Giancarlo Gonzalez is a Costa Rican defender playing for the Italian Palermo. He is now 28 years old, but he came to Europe to play only in 2012. Giancarlo Gonzalez acts as a central defender, but can also rise higher and play the role of a defensive midfielder.
Carier start
Giancarlo Gonzalez was born on February 8, 1988 in Costa Rica, where from an early age he played football at the academy of the club Alajuelens. At the age of 12, the boy for some time moved to the academy of the Saprissa club, but two years later he returned to Alahuelens. He spent another four years at this club before signing a professional contract. However, the athlete did not immediately get a place at the base: for two years, the defender played exclusively for the double, until in 2008 he received a call to the main team.
In his first season, Gonzalez almost did not get into the base and sat on the bench, and the rest of the time he continued to improve in the double. As a result, the next year he got a chance and took advantage of it - instantly Giancarlo Gonzalez became a key player in the club. For three years, the player spent 91 matches, scoring six goals. With his performances, the Costa Rican attracted the attention of European clubs and in the summer of 2012 signed a contract with the Norwegian club Volerenga.
Relocation to Europe
Giancarlo Gonzalez is a footballer who has never been considered a true genius or future star. But with the tasks of the defender at his level, he coped perfectly. Therefore, in Norway, where the footballer arrived in the middle of the season, he immediately appeared in the starting lineup. In the second half of the season, Gonzalez entered the field 12 times and was remembered by many fans. Naturally, the following year he became a key player in the defense line and spent 29 matches on the field, scoring two goals. However, the football player chose a climate that was not the best for himself, so in 2014 he was forced to look for other options, which is why he returned to his continent, joining the American club Columbus.
Return to America
For six months, Gonzalez played in 17 games at Columbus, scoring one goal. In the summer of 2014, demand rose significantly after the athlete took part in the World Cup. A number of European clubs wanted to see Giancarlo at home, and the defender chose the Italian “Palermo”. The club had to pay four million euros for the transfer. The contract with the player was concluded until 2018.
Going to Palermo
After such a strong performance at the World Cup, Gonzalez immediately turned out to be in the club's main squad. In the first season, he spent 28 matches, scoring one goal. In the second season, emotions subsided, and the affairs of Gonzalez in the Italian club began to decline. He entered the field only seventeen times and apparently lost his place in the starting lineup. In the current season, the situation has not changed: the defender has remained a substitution player, having entered the field today only three times. In the summer, there were rumors that Russian clubs were interested in a player like Giancarlo Gonzalez. Spartak was the main contender, the deal almost took place, but at the last moment it fell through for a number of reasons.
Team appearances
For the Costa Rican national team, Gonzalez made his debut in June 2010 in a friendly match against the Slovak national team. However, he became the main defender of the team only in 2012. As a result, the football player together with his team won the Central America Cup 2013, defeating the Honduras national team in the final. And in 2014 he flashed at the World Cup. Then his team unexpectedly reached the quarter finals, where, by a miracle, they did not defeat the Dutch. In total, Gonzalez has 54 matches in the shirt of the national team, in which he even scored one goal - in May 2012 in a friendly match against the national team of Guatemala. The last match of Gonzalez to date took place in October 2016: the Costa Ricans won 4: 3 against the Russians.