Leonardo González Arce (born November 21, 1980) is a Costa Rican ex professional

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 ...

who played as a defender for

Herediano Club Sport Herediano (), commonly known as Herediano and nicknamed El Team, is a Costa Rican multisport club based in Heredia, Heredia province. Although they compete in a number of different sports, Herediano is mostly known for its association ...

Career

Club

González made his professional debut for

on September 24, 2000 against

Puntarenas Puntarenas () is a city in the Puntarenas canton of Puntarenas Province, on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. As the seat of the Municipality of Puntarenas canton, it is awarded the title of city, which is made from the Puntarenas, Chacarita and ...

and scored his first league goal on August 4, 2002 against Carmelita. González was an important player for Herediano, appearing in 154 league matches and scoring 3 goals in nine years at the club. He stayed with the team until his transfer to

Municipal Liberia Asociación Deportiva Municipal Liberia is a Costa Rican football team playing in the Liga FPD. The team is based in Liberia, Guanacaste. Their home stadium is the Estadio Edgardo Baltodano Briceño. History Founded on 7 June 1977, four years ...

, also known as Liberia Mia in early 2009. On July 2, 2009, it was announced that he was signed to Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer.Sounders FC sign Leonardo Gonzalez – Seattle Sounders Football Club
/ref> Upon signing González, Coach

Sigi Schmid Siegfried "Sigi" Schmid (; March 20, 1953 – December 25, 2018) was a German-American soccer coach who had the most wins in the history of Major League Soccer (MLS). Born in Tübingen, West Germany, he moved to the United States with his fam ...

said, “It’s nice to have a naturally left-footed player. He can play left back, play center back in a pinch, and he can also play wide and run the whole line for us. He is an attacking left fullback with good size and athleticism. He’s very willing to get forward out of a defensive position and does a good job defensively.” González stayed with Seattle through the end of the 2015 MLS season. On December 22, 2015, González signed with

, his original Costa Rican club.

International

González made his debut for Costa Rica in a November 2002

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

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

and earned a total of 61 caps, scoring 1 goal. He represented his country in 15 FIFA World Cup qualification matches and played at the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

as well as the 2003, 2007 and

2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the tenth edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition, and the twentieth soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). It was played from July 3 to 26, 2009 in the United State ...

s. He was also selected to play in the

UNCAF Nations Cup 2007 The 2007 UNCAF Nations Cup was the ninth version of the biennial football tournament for the CONCACAF national teams of Central America. The event took place in San Salvador, El Salvador from February 8 to February 18, 2007. It was the second t ...

, where he scored against Honduras. His final international was a July

match against El Salvador.

International goals

Personal life

González is married to Alejandra Abarca Hernández and they have two children. González received his U.S. green card in March 2011. This qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.

Honors

Costa Rica

UNCAF Nations Cup The Copa Centroamericana (, Spanish for "Central American Cup") was the main association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ''Unión Centroamericana de Fútbol'' (UNCAF), the sport's Central Am ...

(1): 2007

Municipal Liberia

Primera División de Costa Rica The Primera División of Costa Rica, commonly known as Fútbol de Primera División (FPD), and Liga Promerica for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional association football division in Costa Rica. It is administered by the Unión de Clubes ...

(1): Verano 2009

Club Sport Herediano

(1): Verano 2016

Seattle Sounders FC

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. O ...

(3): 2009, 2010, 2011,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

MLS Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Leonardo 1980 births Living people Footballers from San José, Costa Rica Association football defenders Costa Rican footballers Costa Rica international footballers 2003 UNCAF Nations Cup players 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2004 Copa América players 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2007 UNCAF Nations Cup players 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2009 UNCAF Nations Cup players 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup players C.S. Herediano footballers A.D. Municipal Liberia footballers Seattle Sounders FC players Costa Rican expatriate footballers Expatriate soccer players in the United States Major League Soccer players Copa Centroamericana-winning players