Nacho González (footballer, born 1982)

{{redirect|Ignacio María González|the 19th-century president of the Dominican Republic|Ignacio María González (politician)}}

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Nacho González

| image =

| fullname = Ignacio María González Gatti

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1982|5|14|df=y}}

| birth_place = Montevideo, Uruguay

| height = {{height|m=1.78|precision=0}}{{Cite web|url=http://player.7msport.com/23113/index.shtml|title = Ignacio Maria Gonzalez Gatti, Player's Data, Match Statistical Information,7M Sports}}

| position = Midfielder

| currentclub = Uruguay U15 (manager)
Uruguay U16 (manager)

| clubnumber =

| youthyears1 =

| youthclubs1 = Danubio

| years1 = 2002–2008

| clubs1 = Danubio

| caps1 = 156

| goals1 = 46

| years2 = 2008

| clubs2 = → Monaco (loan)

| caps2 = 5

| goals2 = 1

| years3 = 2008–2011

| clubs3 = Valencia

| caps3 = 0

| goals3 = 0

| years4 = 2008–2009

| clubs4 = → Newcastle United (loan)

| caps4 = 2 | goals4 = 0

| years5 = 2010

| clubs5 = → Levadiakos (loan)

| caps5 = 13

| goals5 = 2

| years6 = 2010

| clubs6 = → Levante (loan)

| caps6 = 3

| goals6 = 0

| years7 = 2011–2013

| clubs7 = Standard Liège

| caps7 = 31

| goals7 = 8

| years8 = 2013

| clubs8 = → Hércules (loan)

| caps8 = 12

| goals8 = 1

| years9 = 2013–2016

| clubs9 = Nacional

| caps9 = 49

| goals9 = 9

| years10 = 2016–2021

| clubs10 = Montevideo Wanderers

| caps10 = 105

| goals10 = 21

| years11 = 2021–2022

| clubs11 = Danubio

| caps11 = 38

| goals11 = 3

| nationalyears1 = 2006–2010

| nationalteam1 = Uruguay

| nationalcaps1 = 18

| nationalgoals1 = 1

| manageryears1 = 2023–2024

| managerclubs1 = Uruguay U13

| manageryears2 = 2024–

| managerclubs2 = Uruguay U15

| manageryears3 = 2025–

| managerclubs3 = Uruguay U16

| club-update =

| nationalteam-update =

}}

Ignacio 'Nacho' María González Gatti ({{IPA|es|iɣˈnasjo ˈnatʃo maˈɾi.a ɣonˈsales}}; born 14 May 1982) is a Uruguayan football manager and former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently the manager of Uruguay under-15 and under-16 teams.

Club career

Born in Montevideo, González's professional career began at Danubio FC, where he appeared in a total of 170 games whilst scoring more than 50 official goals for the capital-based club. During his spell, he won the Primera División title twice, in 2004 and 2007.

After his performances for Danubio, González eventually moved to France with AS Monaco FC in January 2008, being scarcely used during his six-month loan spell. On 27 April, he scored in a 2–3 Ligue 1 home loss against Olympique de Marseille.

González was then bought by Valencia CF of La Liga. However, on 1 September 2008, he joined Newcastle United on loan until the end of the season;{{cite news |title=United net Nacho|url=http://www.nufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10278~1382169,00.html |url-status=dead |publisher=Newcastle United F.C. |date=1 September 2008 |access-date=2 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080902053902/http://www.nufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10278~1382169,00.html |archive-date=2 September 2008}} this move was the final straw for Newcastle's manager Kevin Keegan, who claimed he was forced to sign the player by executive director Dennis Wise after only seeing him play on YouTube, and believing González was not good enough for the team.[http://www.shieldsgazette.com/nufc/Gonzalez-signed-after-being-watched.5699550.jp Gonzalez signed after being watched on YouTube] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100821162328/http://www.shieldsgazette.com/nufc/Gonzalez-signed-after-being-watched.5699550.jp |date=21 August 2010}}; Shields Gazette, 2 October 2009

González picked up a serious achilles tendon injury early into the campaign, ruling him out of action for four months.[http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_4489942,00.html Gonzalez facing four months out]; Sky Sports In February 2009, coach Chris Hughton was quoted on the Magpies' official website as saying that González was recovering well, and was certain he would feature again for them. However, he did not, and returned to the Che in July 2009. A Premier League tribunal confirmed in October that the loan signing had been against manager Keegan's wishes, and was in breach of his contract, resulting in a compensation payout to the manager. The deal was reportedly done by Wise and Mike Ashley as a "favour" for two South American agents.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/newcastle_united/8286967.stm Keegan wins £2m Newcastle damages]; BBC Sport, 2 October 2009

