 Gento in 1962 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Francisco Gento López | ||
| Date of birth | (1933-10-21)21 October 1933 | ||
| Place of birth | Guarnizo,Spain | ||
| Date of death | 18 January 2022(2022-01-18) (aged 88) | ||
| Place of death | Madrid, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Outside left | ||
| Youth career | |||
| SD Nueva Montaña | |||
| Unión Club Astillero | |||
| Rayo Cantabria | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1952–1953 | Racing Santander | 10 | (2) |
| 1953–1971 | Real Madrid | 427 | (127) |
| Total | 437 | (129) | |
| International career | |||
| 1956 | Spain B | 1 | (0) |
| 1955–1969 | Spain | 43 | (5) |
| Managerial career | |||
| Real Madrid Castilla | |||
| 1974 | Castellón | ||
| 1977–1980 | Palencia | ||
| 1980–1981 | Granada | ||
| 1997–2000 | Cantabria | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Francisco "Paco"Gento López (21 October 1933 – 18 January 2022) was a Spanishfootballer who played as anoutside left. A fast runner, Gento was referred to as the "Gale of the Cantabrian Sea" (Spanish:La Galerna del Cantábrico) in reference to his speed down the wing.[2] He was voted by IFFHS (International Federation of Football History and Statistics) as the greatest Spanish footballer and 30th greatest world footballer of the 20th century.[3] Gento is also widely regarded as one of the greatest wingers in the history of the sport.[4]
Gento began his career atRacing Santander in 1952 and moved toReal Madrid the following season. He appeared in a joint record eightEuropean Cup finals, winning a joint record six, as well as winning a record 12 La Liga titles. In a 14-year international career, Gento earned 43 caps forSpain, playing at the World Cup in1962 and1966.
Following the death ofAlfredo Di Stéfano in 2014, Gento was appointed the Honorary President of Real Madrid.[5]
Gento debuted in thePrimera División withRacing Santander in the 1952–53 season. He was still playing mostly for the B team at Santander when a flu virus saw him promoted to the first team ahead of a home game againstReal Madrid. Such was his performance in the match, that Madrid signed him three days later.[6]
LaGalerna del Cantábrico (The Gale of the Cantabrian Sea), as he was known, playedoutside left and was noted for his exceptional pace, his skills with the ball and his scoring prowess from the midfield position.[7] In 1967, followingAlfredo Di Stéfano's departure andFerenc Puskás's retirement, he became the captain of a young side, known in Spain asYe-yé, because of the popularity ofThe Beatles at that time.[8]
Gento did not score in his first season and was under pressure from club presidentSantiago Bernabéu. The president was won over by Di Stéfano's argument "he is quick and hits the ball like a cannon. That can't be learned, it's innate. We can teach him the rest".[9]Among other honors, Gento won theEuropean Cup a record six times with Real Madrid between 1955 and 1966 being the only Madrid player to figure in all of the wins (a record since equalled byNacho,Luka Modrić andDani Carvajal).[10] He contributed with 31 goals in 88 European Cup career matches.[11]
Gento played in eight European Cup finals, with a 6–2 record, and he also appeared in a ninth European final appearance in the1970–1971 Cup Winners' Cup final that Real Madrid lost toChelsea.[12] He holds this record jointly withMilan'sPaolo Maldini, who has an inferior 5–3 record. Gento's legendary Real Madrid teammate, Alfredo Di Stéfano's 5–2 record comes third.[13]
Domestically, Gento collected 12La Liga titles during his time with Madrid.[10] He scored 128 times in 428 league appearances for the club, a strong return for a winger, especially as he was often providing goals for teammates Di Stéfano and Puskás.[10] He won 23 trophies for the club, which remained an outright record until equalled byMarcelo days before Gento's death.[14][15]
After he retired from football in 1971, he coached various lower-league teams, such asCastilla,Castellón,Palencia, andGranada. In1978–79, he led Palencia to promotion to theSegunda División for the first time in their history.[16] He later took up a role as an ambassador for Real Madrid throughout Europe, alongside Di Stéfano. After Di Stéfano died in 2014, Gento became the honorary president of the club.[17]
Gento played for theSpain national team from 1955 to 1969, winning 43caps and scoring five times. His debut came on 18 May 1955 in a 1–1 draw withEngland in Madrid. He was initially known as "La tercera G" (the third G) for succeedingAgustín Gaínza andGuillermo Gorostiza in his position. His rival for his position was his friendEnrique Collar ofAtlético Madrid, and the pair played together at the1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile.[18]
In1964 European Nations' Cup qualification, Gento was included alongside Collar under new managerJosé Villalonga, but was dropped after a home defeat toBelgium on 1 December 1963;Carlos Lapetra took his place for the finals which Spain won. Due to improved form and fitness in the second half of the 1965–66 season, he was recalled for the1966 FIFA World Cup in England, playing all three games of a group-stage elimination.[18]
