Francisco Puñal Explained

Patxi Puñal
Upright:0.8
Full Name:Francisco Puñal Martínez
Birth Date:6 September 1975
Birth Place:Huarte, Spain
Height:1.79 m
Position:Defensive midfielder
Youthclubs1:Natación Pamplona[1]
Youthclubs2:Osasuna
Years1:1994–1998
Caps1:32
Goals1:4
Years2:1994–1995
Clubs2:→ Oberena (loan)
Years3:1995–1996
Clubs3:→ Egüés (loan)
Years4:1997–2014
Caps4:458
Goals4:23
Years5:1999–2001
Clubs5:→ Leganés (loan)
Caps5:62
Goals5:11
Totalcaps:552
Totalgoals:38
Nationalyears1:2002–2007
Nationalcaps1:3
Nationalgoals1:0
Nationalyears2:2003–2004
Nationalcaps2:2
Nationalgoals2:0

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

The vast bulk of his career was connected with Osasuna, where he was often charged with penalty-taking and for which he appeared in 513 competitive matches.[2] [3] [4]

Club career

Born in Huarte, Navarre,[5] Puñal played his entire professional career with CA Osasuna save for two on-loan seasons at Madrid's CD Leganés, in the Segunda División.[6] 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 tier.[7]

Puñal returned to the El Sadar Stadium as an undisputed first choice, scoring his first La Liga goal on 27 October 2001 in a 4–0 home win over RCD Mallorca.[8] In Osasuna's 2005–06 historical league campaign, which brought a best ever fourth-place finish, he netted four times in 34 matches.

On 29 November 2006, as the side went on to reach the last-four in the UEFA Cup,[9] Puñal scored three goals (one in his net) in a 3–1 home defeat of Odense Boldklub in the group stage.[10] He made 47 official appearances that season.[11]

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[12] and a 2–1 home loss to Real Madrid,[13] both goals coming during 2007–08 – and also being the captain after the retirement of César Cruchaga.[14] During that timeframe, he was booked a total of 37 times.

Puñal finished 2012 on a high note, being a father for the first time and having appeared in a total of 470 competitive matches for his main club, a best-ever. He obtained the record after his 464th overall appearance on 21 October, against Real Betis,[15] 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.[16]

In 2014, Puñal was awarded the Gold Medal for Sporting Merit, the highest accolade of the kind granted by the Government of Navarre.[17]

International career

Puñal earned caps for both the Basque Country and Navarre autonomous teams.[18] [19]

See also

Notes and References

  1. https://www.clubnatacionpamplona.com/Historia-de-futbol Historia (History)
  2. http://www.diariodenavarra.es/noticias/deportes/futbol/osasuna/2012/10/07/patxi_punal_alcanza_record_partidos_con_osasuna_93832_1027.html Patxi Puñal alcanza el récord de partidos con Osasuna (Patxi Puñal reaches record of games with Osasuna)
  3. http://revistadenavarra.com/index/archivos/772 Más que un capitán (More than a captain)
  4. https://www.noticiasdenavarra.com/2016/08/27/osasuna/741-dias-despues 741 días después (741 days later)
  5. https://www.vavel.com/es/futbol/2020/04/17/osasuna/1019381-punal-el-eterno-capitan.html Puñal, el eterno capitán (Puñal, the eternal captain)
  6. http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/2000/06/09/pagina-28/1481446/pdf.html Sólo siguen diez (Only ten continue)
  7. http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1997/06/16/pagina-40/1375802/pdf.html Eibar pierde 150 millones (Eibar lose 150 million)
  8. http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/2001/10/28/pagina-21/458747/pdf.html Osasuna pasa por encima de un Mallorca a la deriva (Osasuna steamroll drifting Mallorca)
  9. https://www.diariodenavarra.es/multimedia/galerias-imagenes/deportes/futbol/osasuna/2017/05/02/osasuna_las_puertas_la_final_la_uefa.html Osasuna, a las puertas de la final de la UEFA (Osasuna, near the UEFA final)
  10. https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/01bb-0ea88c4c2ce1-b597cffc39fe-1000--punal-puts-osasuna-on-brink/ Puñal puts Osasuna on brink
  11. http://www.navarrasport.com/noticias/los-388-partidos-de-punal Los 388 partidos de Puñal (Puñal's 388 matches)
  12. https://archive.today/20120717044609/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report/_/id/226517?cc=5739 Getafe 0–2 Osasuna
  13. https://archive.today/20120713164824/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report/_/id/226561?cc=5739 Osasuna 1–2 Real Madrid
  14. http://futbol.as.com/futbol/2009/07/19/mas_futbol/1247984824_850215.html 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")
  15. http://www.marca.com/2012/12/27/futbol/equipos/osasuna/1356601400.html Patxi Puñal nunca podrá olvidar un año como 2012 (Patxi Puñal will never be able to forget a year like 2012)
  16. http://espnfc.com/uk/en/report/348180/report.html?soccernet=true&cc=5739 Cejudo earns the points
  17. https://www.diariodenavarra.es/noticias/deportes/futbol/osasuna/2014/12/02/patxi_punal_recibe_medalla_oro_merito_deportivo_185980_1027.html Patxi Puñal recibe la Medalla de Oro al Mérito Deportivo (Patxi Puñal receives the Gold Medal for Sporting Merit)
  18. https://www.diariodeleon.es/deportes/51226/178044/navarra-mide-hoy-china-estreno-sadar-reyno-navarra.html Navarra se mide hoy a China en el estreno de El Sadar como Reyno de Navarra (Navarre take on China today in El Sadar debut as Reyno de Navarra)
  19. https://www.eitb.eus/es/deportes/futbol/detalle/7631821/seleccion-vasca-euskal-selekzioa-jugadores-partidos-1979/ Xabi Prieto, el jugador con más partidos desde 1979 (Xabi Prieto, the player with the most matches since 1979)

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