Francisco Buyo

Lore & Background

Buyo was born in Betanzos, Province of A Coruña. At age 14, he played for local Ural as both goalkeeper and right winger, being unbeaten in goal and the team's top scorer. His first senior club was Mallorca in the Tercera División. After one season, he joined Deportivo de La Coruña, with a loan to Huesca during military service. He made his La Liga debut in 1980–81 with Sevilla, appearing in 248 competitive matches and earning his first Spain callup. Real Madrid signed him in 1986 as a replacement for Miguel Ángel. In his first season, he played all 44 league games, helping Madrid win the national title. He remained at Madrid until retirement in 1997, aged 39.

Reader's Guide

Buyo won six La Liga titles and two Copa del Rey with Real Madrid. He earned the Ricardo Zamora Trophy in 1987–88 (23 goals conceded in 35 matches) and 1991–92 (27 goals in 35 matches). In 1994–95, he had a streak of 709 minutes without conceding a goal in league play, the fifth-longest streak ever in the Spanish league, and kept 17 clean sheets that season. He did not feature in his final season (1996–97) as he was third choice behind Bodo Illgner and Santiago Cañizares. He retired with 542 top-division games, the third-most behind Andoni Zubizarreta and Eusebio Sacristán.

Did You Know?

• He saved two penalties in a shootout against Michel Platini's Juventus in the 1986–87 European Cup round of 16.
• Buyo was part of the Spain squad that finished runner-up at UEFA Euro 1984.