Mágico González

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mágico González
Personal information
Full nameJorge Alberto González Barillas
Date of birth (1958-03-13) 13 March 1958
Place of birthSan Salvador, El Salvador
Height1.74 m (5 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Playing positionForward
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1975–1976ANTEL
1976–1977Independiente Nacional
1977–1982FAS
1982–1984Cádiz74(30)
1985Valladolid9(2)
1986–1991Cádiz120(28)
1991–1999FAS
Total203(100)
National team
1976–1998El Salvador109(100)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).
This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is González and the second or maternal family name is Barillas.

Jorge Alberto González Barillas (born 13 March 1958 in San Salvador), popularly known as El Mágico (the magic), is a Salvadoran retired footballer.

A forward gifted with superb ball-control skills (his talent being overshadowed by questionable behaviour off the pitch[1]), he is mainly associated with Cádiz Club de Fútbol, while also representing the El Salvador national team for well over a decade.

Club career

Early years

González began his professional career in 1975 with the Administración Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (ANTEL) team. He played for ANTEL and Independiente Nacional 1906 over the course of two seasons, before moving to Club Deportivo Fútbolistas Asociados Santanecos in the Salvadoran Primera División.

While playing in El Salvador, González became known as Mago but later, upon transferring to Spain, his nickname was slightly changed to Mágico.

Cádiz

Both Atlético de Madrid and Cádiz CF became interested in acquiring González in 1982 – despite the Colchoneros' higher profile, he signed with the Andalusians. His first game in Spain came in a friendly against La Barca de la Florida, while his Segunda División debut was on 5 September 1982 in a 1–1 home draw against Real Murcia, scoring in the process.[2] He became a fan-favorite thanks to his dazzling moves and goals, but was also notorious for his love of the nightlife and his sleeping habits were also brought into question, whilst his on-field abilities endeared him to the Cádiz fans enough that they overlooked his minor indiscretions; he finished his first season with 33 games and 15 goals as the team promoted to La Liga.

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 the following the team was joined by FC Barcelona and its superstar Diego Maradona. His debut in the top division came on 11 September 1983 in a 1–3 home loss against the same opponent, Murcia, and the club was immediately relegated back.

Despite this, interest from French club Paris Saint-Germain F.C. and Italian sides Atalanta B.C., ACF Fiorentina and U.C. Sampdoria arose, but González opted to stay in Cádiz. His stay was somewhat short-lived, however, as he was transferred to Real Valladolid in the 1985 January transfer window due to problems with manager Benito Joanet. He did not get along at Valladolid, where his personal life was tightly controlled and, after playing in just nine games, he returned to Cádiz exactly one year later; as a precaution against his partying, his contract was reputed to have contained a clause stipulating he was to be paid US$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, still competing in a further top level campaigns. In all, he scored 58 goals in 194 league games for the club until his departure on 6 June 1991, aged 32.

Late career

González returned to El Salvador and FAS after another Italian club, Atalanta BC, failed to garner his services. He stayed with the team until 1996, when he retired to begin coaching as an assistant in Houston, Texas. After a short stint in the US, he returned to his homeland.

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.[3] On 28 August 2004, another testimonial match was played in his honor, this time in El Salvador, in the Mágico 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 three goals.[4][5]

International career

Many critics and journalists say that if González had been Argentinian or Brazilian, he would have ranked amongst the best in the world, alongside Maradona and Pelé.[6]

He received the first of his 62 caps for El Salvador on 1 December 1976, in a FIFA World Cup qualification match against Costa Rica. He was also instrumental in leading the nation to the 1982 FIFA World Cup – the second time in history – where he appeared in all three group stage matches, including the 1–10 loss to Hungary.

