Francisco Puñal

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Francisco Puñal
Personal information
Puñal in training with Osasuna
Full name	Francisco Puñal Martínez
Date of birth	(1975-09-06) 6 September 1975
Place of birth	Pamplona, Spain
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 ¹⁄₂ in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Osasuna
Number	10
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1996–1998	Osasuna B	32	(4)
1997–	Osasuna	449	(23)
1999–2001	→ Leganés (loan)	62	(11)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 January 2014. † Appearances (Goals).

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Puñal and the second or maternal family name is Martínez.

Francisco 'Patxi' Puñal Martínez (born 6 September 1975) is a Spanish footballer who plays for CA Osasuna in La Liga, as a defensive midfielder.

The vast bulk of his professional career was connected with Osasuna, where he was usually charged with penalty-taking and appeared in more than 500 official games.^[1]

Football career

Born in Pamplona, Navarre, Puñal played his entire career with CA Osasuna, save for two on-loan seasons with Madrid's CD Leganés, in Segunda División. His first official game for the main squad came on 15 June 1997 in a 1–1 away draw against SD Eibar, in the same category.

After his loan spell Puñal returned as an automatic first-choice, scoring his first La Liga goal on 27 October 2001 at already 26, in a 4–0 home win over RCD Mallorca. In Osasuna's 2005–06 historical league campaign, he netted four in 34 matches.

On 29 November 2006, as the club went on to reach the last-four in the UEFA Cup, Puñal scored three times (one in his net) in a 3–1 home win against Odense Boldklub in the group stage.^[2] He appeared in nearly 50 official contests that season.

From 2007 to 2010 veteran Puñal continued to figure prominently for Osasuna, appearing in exactly 100 league games – scoring twice through penalties, in a 2–0 win at Getafe CF^[3] and a 1–2 home loss against Real Madrid,^[4] both goals coming during the 2007–08 season – and also being the club's undisputed captain after the retirement of César Cruchaga. During that timeframe, he was booked a total of 37 times in the league.

Puñal finished 2012 on a high note, being a father for the first time and having appeared in a total of 470 official matches for his main club, a best-ever. He obtained the record after his 464th overall appearance on 21 October, against Real Betis,^[5] and on 26 May 2013 he again entered the team's history books, netting from 30 meters and contributing to a 2–1 home win against Sevilla FC which certified permanence in the top division for another year, with one game remaining.^[6]

References

↑ Patxi Puñal, la imparable leyenda 'rojilla', alcanza el récord de partidos con Osasuna (Patxi Puñal, the unstoppable 'rojilla' legend, reaches record of games with Osasuna); Diario de Navarra, 7 October 2012 (Spanish)
↑ Puñal puts Osasuna on brink; UEFA.com, 29 November 2006
↑ Getafe 0–2 Osasuna; ESPN Soccernet, 30 March 2008
↑ Osasuna 1–2 Real Madrid; ESPN Soccernet, 4 May 2008
↑ Patxi Puñal nunca podrá olvidar un año como 2012 (Patxi Puñal will never forget a year like 2012); Marca, 27 December 2012 (Spanish)
↑ Cejudo earns the points; ESPN FC, 26 May 2013

External links

v t e CA Osasuna – current squad

1 Riesgo 2 Bertrán 3 Oriol 4 M. Flaño 5 Lolo 6 Nino 7 Acuña 8 De las Cuevas 9 Armenteros 10 Puñal (c) 11 Sisi 12 Satrústegui 13 Andrés 14 Arribas 15 Oier 16 Cejudo 17 Lobato 18 Onwu 19 Riera 20 Silva 21 Torres 22 Lotiès 23 Loé 24 Damià Coach: Gracia

Persondata
Name	Punal, Francisco
Alternative names	Punal, Patxi
Short description	Spanish footballer
Date of birth	6 September 1975
Place of birth	Pamplona, Spain
Date of death
Place of death

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