Francisco Copado

The son of Spanish immigrants, Copado began his football career in his hometown of Kiel, initially at Eintracht Kiel and later with Holstein Kiel, where he came through the youth ranks. For the 1992–93 season he received a professional contract from Hamburger SV, whose scouts had been keeping a close eye on the young offensive player. From 1993 to 1995 Copado played in three Bundesliga matches, the first on 20 November 1993 as a late substitute in a 3–0 away loss against 1. FC Kaiserslautern. In 1995–96 he amassed a further ten appearances under Felix Magath, before leaving the club in the winter transfer window. Copado subsequently moved to Spain, joining Segunda División team RCD Mallorca in January 1996. In his first full season he contributed two goals in 30 games (his first in a 1–0 win at Real Madrid Castilla), helping win promotion to La Liga. However, Copado would never play in Spain's top level, as he left in July 1997 and joined lower league side Tennis Borussia Berlin – there, he played under Hermann Gerland, the manager mostly associated with the player's explosion. He ended the season with 12 goals as TeBe was unbeaten and became Regionalliga Nord champions; in the 2. Bundesliga, he would only score six goals in the following two seasons combined. For the 2000–01 campaign top division club SpVgg Unterhaching bought Copado, at the express petition of club manager Lorenz-Günther Köstner. However, after a few games, the player failed to produce on the pitch…

Copado is the brother-in-law of Hasan Salihamidžić, to whom his sister is married. During his playing days at Mallorca, he was often referred to as Paco. Copado married Eva Schrobenhauser, daughter of former side Unterhaching's owner Anton Schrobenhauser, on 31 May 2008. They have two sons together, including Lucas Copado, a footballer for Bayern Munich. Copado and Schrobenhauser later separated.