Antonio "Toñito" Gonzales (born 16 May 1986) is a Peruvian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who currently is a free agent and last played for

Pirata F.C. Pirata Fútbol Club is a Peruvian professional association football, soccer club based in José Leonardo Ortiz District in the city of Chiclayo, Lambayeque Region. The team currently competes in the Peruvian Segunda División, Liga 2. History The ...

in the Peruvian second tier. He plays as a

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He was referred as the successor of José Luis Carranza because of the passion and love with which he defends his team. He has a very aggressive style of play that makes his rivals doubtful to face him even though his height is shorter than the average. He has also been compared with

Arturo Vidal Arturo Erasmo Vidal Pardo (; born 22 May 1987) is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Flamengo and the Chile national team. His displays during his time at Juventus led him to be n ...

due to his tough and ruthless style of play. In 2008, he had a son and named him Mayer Simão in honor of his teammate

Mayer Candelo Mayer Andrés Candelo García (born 20 February 1977) is a Colombian football manager and former football player. Career Candelo made his debut in 1996 for Deportivo Cali and played for Universitario de Deportes Club Universitario de Depo ...

and

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

midfielder Simão.

Club career

Toñito González was formed as a footballer in the youth levels of

Universitario de Deportes Club Universitario de Deportes, popularly known as Universitario or simply as La "U", is a Peruvian football club located in Lima. The club was founded in 1924 under the name Federación Universitaria by students of the National University of S ...

, one of the most important and historically relevant clubs of the Peruvian top division. He played for their second team in the 2002/03 season before playing for América de Cochahuayco, which operates as a twin club of

in the lower tiers of Peruvian football. González was promoted to the first team under manager

Jorge Amado Nunes Jorge Amado Nunes Infrán (born 18 October 1961) is a Paraguayan football manager and former player. He played as a midfielder and has been a member of the Paraguay national team. Club career Nicknamed "El Cenizo", Nunes played in several ...

during the 2006/07 season, amounting a total of 12 league appearances by the end of it. Until his departure in 2015, González played 214 games for

becoming a fan-favorite and a club legend due to his tangible passion and aggressive defending abilities which earned him 95 yellow cards and 10 red cards throughout his career. Toñito González's only goal for his hometown club came as out-of-the box angled rebound in a 1–1 game against

FBC Melgar Foot Ball Club Melgar, known simply as FBC Melgar or Melgar, is a Peruvian Association football, football club based in Arequipa, Peru. It is one of Peru's oldest football teams, founded on 25 March 1915 by a group of football enthusiasts from A ...

during the 2013/14 Torneo del Inca in Lima After a brief and uneventful 3-month spell in

Ayacucho FC Ayacucho Fútbol Club is a Peruvian football club located in Ayacucho, Peru. Some of its former names are Aurora Miraflores, Olímpico San Luis, Olímpico Somos Peru, Olímpico Aurora Miraflores, Loreto and Inti Gas. As Olímpico Somos Peru, the ...

, González signed for

Universidad César Vallejo Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to: Places * Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico * Universidad (Madrid) Football clubs * Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ...

in August 2016 as the team edged relegation to the Peruvian second division. González's 6 league appearances did not prove to be sufficient to help the team avoid relegation and

lost its slot in the top tier of Peruvian football. In the following season, the club accessed the promotion play-offs but lost the final 3–5 on penalties against

Sport Boys Sport Boys Association, commonly referred to as Sport Boys or simply Boys, is a Peruvian football club based in the port city of Callao. It was founded on 28 July 1927. Its classic and historic rival is the Atlético Chalaco against whom dispute ...

in a game where González remained in the bench. Sourly, González left the club in 2017 with 21 games played for the Trujillo team.

Honours

Club

;

: * Torneo Descentralizado (2):

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

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Apertura The ' and ' tournaments is a split season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional association football season from August to May is div ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Country

; Peru national team *

Copa America Copa or COPA may refer to: COPA COPA may refer to: * Computer Operator Programming Assistant. trade of ITI * Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet * Canadian Owners and Pilots Asso ...

: Bronze medal 2011

References

External links

* * 1986 births Living people Footballers from Lima Peruvian men's footballers Peru men's international footballers Peruvian Primera División players Club Universitario de Deportes footballers Men's association football midfielders 2011 Copa América players {{Peru-footy-midfielder-stub