Paco Bonet

Paco Bonet
Personal information
Full name	Francisco Bonet Serrano
Date of birth	27 June 1959 (age 64)
Place of birth	Almuñécar, Spain
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Centre back
Youth career
	Molinar
	Atlético Baleares
	Palencia
Senior career*
Years	Team
1978–1979	Elche B
1979–1982	Elche
1980–1981	→ Mallorca (loan)
1982–1986	Real Madrid
1985–1986	Castilla
1986–1989	Mallorca
Total
International career
1982–1983	Spain
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Francisco 'Paco' Bonet Serrano (born 27 June 1959) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a central defender.

He amassed La Liga totals of 98 matches and three goals during five seasons, with Real Madrid and Mallorca.

Club career

Born in Almuñecar, Province of Granada, Andalusia, Bonet started his professional career with Elche CF, appearing in two full Segunda División seasons with the club and also being loaned to RCD Mallorca during his tenure. In 1982 he signed with Real Madrid, making his La Liga debut on 5 September in a 2–2 away draw against Real Valladolid^[1] and going on to start in all his 24 appearances during the season to help to a second-place finish.

During the 1983 Copa del Rey Final, Bonet suffered a serious injury after a tough tackle from FC Barcelona's Migueli, from which he never fully recovered.^[2] Whilst at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, he also played eight games in European competitions, seven of them in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.^[3]

Bonet retired in 1989 at the age of 30, after a couple of top level campaigns with Mallorca.

Bonet earned four caps for Spain, during six months. His first arrived on 27 October 1982, in a 1–0 home win over Iceland for the UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying stage.^[4]

Real Madrid

^ "2–2: Primer escándalo "merengue"" [2–2: First "merengue" scandal]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 6 September 1982. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
^ "La escalofriante entrada de Migueli a Paco Bonet" [Migueli's chilling tackle on Paco Bonet]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 21 February 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
^ "Real Madrid CF – All the players in European Cups". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
^ "1–0: Pobre resultado para la nueva selección" [1–0: Poor result for the new national team]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 28 October 1982. Retrieved 4 April 2017.