Gabriel González Chaves (born 18 March 1961) is a former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player from

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

that used to play as a forward or attacking midfielder. Mostly known as "El Loco" González, he is one of the most recognized and loved players by fans of

Club Olimpia Club Olimpia is a Paraguayan sports club based in the city of Asunción. The club promotes the practice of various sports with most importance given to the football, rugby and basketball sides, the former being the highest priority and most s ...

. While playing for Olimpia, González won the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

Supercopa Sudamericana The Supercopa Libertadores (English: ''Libertadores Supercup''), also known as the Supercopa Libertadores João Havelange, Supercopa João Havelange or simply Supercopa, was a football club competition contested annually between 1988 and 1997 by t ...

Recopa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana ( pt, CONMEBOL Recopa Sul-Americana), known also as the Recopa Sudamericana or CONMEBOL Recopa, and simply as the Recopa (, ; "Winners' Cup"), is an annual international club association football, football compe ...

and several Paraguayan league titles, forming the feared Olimpia attacking trio of the early 1990s with teammates Adriano Samaniego and

Raúl Vicente Amarilla Raul, Raúl and Raül are the Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan forms of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph. They are cognates of the French Raoul. Raul, Raúl or Raül may re ...

. González was an extremely talented player, with good vision and passing skills, as well as finishing which allowed him to play as either a forward or attacking midfielder. "El Loco" also played for

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

sides

Estudiantes de La Plata Club Estudiantes de La Plata ( lit. "Students from La Plata"), simply referred to as Estudiantes de La Plata , is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Plata. The club's football team currently competes in the Primera División, wh ...

and

Colón de Santa Fe Colón may refer to: Places ;Argentina * Colón, Entre Ríos * Colón Department, Córdoba * Colón Department, Entre Ríos * Colón, Buenos Aires ;Colombia * Colón, Nariño * Colón, Putumayo * Colón Department (Colombia) ;Costa Rica * Ciu ...

. In the latter, he became an idol of the Colón supporters after helping the team getting promoted to the first division in the 1994/95 season. In Peru, he played for

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 ...

. González earned the nickname "El Loco" (crazy) because of his unusual behavior and also for his "crazy" skills displayed on the pitch. His unusual behavior caused him trouble in a 2001 game where, while playing for Olimpia, he got sent off. Because he disagreed with the call he punched the referee (who had to go to the hospital immediately) and the aftermath was a permanent suspension from playing football

which was later reduced to 2 and a half years. He played one more match when he came on as a substitute against Libertad on 5 March 2004 before announcing his retirement. Despite the incident, he still is regarded as an idol by the fans of both Olimpia and Colón de Santa Fe.

International

González made his international debut for the

Paraguay national football team The Paraguay national football team ( es, Selección de fútbol de Paraguay) represents Paraguay in men's international football competitions, and are controlled by the Paraguayan Football Association (Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol). Paraguay ...

on 14 June 1987 in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

(0-2 win). He obtained a total number of 34 international caps, scoring two goals for the national side.

Honours

;Olympia * Jawaharlal Nehru Centenary Club Cup: 1990

References

External links

Gonzalez Profile

1961 births Living people People from Guairá Department Paraguayan footballers Paraguayan expatriate footballers Club Olimpia footballers Estudiantes de La Plata footballers Club Atlético Colón footballers Expatriate footballers in Argentina Expatriate footballers in Peru Club Universitario de Deportes footballers 1987 Copa América players 1991 Copa América players 1993 Copa América players Association football forwards Paraguay international footballers Sportivo Luqueño managers Club General Díaz (Luque) managers {{Paraguay-footy-forward-stub

International

Honours

See also

References

External links