Mágico González
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jorge "Mágico" González | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jorge Alberto González Barillas | |
| Date of birth | March 13, 1958 | |
| Place of birth | San Salvador, El Salvador | |
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 91⁄2 in) | |
| Playing position | Attacking Midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | retired | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1975-1976 1976-1977 1977-1982 1982-1984 1984-1986 1986-1991 1991-1999 2002 |
ANTEL Independiente CD FAS Cadiz CF Real Valladolid Cadiz CF CD FAS San Salvador F.C. Career |
64 (29) 9 (2) 119 (28) 235 (90) |
| National team | ||
| 1979–1998 |  El Salvador |
48 (41) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Jorge Alberto González Barillas (born March 13, 1958 in San Salvador, El Salvador), popularly known as “El Mágico” González, is a former football player and standout for C.D. FAS in El Salvador and Cádiz CF in Spain, as well as for the El Salvador national team.
González was born to a family of modest means in the Luz neighborhood of San Salvador, one of seven brothers and only one sister. His older brother, Mauricio “Pachín” González, was a footballer who became well known at the local level.
Contents |
[edit] Club career
[edit] Early years
González began his professional playing career in 1975 with the Administración Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (ANTEL) team. He played for ANTEL and another club, Independiente, over the course of two seasons before moving to Club Deportivo Fútbolistas Asociados Santaneco (CD FAS, or more commonly, FAS), a club in the Salvadoran first division. While playing in El Salvador, he became known as “Mago” or wizard, but later, upon transferring to Spain, his nickname was changed to “Mágico” or magical.
His genius and ability served to help the Salvadoran national team to qualify for the 1982 World Cup. Despite El Salvador performing badly in the tournament, including a record 10-1 loss to Hungary, González showed flashes of brilliance, especially against the Hungarians, forcing their goalkeeper Ferenc Mészáros to make several excellent saves during the game.
Both Atlético de Madrid and FC Cádiz became interested in acquiring him as a player and, despite Atlético’s higher profile, González ended up with Cádiz.
[edit] Spain
González’s debut in Spain came in a friendly against La Barca de la Florida en Vejer, while his full debut came on September 11, 1982 in a match against Real Murcia, which ended in a 1-3 defeat. González became a fan-favorite thanks to his dazzling moves and goals. He was notorious for his love of the nightlife and his sleeping habits were also brought into question, but his on-field abilities endeared him to the Cádiz fans enough that they overlooked his minor indiscretions. Some commentators have suggested that had González not been such a partier, he would have moved onto bigger clubs, perhaps even the best ones in the world.
In 1983 and 1984, Cádiz traveled to the United States to play. The first year it was González who was the principal attraction, but in 1984 the team was joined by FC Barcelona and its superstar, Diego Maradona. Despite being a leading light of the game, Maradona is said to have been awed by González’s abilities, but Barcelona did not sign the Salvadoran. Maradona reportedly said "The only magician I know is a Salvadoran called Jorge Gonzalez."[citation needed]
Despite relegation into the Spanish Second Division in 1984 and interest from French club Paris Saint Germain and Italian clubs Fiorentina and Sampdoria, González opted to stay in Cádiz. His stay was somewhat short-lived, however, as he was transferred to Spanish club Real Valladolid after the 1984/85 season thanks to problems with his manager, Benito Joanet. He did not get along at Valladolid, where his personal life was tightly controlled and after playing in just 9 games, he returned to Cádiz. As a guard against his partying, González’s contract is reputed to have contained a clause stipulating he was to be paid $700 per game played and none for the ones he missed. After several coaching changes, González was finally able to shine again for Cádiz under Víctor Espárrago. In all, González scored 57 goals in 183 games for the Spanish side between 1982 and his final departure on June 6, 1991.
[edit] Back in El Salvador
González returned to El Salvador and FAS after another Italian club, Atalanta B.C., failed to garner his services. He stayed at FAS until 1996, when he retired to begin coaching as an assistant in Houston, Texas, United States. After a short stint in the US, González returned to his native El Salvador.
In 2001, Cádiz honored González with a testimonial match, with the proceeds going to the victims of a recent earthquake in El Salvador. In 2003, the Salvadoran National Assembly gave González the government’s highest honor, the ‘’Hijo Meritísimo’’ and renamed the national stadium, the Flor Blanca, after him. On August 28, 2004, another testimonial match was played in his honor, this time in El Salvador in the Magico González Stadium. The match was between America XI, a group of international stars, and a team made up of ex-FAS players. González played a half with either side and scored a total of 3 goals.
[edit] International career
González received his first international cap on May 1, 1979 in a friendly match against Mexico. He would go on to receive a total of 48 caps for El Salvador as well as lead the team to the 1982 FIFA World Cup. He is considered one of the greatest [[|footballer|footballers]] ever to come out of Central America.
[edit] External links
- - Biography as player (Cadiz CF History web)
- FESFUT - Bio
- Cadiz CF - Bio
- Cadiz CF - Tribute Section
- Tribute - Tributo
- Magico, still doing it his way - FIFA
|
|||||||
