Francisco Puñal
 Puñal training with Osasuna in 2010 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Francisco Puñal Martínez | ||
| Date of birth | 6 September 1975 | ||
| Place of birth | Huarte, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | 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) | |
| International career | |||
| 2002–2007 | Basque Country | 3 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | Navarre | 2 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
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 often charged with penalty-taking and for which he appeared in 513 competitive matches.[1][2][3]
Club career
Born in Huarte, Navarre,[4] Puñal played his entire professional career with CA Osasuna save for two on-loan seasons with Madrid's CD Leganés, in Segunda División.[5] His first official game for the first team came on 15 June 1997 in a 1–1 away draw against SD Eibar, in the same level.[6]
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.[7] 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 side went on to reach the last-four in the UEFA Cup, Puñal scored three times (one in his net) in a 3–1 home defeat of Odense Boldklub in the group stage.[8] He made 47 official appearances that season.[9]
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[10] and a 1–2 home loss to Real Madrid,[11] both goals coming during 2007–08 – and also being the undisputed captain after the retirement of César Cruchaga.[12] 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,[13] and on 26 May 2013 he again entered the team's history books, netting from 30 meters and contributing to a 2–1 home victory over Sevilla FC which certified permanence in the top division for another year, with one game remaining.[14]
References
- ^ Patxi Puñal, la imparable leyenda 'rojilla', alcanza el récord de partidos con Osasuna (Patxi Puñal, the unstoppable 'red' legend, reaches record of games with Osasuna); Diario de Navarra, 7 October 2012 (in Spanish)
- ^ Más que un capitán (More than a captain) Archived 8 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine; Revista de Navarra, 4 April 2014 (in Spanish)
- ^ 741 días después (741 days later); Noticias de Navarra, 27 August 2016 (in Spanish)
- ^ Puñal, el eterno capitán (Puñal, the eternal captain); Vavel, 21 April 2020 (in Spanish)
- ^ Sólo siguen diez (Only ten continue); Mundo Deportivo, 9 June 2000 (in Spanish)
- ^ Eibar pierde 150 millones (Eibar lose 150 million); Mundo Deportivo, 16 June 1997 (in Spanish)
- ^ Osasuna pasa por encima de un Mallorca a la deriva (Osasuna steamroll drifting Mallorca); Mundo Deportivo, 28 October 2001 (in Spanish)
- ^ Puñal puts Osasuna on brink; UEFA, 29 November 2006
- ^ Los 388 partidos de Puñal (Puñal's 388 matches); Navarra Sport, 10 May 2010 (in Spanish)
- ^ Getafe 0–2 Osasuna; ESPN Soccernet, 30 March 2008
- ^ Osasuna 1–2 Real Madrid; ESPN Soccernet, 4 May 2008
- ^ 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)
- ^ 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)
- ^ Cejudo earns the points; ESPN FC, 26 May 2013
External links
- Francisco Puñal at BDFutbol
- Francisco Puñal at Soccerway
- Francisco Puñal at FootballDatabase.eu