Francisco Gento

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Personal information
Gento
Full name	Francisco Gento López
Date of birth	October 21, 1933
Place of birth	Guarnizo, Spain
Nickname	El Supersonico, Galerna del Cantábrico
Position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	retired
Number	11
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
1952-1953 1953-1971	Racing Santander Real Madrid	10 (2) 517 (156)^{[dubious — see talk page]}
National team**
1955-1969	Spain	43 (5)
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 May 2006. ** National team caps and goals correct as of 21 June 2006.

Francisco "Paco" Gento López (born October 21, 1933 in Guarnizo, Cantabria) was a Spanish football player.

He débuted in the Primera División with Racing Santander in the 1952-53 season. In the following year, he signed for Real Madrid and became a legendary player of that club, in the number 11 shirt.

The Galerna del Cantábrico (The Storm of the Cantábrico), as he was known, played outside left and was noted not only for having great speed (he could run 100 metres in 10 seconds and was almost as quick with a ball at his feet)^{[citation needed]}, but also for his skills with the ball and his relatively high scoring capabilities given his position. He captained a young side, known in Spain as Ye-yé, because of the popularity of The Beatles at that time.

Among other honours, he won the European Cup a record 6 times with Real Madrid, scoring 30 goals in 89 European Cup career matches. He also played for Spain from 1955 to 1969, winning 43 caps and scoring 5 times.

After he retired from football in 1971, he decided to take up coaching. He took charge of various lower-league teams, such as Castilla, Castellón, Palencia, and Granada. In the end, he accepted a post working as an ambassador for Real Madrid throughout Europe.

[edit] Career Accomplishments

6 European Cups: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966(Real Madrid)
12 Spanish League titles: 53-54, 54-55, 56-57, 57-58, 60-61, 61-62, 62-63, 63-64, 64-65, 66-67, 67-68, 68-69(Real Madrid)
1 Intercontinental Cup:1960(Real Madrid)
2 Copa del Rey: 1962, 1970(Real Madrid)