Tag Archive for 'Gento'

Hasta siempre Gento

“The honorary president played 18 seasons at Real Madrid and became a legend of world soccer.”

Francisco Gento López has passed away at the age of 88. A key figure in the Real Madrid legend, he played for our club from 1953 to 1971. Eighteen years in which he achieved an unparalleled record. He won 6 European Cups, which makes him a unique player in the history of soccer. To these he added 12 Leagues, 1 Intercontinental, 2 Latin Cups, 2 Spanish Cups and 1 Little World Cup. His contribution to Real Madrid led to him being elected honorary president of the club in 2016.

With a portentous physique and incredible speed, Gento was the best left winger in the world. But apart from his spectacular conditions as a player, he was the link between two legendary generations at Real Madrid: that of the first five European Cups and that of the equipo yeyé.

Beginning with Di Stefano
Gento was born on October 21, 1933 in Guarnizo (Cantabria) and joined Real Madrid in the 1953-54 season from Racing Santander. That same year, Di Stéfano also joined our team and together they transformed Real Madrid into the best club in the world.

In their first year, they won the League and ushered in a golden era for madridismo. The best players in the world wore our shirt and the forward line formed by Kopa, Rial, Di Stéfano, Puskas and Gento is considered the most important in history.

Since the birth of the European Cup in 1955, Gento is the only player to have won the trophy six times. First he was part of the historic team that won five consecutive titles from 1956 to 1960 and then he was the captain of the Real Madrid yeyé that won it in 1966.

Gento was a starter in the finals of Real Madrid’s first six European Cups and scored in two of them. In the second, he scored the 2-0 goal against Fiorentina, in a final played at the Santiago Bernabéu. He was even more decisive in the Third, when his goal in extra time settled a tough match against Milan”.