Paco Gento facts for kids
Gento in 1962
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Francisco Gento López | ||
| Date of birth | 21 October 1933 | ||
| Place of birth | Guarnizo, Spain | ||
| Date of death | 18 January 2022 (aged 88) | ||
| Place of death | Madrid, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.68 m | ||
| Playing position | 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) | |
| National team | |||
| 1956 | Spain B | 1 | (0) |
| 1955–1969 | Spain | 43 | (5) |
| Teams managed | |||
| Real Madrid Castilla | |||
| 1974 | Castellón | ||
| 1977–1980 | Palencia | ||
| 1980–1981 | Granada | ||
| 1997–2000 | Cantabria | ||
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Francisco "Paco" Gento López (born October 21, 1933 – died January 18, 2022) was a famous Spanish footballer. He played as an outside left, which is a type of forward player.
Paco Gento was known for being incredibly fast. People called him the "Gale of the Cantabrian Sea" (La Galerna del Cantábrico) because of how quickly he ran down the side of the field. An organization called IFFHS (International Federation of Football History and Statistics) voted him the greatest Spanish footballer of the 20th century. They also said he was the 30th greatest footballer in the world during that time.
Gento started his career at Racing Santander in 1952. The next year, he joined Real Madrid, where he became a legend. He played in a record eight European Cup finals, winning six of them! He also won 12 La Liga titles, which is Spain's top football league.
Paco Gento played for the Spanish national team for 14 years. He played in the 1962 and 1966 World Cups. After his teammate Alfredo Di Stéfano passed away in 2014, Gento became the Honorary President of Real Madrid.
Contents
Playing for Clubs
Paco Gento first played in Spain's top league, the Primera División, with Racing Santander in the 1952–53 season. He was mostly playing for their B team when he got a chance to play for the main team against Real Madrid. He played so well in that game that Real Madrid signed him just three days later!
At Real Madrid, Gento was known as "The Gale of the Cantabrian Sea." He played as an outside left, using his amazing speed and ball skills. He was also good at scoring goals from the midfield area. In 1967, after Alfredo Di Stéfano left and Ferenc Puskás retired, Gento became the captain of a new, younger Real Madrid team. This team was nicknamed Ye-yé because The Beatles were very popular at the time.
In his first season at Real Madrid, Gento didn't score any goals. The club president, Santiago Bernabéu, was not happy. But Di Stéfano convinced him to keep Gento, saying, "He is quick and hits the ball like a cannon. That can't be learned, it's natural. We can teach him the rest."
Gento won the European Cup an amazing six times with Real Madrid between 1955 and 1966. He is the only Real Madrid player to have been part of all six of those wins. He scored 31 goals in 88 European Cup matches. He played in eight European Cup finals, winning six and losing two. He also played in another European final, the 1970–1971 Cup Winners' Cup final, which Real Madrid lost to Chelsea. This record of nine European final appearances is shared with Milan's Paolo Maldini.
In Spain, Gento won 12 La Liga titles with Real Madrid. He scored 128 goals in 428 league games for the club. This was a great number of goals for a winger, especially since he often helped his teammates Di Stéfano and Puskás score. He won a total of 23 trophies for Real Madrid. This was a club record for many years, until Marcelo equaled it just before Gento passed away.
After retiring from playing in 1971, Gento became a coach for several smaller teams. These included Castilla, Castellón, Palencia, and Granada. In the 1978–79 season, he helped Palencia get promoted to the Segunda División (the second division) for the first time ever. Later, he became an ambassador for Real Madrid, traveling around Europe with Di Stéfano. After Di Stéfano's death in 2014, Gento became the honorary president of the club.
Playing for Spain
Paco Gento played for the Spanish national team from 1955 to 1969. He played in 43 matches and scored five goals. His first game for Spain was on May 18, 1955, a 1–1 draw against England in Madrid.
He was sometimes called "La tercera G" (the third G) because he followed two other great players, Agustín Gaínza and Guillermo Gorostiza, in his position. He played alongside his friend Enrique Collar in the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile.
Gento also played in the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England. He played in all three group stage games, but Spain was eliminated. His last game for Spain was on October 15, 1969, when he was almost 36 years old. Spain won that game 6–0 against Finland. He finished his international career with 43 caps.
Family and Passing
Paco Gento had two younger brothers, Julio and Antonio, who also played football professionally. Antonio even played for Real Madrid, but they were not as famous as Francisco.
His nephews were also athletes. José Luis Llorente and Toñín Llorente played basketball, while Paco Llorente and Julio Llorente were footballers. Paco Llorente's son, Marcos Llorente, is also a footballer today.
Paco Gento passed away peacefully in his sleep on January 18, 2022, at the age of 88.
Real Madrid shared a message saying how much they loved him and sent their condolences to his family. Gianni Infantino, the President of FIFA, also said he was very sad to hear about Gento's death. He called Gento "one of the greatest players of his generation" and said he left many great memories for football fans, especially those of Spain and Real Madrid.
Paco Gento's Legacy
Paco Gento is remembered as one of the greatest Spanish footballers of all time. He was also considered one of the best players ever in his position. He was an incredibly fast left winger. This speed helped him create many scoring chances for his team with accurate crosses.
Honours and Records
Paco Gento won many important titles during his career, especially with Real Madrid.
Real Madrid
- La Liga (12 times): 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69
- Copa del Generalísimo (2 times): 1961–62, 1969–70
- European Cup (6 times): 1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1965–66
- Intercontinental Cup (1 time): 1960
- Other Trophies
- Latin Cup (2 times): 1955, 1957
- Small Club World Cup (1 time): 1956
Individual Awards
- World Soccer World XI: 1960, 1961, 1962
- Golden Foot Legends Award: 2004
- World Soccer: One of The 100 Greatest Footballers of All Time
- IFFHS Legends
Records
- Most La Liga titles: 12
- Most European Cup titles: 6
- Most European Cup final appearances: 8 (tied with Paolo Maldini)
Images for kids
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Real Madrid team before the 1966 European Cup Final
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