Gento salutes Real Madrid icon Di Stéfano

Watching Real Madrid CF become European champions for the tenth time last season brought back more memories for Francisco Gento than most. The only player to have won the world's top club competition six times, the 81-year-old recalled his pioneering achievement with UEFA.com.

UEFA.com: Which is your most memorable of Madrid's final wins?

Francisco Gento: Well, they're all my favourites and they're all important, but of course I prefer the ones I played in and the most important one was in Brussels against AC Milan in 1958. It went to extra time and I managed to score the winning goal. I'll never forget it, although there was no television back then and people couldn't watch the whole match.

Some of the other European games I played in were tough, but the Milan final was the most important one. Going into extra time, my team-mates said to me: "Paco, you're the only one who can win it for us by scoring a goal," because Milan were very strong at the time. I said: "OK." That's how it turned out. That was the toughest match, Milan really battled against us. They had a great side.

UEFA.com: You were part of the team that won the first ever European Cup final in 1956. What do you remember about that?

Gento: I had played in international matches, but I hadn't played in the European Cup – that was just starting up. We played the final in Paris [against Stade de Reims] which was a source of immense joy for us all, and the club too. We went down in European Cup history. It was a very tough game. The cup was up for grabs but we came back to win it. [Alfredo] Di Stéfano scored and then [Héctor] Rial grabbed the winner near the end. Lifting the European Cup after all those matches was hugely exciting. I was delighted, of course.

UEFA.com: How did it feel to retain the trophy the following year in the Madrid final?

Gento: I think the team that won the first European Cup final was always going to host the second one, so the final was played here in Madrid. We won 2-0 [against ACF Fiorentina] and I scored the second goal. Di Stéfano got the first from the penalty spot. It was a good match and for Real Madrid, it was marvellous. We had our supporters here and we clinched our second European Cup.

UEFA.com: Alfredo Di Stéfano was alongside you for the first five European Cups that you won. How would you describe him?

Gento: Alfredo Di Stéfano was like my older brother. I used to look up to him. I was very young – I came here when I was 19 and he was 27. He did things I'd simply never seen before. The sacrifices he used to make throughout a match ... he was the player that almost created Real Madrid's style of play. He was something else out on the pitch. When I was young, I'd never seen a player like him with his attributes and such a sparkling style that he always had. He did back-heels and one-twos. He was fabulous.

Di Stéfano was always the bright spark in matches. He always liked winning no matter what the game was. He'd play marbles or basketball and he wanted to win. He took that enthusiasm and battling spirit from the pitch with him everywhere. Those who played alongside him owe so much to him. The club too.

UEFA.com: Your last European Cup victory was in 1966. How special was that?

Gento: I was the grandfather of the team! It was tough for us. We were all Spaniards playing in the final, which was just brilliant. It was a great final [against FK Partizan]. Winning the cup again, especially after a few years without winning it, with an all-Spanish team that nobody believed in, was a moment of immense joy.

UEFA.com: You are the only player who has won six European Cups. How does that rank among all the great achievements of your career?

Francisco after winning the last of his six European Cups©Getty Images

Gento: It's a record that was very difficult to achieve because I played for 15 consecutive seasons at a time when only the champions competed in it. It wasn't like nowadays when teams in the top four get in. The team that finishes fourth can qualify now and win it. But it was very difficult back then. I played 15 straight seasons. In ten years I played in ten finals. We were the kings at the time.