Francisco Gento

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Paco Gento
Personalia
Full name Francisco Gento Lopez
birthday October 21, 1933
place of birth El Astillero ,  Spain
date of death ≤ January 18, 2022
place of death Spain
size 171 cm
position Left winger
juniors
years station
SD Nueva Montana
SD Union Club
SD Rayo Cantabria
Men's
years station Games (goals) 1
1952-1953 Racing Santander 10 00(2)
1953-1971 real Madrid 427 (126)
National team
years selection games (goals)
1953-1969 Spain 43 00(5)
1 Only league games are shown.

Francisco "Paco" Gento López (born October 21, 1933 in Guarnizo , El Astillero , Cantabria ; died before or on January 18, 2022 ) was a Spanish footballer . Left winger Gento was one of the standout players in Real Madrid 's heyday in the late 1950s/early 1960s. Gento was best known for his speed. He was the only player to win the European Champion Clubs' Cup six times. Most recently, Gento was honorary president of the Spanish record champions.

club career

The Galerna del Cantábrico , the "Cantabrian Storm Wind", as it was called, began its professional career in 1952 with Racing Santander . Eventually, Real Madrid talent scouts took notice of the player and signed the man from the "province" for the "Royals" in 1953. By the 1954 season, Gento had secured a regular place in the team and won his first two championships in 1954 and 1955. In the years that followed he went from strength to strength with Madrid and won the 1956 European Champion Clubs ' Cup . The team around Alfredo Di Stéfano , Ferenc Puskás and just Gento won the most important trophy in European club football in the next four years. On May 18, 1960, the royal club achieved their fifth European Cup triumph in a row in front of 127,000 spectators in Glasgow 's Hampden Park . Opponent Eintracht Frankfurt was outclassed 7:3 and suffered the heaviest defeat in a European cup final.

The ingenious attacking series Di Stéfano-Puskas-Gento seemed unstoppable and fooled every defensive formation with unpredictable dribbles. Unlike most wingers , Gento had a powerful shot, making him more of a goalscorer than crosser at times. After another five Spanish titles in a row (1961 to 1965), winning the cup in 1962 and two defeats in the national championship cup final (1962 and 1964), Gento was able to receive the trophy again as captain in 1966. His six victories in the European Cup are unmatched to this day. For Gento, as for Real, it was the last title in this competition for the time being, the age of the "white ballet" now seemed to be finally over. Gento stayed with Real Madrid until 1971. In a total of 511 games, he scored 150 goals for his team. After his active career, he worked in the youth department.

Gento has reached eight European Champion Clubs' Cup finals (a record shared with Paolo Maldini (CL)) and one European Cup Winners' Cup final, the sole record-holder for appearances in European club competitions.

Career in the national team

With the Spanish national team , he was unable to match the successes he achieved with Real Madrid. At the World Cup in Chile in 1962 , Spain was eliminated in the group stage in the group stage. In 1964 he won the 1964 European Championship with the Spanish national team , where he scored the decisive goal in the second leg of the round of 16 in the 66th minute to make it 1-0 against Northern Ireland after the first leg was 1-1 and no winner could be identified. At the 1966 World Cup in England , the team, captained by Gento, underperformed and only finished third in the group. He completed his last international match in 1969 in a clear 6-0 win over Finland . Overall, he completed 43 international matches and scored five goals.

successes

literature

  • Champions. 100 great soccer players and their successes. Gondrom-Verlag, p. 56.

itemizations

  1. ↑ Real Madrid mourns legend Gento. In: Kicker Online , January 18, 2022, retrieved January 18, 2022.

web links

Commons : Francisco Gento  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Gento, Francisco
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gento Lopez, Francisco
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Spanish soccer player
BIRTH DATE October 21, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH Guarnizo
DATE OF DEATH before January 18, 2022