Province of Almería
An extremely prolific goalscorer in Segunda División, Nino was born in Vera, Province of Almería, and first appeared professionally with Elche CF, helping the club achieve promotion from the Segunda División B in 1998–99. In the following campaign he made his debut in division two, with 16 matches and two goals, and would go on to develop as an influential figure for the Alicante province team in the following years.