Place of birth Pamplona, Spain Name Francisco Punal Career start 1996 1994–1998 Osasuna B Weight 73 kg | Years Team Height 1.79 m Playing position Role Footballer Position Midfielder | |
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Full name Francisco Punal Martinez Date of birth (1975-09-06) 6 September 1975 (age 40) Number 10 (CA Osasuna / Midfielder) | ||
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 charged with penalty-taking in his beginnings and for which he appeared in 513 competitive games.
Football career
Born in Pamplona, Navarre, Puñal played his entire professional career with CA Osasuna save for two on-loan seasons with Madrid's CD Leganés, in Segunda División. His first official game for the main squad came on 15 June 1997 in a 1–1 away draw against SD Eibar, in the same category.
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. 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 club went on to reach the last-four in the UEFA Cup, Puñal scored three times (one in his net) in a 3–1 home win against Odense Boldklub in the group stage. He appeared in 47 official contests that season.
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 and a 1–2 home loss against Real Madrid, both goals coming during 2007–08 – and also being the club's undisputed captain after the retirement of César Cruchaga. 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, and on 26 May 2013 he again entered the team's history books, netting from 30 meters and contributing to a 2–1 home win against Sevilla FC which certified permanence in the top division for another year, with one game remaining.