| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Francisco Llorente Gento | ||
| Date of birth | May 21, 1965 | ||
| Place of birth | Valladolid, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Playing position | Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1982 | Urbis | ||
| 1983 | Real Madrid | ||
| 1984–1985 | Móstoles | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1985–1986 | Atlético Madrileño | 31 | (5) |
| 1986–1987 | Atlético Madrid | 29 | (3) |
| 1987–1994 | Real Madrid | 105 | (8) |
| 1994–1998 | Compostela | 72 | (2) |
| National team | |||
| 1986 | Spain U21 | 5 | (0) |
| 1986–1987 | Spain U23 | 3 | (0) |
| 1987 | Spain | 1 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Francisco 'Paco' Llorente Gento (born 21 May 1965 in Valladolid, Castile and León) is a retired Spanish footballer who played mostly as a right winger.
The nephew of legendary Real Madrid's Francisco Gento (also a winger), he also represented the other side from the city, Atlético.
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After a brief youth passage at Real Madrid, Llorente moved to neighbours Atlético Madrid, being fairly used in the course of two seasons. In 1987, after displays of incredible speed and useful skills, he re-joined Real.
Also being able to appear as a forward, Llorente found it difficult to break into the starting XI, barred by Míchel in his natural position and Hugo Sánchez and Emilio Butragueño up front. His moment of glory came during the second leg of the second round of the 1987–88 European Cup, as he appeared from the bench, as Real trailed 0–1 at F.C. Porto (2–1 win at home), to assist Míchel twice after powerful flank runs, as his uncle Francisco in the 50/60's.[1]
In 1989–90, after the arrival of John Toshack as coach, Llorente found his playing time drastically cut; in his later years with the club, with Benito Floro at the helm, he even saw some time as right back. He retired in 1998 after four seasons with lowly SD Compostela, having played 206 games with 13 goals during 13 years (all in La Liga).
Llorente played once for Spain, against Albania for the UEFA Euro 1988 qualifiers, on 18 November 1987, scoring one of the five without response in Seville. He did not make the cut for the final stages in West Germany, however.
Llorente hails from a sporting family: other than his uncle, his three brothers were also professionals: José Luis (1959) and Antonio "Toñín" (1963) played top level basketball for well more than one decade (including at Real Madrid), while the youngest, Julio, amassed nearly 400 overall official appearances during his career as a defender, coinciding with Paco at Real from 1988–90.[2][3]