The forgotten legends of football: Gento

Francisco Gento training

Real Madrid is a club richly steeped in footballing history. It is one of the richest clubs in terms of revenue and has a fan base that is spread to every corner of the world. But why are Real Madrid so famous? To find the answer to this fact, we need to go back to the 1950’s.

In 1955, the concept of a European cup was implemented. The champion of each country was invited to participate. The Franco-backed Real Madrid were Spain’s representatives. They had a team that was filled with skill and pace. Coached by Jose Lorente, the team had the mercurial Di Stefano, Fontana, the long throw expert midfielder Rial, and a left winger who was the quickest footballer in the world. The left winger grew up in poverty and had to quit school at the age of 14 years to help his family financially. Like many others, football was his way out of the quagmire of poverty. He had been quick since childhood, and after dabbling in athletics, he settled on football.

His name was Francisco Gento Lopez but he went by the name of Gento. Purchased in 1953 from Racing Santander, he had been endorsed by the then Real Madrid vice-president Alvaro Bustamante. He came to play for the Los Blancos, but in his first season he was a miserable failure. Going through opinions on Gento by journalists at the time, one finds that while Gento was full of pace, he lacked finesse and technique. At times he was so quick that he left his team far behind, and sometimes he even ran quicker than the ball and was unable to control it. It looked as if the lightening fast winger would be a failure. Today, we all rave about the pace of Ronaldo and Bale. Gento clocked 10.9 seconds for 100 meters, with the ball at his feet.

Next season though, came in Uruguayan Hector Rial. Rial was a number ‘10’ by trade. He was a master of long balls played into space, and was a brilliant thrower from the sidelines. He combined with Gento instantaneously, and soon they were unstoppable. Gento was a smart player and always sprung the offside traps of opponents. Because of his phenomenal pace, he almost always got the ball first, and ran through to put a team-mate in on goal, or score himself. But to say that Rial was the reason for his success would be very superficial. But yes, Hector Rial gave Gento the confidence to improve, to become such a phenomenon that he is considered the best left winger in the history of the game.

Gento soon developed into a mature player and worked very hard on his technique. By the 1955 season, Gento’s fame had spread far and wide. His speed was undoubtedly his ‘X’ factor but he also developed into a brilliant finisher, and was credited with having an unwavering temperament. We have all heard of the scoring exploits of Di Stefano and Puskas. Although records from the time are not available, the legends acknowledge that most of their goals were due the pace and crossing ability of Gento. Inadvertently, Gento drew the attention of opponents which left geniuses like Kopa, Del Sol and Di Stefano free to wreak havoc.

Although Racing Santander was his first love, he became a fan favorite at the Bernabeu and he returned back the love in no small quantity. His first reaction after scoring was almost always to run to the crowd. There was a reason why he was such a fan favorite. In the 1956 final, he scored a stunning pile driver of a shot against Fiorentina. The very next year, he scored the winning goal against AC Milan in extra time and landed Real Madrid their third consecutive title. Gento was a household name in Spain now and offers started to fly in. But both the club and player were loyal to each other and the man continued to be a regular fixture on the left side of Real’s attack.

Another great period for Gento was after the arrival of Ferenc Puskas. The Hungarian legend often tucked in to the inside-left position and consistently released Gento, and then received a usually pin-point cross for an easy finish. Gento was a team player and very often cut the ball back from scoring positions so that his teammates could finish with ease.

Gento was a brilliant player for the Spanish national team too. Although he did not score much, he was the leader of the team. At the 1962 World Cup, he impressed all and sundry with his game. I guess it would have been really a unique tournament. Garrincha on the right and Gento on the left would have been a sight to behold. In 1964, he guided his team to a victory at the European Championship. His best game for the team was against USSR in the finals. Befitting his reputation as a big game player, he dominated a usually rampant USSR. He was simply unstoppable, his starting position on the left wing was nominal. He often turned up defending at right-back, he made tireless runs and even though his pace had fallen, he had replaced it with guile and intelligence. Although it is rare that a wide man can direct play, but much like Giggs today, Gento tucked in to the left side of midfield, directed the speed and direction of attack and made his runs selectively.

Real Madrid’s Francisco Gento with the European Cup after the victory in May, 1966

Perhaps the most satisfying season for Gento was 1966. By this time, all of the first batch of ‘Galacticos’, including Puskas, Di Stefano, Del Sol, Kopa and others, were no longer playing for the club. Gento was in charge of a side that was filled with young Spanish players. He led Madrid to European glory, inspiring a side in transition to greatness. Real Madrid defeated FK Partizan 2-1 and brought a sixth European cup to the Santiago Bernabeu. He finished his career in 1971 at Real Madrid. After 178 goals, he decided to call it a day. He served his club for 18 years and now serves as an ambassador for Real Madrid.

In his career, Gento won six European Cups, appeared in eight finals and won 11 La Liga titles, eight of them in succession. He guided Spain to a European cup and redefined the role of a winger. He was more than just a quick player. He was the flag-bearer of excellence in a side filled with world class stars. He was the best left winger in the history of game. The next time you see a Ronaldo or Bale running up the left flank, remember that a man quicker, more consistent and probably smarter than both once ruled the left touchline.