Shortly before turning 36, Gento was given his 43rd and final cap on 15 October 1969 by his former teammateLászló Kubala, in a 6–0 win over already eliminated Finland in1970 FIFA World Cupqualification. He ended short of the record of 46 caps byRicardo Zamora.[18]
Gento's two younger brothers,Julio (1939–2016) andAntonio (1940–2020) also played football professionally; the latter played for Real Madrid, too, but they were not as successful as their older brother Francisco.[19]
His nephews were also athletes –José Luis Llorente andToñín Llorente played basketball, whilstPaco Llorente andJulio Llorente were footballers.[20] Grand-nephewMarcos Llorente, son of Paco Llorente, is also a footballer.[21]
Gento died in his sleep on 18 January 2022, at the age of 88.[22]
Real Madrid announced in a statement, "Real Madrid would like to express its condolences and its love and affection to his wife Mari Luz, his sons Francisco and Julio, his granddaughters Aitana and Candela and all his relatives, colleagues and loved ones, he will always be remembered by Madridistas and all football fans as one of their greatest."[23] FIFA PresidentGianni Infantino said, “I am deeply saddened to learn of Paco Gento’s passing today at the age of 88. One of the greatest players of his generation, Paco leaves behind a lifetime of memories for all fans of football, but especially those of Spain and Real Madrid. Our thoughts and best wishes go to Paco’s family and friends, to Real Madrid, to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and to all those who treasure memories of this great player.”[24]
Regarded as one of the greatest Spanish players of all time and one of the greatest ever players in his position, Gento was an extremely fastleft winger, which made him an effective assist provider with high accuracy in his crosses.[25][26][27]
| Club | Season | League | Copa del Rey | Europe[a] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Racing Santander | 1952–53 | Primera División | 10 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 14 | 3 | ||
| Real Madrid | 1953–54 | Primera División | 17 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 0 | ||
| 1954–55 | 24 | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | 2[b] | 0 | 29 | 6 | |||
| 1955–56 | 29 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 1 | — | 42 | 11 | |||
| 1956–57 | 27 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 2[b] | 3 | 40 | 11 | ||
| 1957–58 | 28 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 3 | — | 39 | 11 | |||
| 1958–59 | 21 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 1 | — | 33 | 10 | |||
| 1959–60 | 27 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 2 | — | 38 | 20 | |||
| 1960–61 | 28 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1[c] | 1 | 39 | 14 | ||
| 1961–62 | 25 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 2 | — | 43 | 12 | |||
| 1962–63 | 25 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 31 | 9 | |||
| 1963–64 | 24 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 3 | — | 35 | 15 | |||
| 1964–65 | 23 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 5 | — | 32 | 9 | |||
| 1965–66 | 28 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 3 | — | 40 | 15 | |||
| 1966–67 | 20 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 30 | 11 | ||
| 1967–68 | 24 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 5 | — | 32 | 13 | |||
| 1968–69 | 26 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 30 | 9 | |||
| 1969–70 | 24 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | — | 31 | 7 | |||
| 1970–71 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6[d] | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | |||
| Total | 427 | 127 | 73 | 21 | 94 | 31 | 6 | 4 | 600 | 183 | ||
| Career total | 437 | 129 | 78 | 22 | 94 | 31 | 6 | 4 | 614 | 186 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 1955 | 1 | 0 |
| 1956 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1957 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1958 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1959 | 5 | 1 | |
| 1960 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1961 | 7 | 1 | |
| 1962 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1963 | 3 | 1 | |
| 1966 | 3 | 1 | |
| 1967 | 2 | 1 | |
| 1968 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1969 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 44 | 5 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 October 1959 | Santiago Bernabéu Stadium,Madrid, Spain |  Poland | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1960 European Nations' Cup qualifying |
| 2 | 2 April 1961 | Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid, Spain |  France | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 30 October 1963 | Windsor Park,Belfast, Northern Ireland |  Northern Ireland | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1964 European Nations' Cup qualifying |
| 4 | 23 June 1966 | Riazor,A Coruña, Spain |  Uruguay | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 5 | 31 May 1967 | San Mamés,Bilbao, Spain |  Turkey | 2–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 1968 qualifying |
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Real Madrid[29]
Individual
Records
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| National | |
