Sergio (footballer, born 1976)

Sergio

Sergio as a coach of Espanyol in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Sergio González Soriano
Date of birth	10 November 1976
Place of birth	L'Hospitalet, Spain
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11 ^1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Catalonia (coach)
Youth career
	Hospitalet
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1994–1995	Hospitalet	6	(2)
1995–1998	Espanyol B	104	(12)
1998–2001	Espanyol	110	(5)
2001–2010	Deportivo La Coruña	294	(27)
2010–2011	Levante	14	(2)
Total		528	(48)
National team
2001–2005	Spain	11	(0)
1999–2013	Catalonia	15	(2)
Teams managed
2013–2014	Espanyol B (assistant)
2014	Espanyol B
2014–2015	Espanyol
2015–	Catalonia
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

Sergio González Soriano (born 10 November 1976), known simply as Sergio, is a retired Spanish footballer, and the current manager of the Catalonia national team.

A hard-working central midfielder he was adept at both defence and playmaking, and spent nearly one decade as a professional at Deportivo de La Coruña after starting at Espanyol. Over the course of 14 La Liga seasons, he amassed totals of 418 games and 34 goals.

Sergio represented the Spanish national team in the 2002 World Cup.

Club career

Born in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia, Sergio started out at local CE L'Hospitalet, moving to neighbouring RCD Espanyol in 1995 and going on to spend nearly three years with its reserves in the third division. He played his first La Liga match on 10 April 1998, in a 2–0 home win against CD Tenerife, and was an undisputed starter in the next three seasons, going on to total nearly 125 official appearances.^[1]

Looking for greater challenges, Sergio accepted a move to Deportivo de La Coruña in the summer of 2001. In his first year with the Galician team he played all 38 matches and added four goals, as Depor finished runner-up and won the Copa del Rey – in the final he scored the opener in a 2–1 win over Real Madrid in its homeground, as the opposing club was celebrating its 100th anniversary (the play was dubbed Centenariazo).^[2]

Sergio went on to only miss eight league matches in the following four seasons combined, amassing over 300 overall appearances during his stint. He only failed to find the net at least once in the 2009–10 campaign, in which he appeared in 24 matches.

In mid-July 2010, after nearly one full decade with Deportivo, 33-year-old Sergio moved to Levante UD, freshly returned to the top level.^[3] After three losses he was essential as the Valencian won in the fourth round of the season, scoring the only goal at UD Almería on 22 September;^[4] he was released by the club after an injury-ravaged season.

Sergio started working as a manager in 2013, being in charge of Espanyol B. On 27 May 2014 he was named as the new coach of the first team, replacing Javier Aguirre after his contract expired. Sporting director Óscar Perarnau commented: "We are delighted with Sergio's personality and he knows the club perfectly. "He has little experience as a coach but everyone has to start one day and we believe he has what it takes".^[5]

On 14 December 2015, after a 0–1 away loss against Celta de Vigo, and even though the team was still several points clear of the relegation zone, Sergio was relieved of his duties. During his 62 games in charge, he collected 22 wins, 14 draws and 26 losses.^[6]

International career

Sergio made his debut for Spain on 24 March 2001, coming on as a substitute for Pep Guardiola in a 5–0 win against Liechtenstein for the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.^[7] Selected for the finals in Japan and South Korea, he appeared in a 3–2 group stage defeat of South Africa, replacing David Albelda.^[8]

Since 1999 Sergio represented the Catalonia football team, making his debut on 23 December in a 1–0 friendly win with Yugoslavia and scoring his first goal nearly ten years later, in a 4–2 friendly against Argentina.^[9]

International goals

Scores and results list Catalonia's goal tally first.^[9]

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	22 December 2009	Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain	Argentina	3–1	4–2	Friendly
2	2 January 2013	Cornellà-El Prat, Barcelona, Spain	Nigeria	1–0	1–1	Friendly

Statistics

Club

As of 10 February 2011^[10]

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Spain			League		Copa del Rey		Supercopa de España		Europe		Total
1994–95	Hospitalet	Segunda División B	11	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	2
1995–96	Espanyol B		36	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	36	4
1996–97			34	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	34	2
1997–98			30	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	30	5
1997–98	Espanyol	La Liga	6	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	1
1998–99			34	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	34	0
1999–00			30	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	30	5
2000–01			37	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	37	4
2001–02	Deportivo		38	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	38	4
2002–03			37	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	37	3
2003–04			37	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	37	3
2004–05			34	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	34	3
2005–06			36	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	36	4
2006–07			28	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	29	2
2007–08			32	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	32	5
2008–09			28	4	0	0	0	0	8	1	36	5
2009–10			24	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	27	0
2010–11	Levante		14	2	2	1	0	0	0	0	16	3
Total	Spain		526	53	6	0	0	0	8	1	540	55
Career total			526	53	6	1	0	0	8	1	540	55

International

Spain
Year	Apps	Goals
2001	3	0
2002	4	0
2003	3	0
2004	0	0
2005	1	0
Total	11	0

^[11][12]

Catalonia
Year	Apps	Goals
1999	1	0
2000	1	0
2001	1	0
2002	1	0
2003	1	0
2004	2	0
2005	1	0
2006	1	0
2007	1	0
2008	2	0
2009	1	1
2010	1	0
2011	0	0
2012	0	0
2013	1	1
Total	15	2

Honours

Espanyol

• Copa del Rey: 1999–2000

Deportivo

• Copa del Rey: 2001–02
• Supercopa de España: 2002
• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2008

References

1. "SERGIO González" (in Spanish). Hall of Fame Perico. 30 April 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
2. "El Depor, en casa de Sergio" [Depor, at Sergio's] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 7 November 2010. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
3. Sergio González se convierte en nuevo jugador del Levante UD (Sergio González becomes new Levante UD player); Levante UD, 22 July 2010 (Spanish)
4. "Gonzalez strike ensures Levante get off the mark". ESPN Soccernet. 22 September 2010. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
5. "Espanyol: Sergio Gonzalez is named new coach". BBC Sport. 27 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
6. "Gracias y hasta siempre, Sergio" [Thank you and see you always, Sergio] (in Spanish). RCD Espanyol. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
7. "España golea cómodamente a la débil selección de Liechtenstein (5–0)" [Spain routs weak Liechtenstein national team easily (5–0)] (in Spanish). El País. 25 March 2001. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
8. "Heartbreak for South Africa". BBC Sport. 12 June 2002. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
9. "Cruyff's coaching return brings win over Argentina". USA Today. 22 December 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
10. "Sergio". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
11. "Selecció Catalana" [Catalan national team] (in Catalan). Futcat. Archived from the original on 21 May 2007. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
12. "Gran Victória de Catalunya contra Colómbia (2–1)" [Great Catalonia win against Colombia (2–1)] (in Catalan). Catalan Football Federation. 28 December 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2011.

External links

• Sergio profile at BDFutbol
• Sergio manager profile at BDFutbol
• National team data
• Sergio at National-Football-Teams.com
• Sergio – FIFA competition record