Recreativo de Huelva of the Segunda Division in 2000, scoring 10 goals in his first season at senior level.
After a season on loan at CD Tenerife followed by a further season back at Recreativo, Munoz returned to Valencia in the summer of 2003.
He was a key part of the Valencia first team for the following two seasons.
In the 2003/04 campaign, Munoz played in 22 matches as Valencia won their sixth league title. He also helped his side win their first and only UEFA Cup in 2004, featuring in eight matches but acting as an unused substitute in the final against Olympique Marseille.
He was again confined to the bench as Valencia beat Porto to win the UEFA Super Cup later that year.
Time at Real Betis
In 2005, Munoz joined Real Betis on a six-year contract. He played in a variety of attacking positions and in 2006/07 scored three times as Real Betis narrowly avoided relegation from the top-flight of Spanish soccer.
The 2008/09 season was not the finest of Munoz's career, though, as he played in just nine games, scoring once, as his side were relegated.
Levante and later years
In the summer of 2009, Munoz left Real Betis and joined Levante UD, who were also in the second flight. In the 2009/10 campaign, he helped his side gain promotion, scoring eight times. In the 2010/11 season, Munoz played in 26 games, starting 18 times, as his side managed to retain their top-flight status.
After two seasons with Levante, Munoz moved abroad, joining FC Dinamo Tbilisi in Georgia in 2011.
In the 2012/13 season, he scored a career-best 22 times as he guided his side to the Erovnuli Liga title.
A year later, Dinamo Tbilisi won the crown for the second straight year. This was Dinamo Tbilisi's second successive double as they also secured the Georgian Cup in 2012/13 and 2013/14. The Georgian Super Cup followed in December 2014.
In that same month, Munoz returned to Spain after signing an 18-month deal with third-tier outfit Gimnastic de Tarragona. Once this had expired, he announced his retirement to become assistant manager at the club.
Coaching career
In January 2019, Munoz returned to Dinamo Tbilisi to work with Zaur Svanadze. He left a year later once Dinamo had claimed the Georgian title for the first time in three years.
In August 2020, he became the head coach of Dinamo Tbilisi. He won his first trophy just four months later as Dinamo retained their league crown.
Eleven days after winning the Georgian title, Munoz was appointed manager of Championship side Watford FC. His first game in charge was on Boxing Day 2020, a 1-0 win over league leaders Norwich City.
Munoz was awarded the Championship Manager of the Month for March after five straight wins, while on April 24, 2021, his team achieved promotion to the Premier League with two games remaining. They went on to finish second in the EFL Championship.
He got off to a winning start in his first Premier League game as the Hornets ran out 3-2 winners over Aston Villa on August 14, 2021.
However, things turned sour quickly and Watford parted company with Munoz after just seven games of the Premier League season.
The 1-0 defeat at Leeds at the start of October left Watford with seven points from a possible 21. Since beating Villa on the opening day of the season, the club's only other league victory came against bottom side Norwich.
Return to England
Munoz was a flop in his next two roles. Winning just ten games of 32 in charge of Spanish side Huesca as they finished 13th in the Segunda Division.
Then he went to Cyprus in October 2022 to manage First Division side Anorthosis but only last three months, winning just four of 13 games.
On July 4, 2023, Sheffield Wednesday named Munoz as their new manager, but the appointment was heavily criticised.
Sheffield Wednesday chairman Dejphon Chansiri hit back at his critics when introducing his new manager to the media.
The 42-year-old Spaniard, was appointed as a replacement for Darren Moore, who surprisingly left the club by mutual consent just three weeks after leading them to promotion back to the Championship.
Munoz's spell at Wednesday was incredibly brief after he was sacked at the start of October with the Owls rooted to the bottom of the Championship table.
Munoz departed in the wake of a 1-0 defeat at West Brom which extended their winless start in the competition this season to 10 games.
Xisco's personal life
Xisco has a younger brother who was also a professional footballer, having once played for Mallorca. However, he spent the majority of his career in the Spanish lower leagues.
Xisco's net worth
There is no reliable information on Xisco's net worth.