Place of birth Cádiz, Spain Years Team Team coached Beijing Sinobo Guoan F.C. | Playing position Height 1.86 m Position Forward | |
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Full name José Manuel González López Date of birth (1966-10-14) 14 October 1966 (age 50) Current team Beijing Guoan (manager) Similar José Ramón Sandoval, Lucas Alcaraz, Paco Jémez, Abel Resino, Joseba Aguado | ||
José Manuel González López (born 14 October 1966) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a forward, and the current manager of Chinese club Beijing Guoan.
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Club career
Born in Cádiz, Andalusia, he was known as only José during his playing days. He finished his formation with Cádiz CF, making his senior debuts with the reserves in Tercera División. On 9 September 1984 he played his first match as a professional, starting in a 2–0 home win against Celta de Vigo for the Segunda División championship.
José was definitely promoted to the main squad in the 1986 summer and made his La Liga debut on 2 November of that year, coming on as a late substitute in a 0–1 away loss against RCD Espanyol. On 20 March 1988 he scored his first professional goal, netting his team's third in a 4–1 home routing of Real Betis.
On 17 August 1991, after scoring a career-best eight goals, José signed a three-year deal with fellow league team RCD Mallorca, for 75 million pesetas. He would only appear in five matches during his first season at the club, which suffered relegation.
After appearing more regularly in the 1992–93 campaign, José joined Albacete Balompié in the top tier. He subsequently represented Rayo Vallecano, Málaga CF and Tianjin Samsung, retiring with the latter in 1997 at the age of only 30.
Manager career
In 2001 González returned to his lifetime club Cádiz, being named manager of the youth setup. On 24 May 2002 he was appointed at the helm of the first team.
González was promoted from Segunda División B in his first season, and led the club to a seventh position overall in his second. On 2 June 2004 he was appointed at another club he already represented as a player, Albacete; however, he was sacked in February of the following year.
On 5 November 2006 González returned to Cádiz, replacing Oli. He left the club at the end of the campaign, and on 1 April 2008 was named Córdoba CF manager, with the club seriously threatened with relegation.
On 8 December 2008 González was dismissed by the Verdiblancos, and moved to Real Murcia on 2 November of the following year. After suffering relegation he returned to Cádiz, leaving the latter in 2012.
On 13 February 2014 González was named Gregorio Manzano's assistant at Beijing Guoan, along with former Cádiz teammate Mami Quevedo. On 22 February 2016, he was appointed manager of La Liga side Granada CF, as a replacement to fired José Ramón Sandoval.
On 23 November 2016 González returned to Beijing Guoan, now appointed as a head coach. He appointed Alfonso Cortijo to be his assistant manager before the season began. Cortijo had been managing semi-professional Gibraltar Premier Division side St Joseph's up to that point.