Lucho González

Football player infobox
playername = Lucho González


fullname = Luis Oscar González
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1981|01|19
cityofbirth = Buenos Aires
countryofbirth = Argentina
height = height|m=1.85
currentclub = FC Porto
clubnumber = 8
position = Midfielder
youthyears = 1995-1998
youthclubs = Huracán
years = 1998–2002 2002–2005 2005–
clubs = Huracán River Plate FC Porto
caps(goals) = 94 (10) 82 (18) 88 (24)
nationalyears = 2003–
nationalteam = Argentina
nationalcaps(goals) = 41 0(5)
pcupdate = 23 May 2008
ntupdate = 14 September 2008

Luis Oscar 'Lucho' González (born January 19, 1981 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine football player, currently with FC Porto. He is a versatile midfielder, able to play in different positions, but mainly as central midfielder or as a playmaker. Other positions he sometimes plays include on either wing or as a wing-back. He is well known for his fierce shot, crisp passing and hardworking style, and is affectionately known as "El Comandante" (the commander), because of his excellent leadership skills.

Club career

"Lucho" played from the age of 14 for Club Atlético Huracán, making his official "Primera División Argentina" debut on April 22, 1999. He would be transferred over to Club Atlético River Plate in 2002. At River, he was part of the 2004 "Clausura" championship winning team.

His performances at River Plate earned González a deal with Portuguese Liga's FC Porto in 2005, with Porto sharing the ownership with Global Soccer Agencies. Porto paid €3.6m to purchase half of the rights and signed a 5-year contract with the player. [cite web|url=http://www.uefa.com/footballeurope/news/kind=2/newsid=296462.html|title=Lucho to land at Porto|date=2004-04-18|work=UEFA.com]

In Porto, He became team captain and attracted interest from clubs in major European leagues, such as Everton, in the summer of 2007. [cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/e/everton/6931351.stm|title=Everton offer £11m for Gonzalez|work=BBC sport|date=2007-08-04] In November 2006, he had already signed an improved contract that would last until 2011, and in August 2007, Porto paid €6.65m to Global Soccer Agencies to achieve full ownership of the player. [cite web|url=http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/news/kind=1/newsid=568483.html|title=Lucho staying at Porto|date=2007-08-07|work=UEFA.com]

International career

Under the guidance of coach Marcelo Bielsa, "Lucho" made his first appearance with the "Albiceleste" on January 31, 2003 against Honduras. González went on to represent the nation in the 2004 Copa América, scoring two goals throughout the tournament, as Argentina lost in the final on penalties, to Brazil.

González also played with the team that won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. At the 2005 Confederations Cup held in Germany he helped earn a second-place finish at the competition, once again losing to Brazil in the final.

In 2006, he played in the World Cup in which Argentina, managed by José Pekerman, lost to hosts Germany in the quarter-finals, on penalties. Subsequently, he was part of the Alfio Basile-managed squad at Copa América 2007, where Argentina lost again to Brazil in the final, 3-0.

Titles

River Plate:
*Clausura 2003/2004

FC Porto:
*Portuguese League 2005/2006, 2006/07, 2007/08
*Portuguese Cup 2005/2006
*Portuguese Supercup 2005/06

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/player.php?id=341 NationalFootballTeams data]
* [http://www.uefa.com/competitions/UCL/Players/Player=101675/index.html UEFA.com profile]

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