Francisco Puñal

Patxi Puñal

Puñal training with Osasuna in 2010
Personal information
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
Youth career
Osasuna
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1998 Osasuna B 32 (4)
1994–1995 → Oberena (loan)
1995–1996 → Egüés (loan)
1997–2014 Osasuna 458 (23)
1999–2001 → Leganés (loan) 62 (11)
Total 552 (38)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Francisco 'Patxi' Puñal Martínez (born 6 September 1975) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

The vast bulk of his professional career was connected with Osasuna, where he was charged with penalty-taking in his beginnings and for which he appeared in 513 competitive games.[1][2]

Football career

Born in Pamplona, Navarre, Puñal played his entire professional career with CA Osasuna save for two on-loan seasons with Madrid's CD Leganés, in Segunda División.[3] 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 level.[4]

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.[5] In Osasuna's 2005–06 historical league campaign, which brought a best ever fourth-place finish, 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.[6] He appeared in 47 official contests that season.

From 2007 to 2010, veteran Puñal continued to figure prominently for Osasuna, featuring in exactly 100 league games – scoring twice through penalties, in a 2–0 win at Getafe CF[7] and a 1–2 home loss against Real Madrid,[8] both goals coming during 2007–08 – and also being the club's undisputed captain after the retirement of César Cruchaga.[9] 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,[10] 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.[11]

References

  1. ↑ 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 (in Spanish)
  2. ↑ Más que un capitán (More than a captain); Revista de Navarra, 4 April 2014 (in Spanish)
  3. ↑ Sólo siguen diez (Only ten continue); Mundo Deportivo, 9 June 2000 (in Spanish)
  4. ↑ Eibar pierde 150 millones (Eibar loses 150 million); Mundo Deportivo, 16 June 1997 (in Spanish)
  5. ↑ Osasuna pasa por encima de un Mallorca a la deriva (Osasuna steamrolls drifting Mallorca); Mundo Deportivo, 28 October 2001 (in Spanish)
  6. ↑ Puñal puts Osasuna on brink; UEFA.com, 29 November 2006
  7. ↑ Getafe 0–2 Osasuna; ESPN Soccernet, 30 March 2008
  8. ↑ Osasuna 1–2 Real Madrid; ESPN Soccernet, 4 May 2008
  9. ↑ Puñal: "Vamos a intentar tener un año sin problemas" Puñal: "Vamos a intentar tener un año sin problemas" (Puñal: "We will try to have a problem-free year"); Diario AS, 19 July 2009 (in Spanish)
  10. ↑ Patxi Puñal nunca podrá olvidar un año como 2012 (Patxi Puñal will never be able to forget a year like 2012); Marca, 27 December 2012 (in Spanish)
  11. ↑ Cejudo earns the points; ESPN FC, 26 May 2013
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