After not having appeared once during 2009–10, González was loaned to Levadiakos FC until the end of the 2009–10 Greek Superleague season.[http://www.marca.com/2009/12/13/futbol/equipos/valencia/1260707211.html El Valencia cede a Nacho González al Levadiakos (Valencia loan Nacho González to Levadiakos)]; Marca, 13 December 2009 (in Spanish)[http://urugol.com/futbol-internacional/5536-nacho-gonzalez-al-leviadakos Nacho González no viene a Peñarol (Nacho González does not come to Peñarol)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206023406/http://urugol.com/futbol-internacional/5536-nacho-gonzalez-al-leviadakos |date=6 February 2010 }}; Urugol, December 2009 (in Spanish) He then returned to Spain, signing on loan with Levante UD, newly promoted to La Liga for 2010–11. He ruptured cruciate knee ligaments playing against Real Madrid in his third match for the club, did not appear again,[http://www.marca.com/2012/10/27/futbol/futbol_internacional/resto_de_america/1351344752.html Nacho González sale del calvario (Nacho González emerges from ordeal)]; Marca, 27 October 2012 (in Spanish) and returned to Valencia in the following transfer window.

In late July 2011, González cut ties with Valencia and joined Standard Liège of the Belgian Pro League.[http://www.deportevalenciano.com/2011/07/21/nacho-gonzalez-ficha-por-el-standard-de-lieja Nacho González ficha por el Standard de Lieja (Nacho González signs for Standard Liège)]; Deporte Valenciano, 21 July 2011 (in Spanish)

International career

González made his debut for Uruguay in a 1–2 defeat to England on 1 March 2006, coming on as a late substitute at Anfield.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/4754630.stm England 2–1 Uruguay]; BBC Sport, 1 March 2006 Subsequently, he was part of the 2007 Copa América squad which finished fourth: in the semi-final against Brazil, he was brought on at half-time as the nation fought back to 2–2 to take the game into extra time; he then scored in the penalty shootout, but his team was eliminated.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/6290410.stm Brazil reach Copa America final]; BBC Sport, 11 July 2007

González scored his first international goal in a 3–1 friendly win over Japan on 20 August 2008, at the Sapporo Dome. He was picked for the squad, which appeared at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, playing 63 minutes of the group stage opener against France (0–0 draw)[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/matches/match_02/default.stm Uruguay 0–0 France]; BBC Sport, 11 June 2010 as the Charrúas reached the last-four stage.

=International goals=

class="wikitable sortable"

! # !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition

20 August 2008

Sapporo Dome, Sapporo, Japan

0–2

1–3

Friendly

Managerial career

In August 2023, González was named as the first ever manager of newly created Uruguay under-13 team.{{cite web|title=Ignacio González dirigirá la sub-13|url=https://www.auf.org.uy/ignacio-gonzalez-dirigira-la-sub-13/|language=es|date=5 August 2023|access-date=17 May 2024}}{{cite web|title=Se sumó una nueva categoría a la Selección Uruguaya, la Sub-13, y la dirigirá Nacho González|url=https://www.espn.com.ar/futbol/nota/_/id/12394763/se-sumo-una-nueva-categoria-a-la-seleccion-uruguaya-la-sub-13|language=es|date=3 August 2023|access-date=17 May 2024}} On 20 February 2024, Uruguayan Football Association confirmed that González will be the new Uruguay under-15 team manager.{{cite web|title=Se arma el nuevo cuerpo técnico de la sub-15|url=https://auf.org.uy/se-arma-el-nuevo-cuerpo-tecnico-de-la-sub-15/|language=es|date=20 February 2024|access-date=17 May 2024}} In March 2025, he became the manager of newly formed Uruguay under-16 team.{{cite web|title=Comienza a trabajar la Selección sub-16|url=https://www.auf.org.uy/comienza-sus-trabajos-la-seleccion-sub-16/|language=es|date=28 March 2025|access-date=30 March 2025}}

Personal life

González is a devout and practicing Catholic.{{cite news|url=http://www.opusdei.org.uy/es-uy/article/correr-y-pegarle-a-la-pelota-una-jugada-que-lleva-a-dios/|title=Correr y pegarle a la pelota, una jugada que lleva a Dios|trans-title=To run and kick the ball, a play that leads to God|publisher=Opus Dei|language=es|date=2002|access-date=18 July 2015}}

Honours

;Danubio

Uruguayan Primera División: 2004, 2006–07

References

External links

{{Lequipe|id=27094|name=Nacho González}}
{{LFP|id=gonzalez-ignacio-maria|name=Nacho González}}
{{Soccerbase|name=Nacho González}}
{{BDFutbol|8556|Nacho González}}
[http://www.tenfieldigital.com.uy/servlet/hprfchsj?2,1553,2%2F1553%2F,1,3749 National team data]{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} {{in lang|es}}
{{NFT player|id=13539|name=Nacho González}}
{{FIFA player|209511|Nacho González}}
{{Soccerway|ignacio-gonzalez/10390|Nacho González}}