González represented his country in 31 World Cup qualifiers,[7] and scored 21 goals in full internationals.[8]

International goals

Scores and results list El Salvador's goal tally first.
Goal Date Venue Opponent Result Competition Scored
1 24 November 1976 Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador Colombia Independiente 4–2 Unofficial friendly 1
2 29 April 1977 ?  Mexico 1–2 Friendly 1
3 17 June 1977 ? Argentina Newell's Old Boys 1–1 Unofficial friendly 1
4 19 August 1977 ? Argentina Talleres de Córdoba 3–1 Unofficial friendly 1
5 10 October 1977 Estadio Tecnológico, Monterrey  Suriname 3–2 1977 CONCACAF Championship 1
6 28 November 1977 ?  Nicaragua 6–0 1977 Central American Games 2
7 1 December 1977 ?  Nicaragua 8–0 1977 Central American Games 3
8 11 May 1980 Estadio Fello Meza, Cartago Costa Rica Cartaginés 2–1 Unofficial friendly 1
9 4 June 1980 Estadio Flor Blanca, San Salvador  Haiti 3–0 Friendly 1
10 31 July 1980 Qemal Stafa, Tirana Honduras Marathón 1–3 Unofficial friendly 1
11 17 August 1980 Estadio Mateo Flores, Guatemala City  Guatemala 1–1 Friendly 1
14 24 August 1980 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City  Panama 3–1 1981 CONCACAF Championship qualification 1
15 ? September 1980 Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador  Guatemala 3–2 Friendly 2
16 5 October 1980 Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador  Panama 4–1 1981 CONCACAF Championship qualification 3
17 23 November 1980 Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador  Honduras 2–1 1981 CONCACAF Championship qualification 1
18 26 July 1981 Estadio Cuscatalan, San Salvador  Haiti 4–0 Friendly 1
19 2 August 1981 Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador Portugal Vitória Guimarães 2–1 Unofficial friendly 1
20 2 September 1981 Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador Argentina Newell's Old Boys 3–2 Unofficial friendly 1
21 25 March 1982 Estadio Chateau Carreras, Córdoba Argentina Talleres de Córdoba 1–2 Unofficial friendly 2
23 18 April 1982 Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador  Honduras 3–2 Friendly 2
24 9 May 1982 Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador Peru Universitario de Deportes 2–2 Unofficial friendly 1
25 12 May 1982 Estadio Flor Blanca, San Salvador Peru Universitario de Deportes 4–1 Unofficial friendly 1
26 16 May 1982 Estadio Flor Blanca, San Salvador Brazil Ponte Preta 2–2 Unofficial friendly 1
27 8 December 1991 Estadio Cuscatlán, El Salvador  Hungary 1–1 Friendly 1
28 19 July 1992 Managua, Nicaragua  Nicaragua 5–0 1994 World Cup qualification 2
29 23 July 1992 Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador  Nicaragua 5–1 1994 World Cup qualification 1
30 17 August 1992 Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador Austria Gabor Spittal 2–1 Unofficial friendly 1
33 21 August 1992 ? Italy Savigliano 1–1 Unofficial friendly 1
34 23 August 1992 ? Italy Belnsag 3–0 Unofficial friendly 2
36 25 October 1992 Estadio Cusctalan, San Salvador  Canada 1–1 1994 World Cup qualification 1
37 1 November 1992 Estadio Cusctalan, San Salvador  Bermuda 4–1 1994 World Cup qualification 1
38 2 May 1992 Estadio Cusctalan, San Salvador  Canada 1–2 1994 World Cup qualification 1

Personal life

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 González Pachín, was a footballer who became well known at the local level.

Mágico married Anna Ruano, daughter of another Salvadoran football legend, Alfredo Ruano. His son, Rodrigo, also played in the country's top division, for C.D. Atlético Marte.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Durante la década de los 80 – Su paso por el fútbol español (During the 80's – His Spanish football spell); Marca (Spanish)
  2. ↑ Cádiz 1 – Murcia 1; at BDFutbol
  3. ↑ Magico, still doing it his way
  4. ↑ News of 2004 homage; Cádiz official website (Spanish)
  5. ↑ Jorge, la leyenda y su presente (Jorge, the legend and his present) (Spanish)
  6. ↑ "El fútbol sería distinto sin David Vidal" [Football would be different without David Vidal] (in Spanish). El Día de Córdoba. 30 November 2007. 
  7. ↑ Mágico González – FIFA competition record
  8. ↑ Jorge Alberto González Barillas – International Goals; at RSSSF
  9. ↑ ¿Volverá la magia? (Will the magic return?); El Diario de Hoy, 10 April 2001 (Spanish)

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.