Mark Dennis González Hoffmann (born 10 July 1984) is a Chilean former 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 le ...

who played as a

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 played top flight football in Chile, Russia, Spain, Brazil and England. He was described by

José Mari Bakero José María Bakero Escudero (born 11 February 1963) is a Spanish former professional footballer, and a manager. Having played mainly for Real Sociedad and Barcelona, he began his career as a forward (not being a prolific goalscorer) but was co ...

, the sporting director of

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septem ...

, one of his former clubs, as "fast and explosive, the classic left winger but with technical discipline", while he claimed himself that his speed was his greatest asset. He made his international debut in 2003, and was selected from

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

for three

Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...

tournaments and the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

, winning the

Copa América Centenario The Copa América Centenario ( pt, Copa América Centenário, french: Coupe Amerique Centennaire, en, Centennial Cup America; literally ''Centennial America Cup'') was an international men's association football tournament that was hosted by the ...

Early life

González was born in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, South Africa. His father Raúl was a professional footballer for Durban Bush Bucks, and named him after his friends and fellow footballers

Mark Tovey Mark Tovey (born 7 May 1955) is a retired South African footballer. His brother is former footballer Neil Tovey. Early life He attended Northlands Primary School and Northlands Secondary School (now Northwood School) in Durban North. Club c ...

and

Dennis Wicks Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is someti ...

. He left South Africa aged 10 in 1994 and moved back to Chile with his mother.

Club career

Liverpool

European champions

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

attempted to sign González on loan from

Albacete Albacete (, also , ; ar, ﭐَلبَسِيط, Al-Basīṭ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete. Lying in the south-ea ...

in the summer of 2005, but were unsuccessful as he was denied a work permit by British authorities. In October that year, a deal was struck between the two teams for a permanent transfer. In January 2006, while González awaited eligibility for a

Spanish passport Spanish passports ( es, Pasaporte español) are issued to Spanish citizens with right of abode in the Iberian mainland, Ceuta, Melilla, Balearic Islands and Canary Islands, for the purpose of travel outside Spain. Every Spanish citizen is also a ...

so he could work freely in Britain, Liverpool loaned him to

Real Sociedad (loan)

González was presented on loan at

on 30 January 2006, until 30 June, alongside

Jhon Viáfara Jhon Eduis Viáfara Mina (born 27 October 1978) is a Colombian former footballer who played as a midfielder. He was part of the Once Caldas team that won the Copa Libertadores in 2004, and later played in Europe for rivals Portsmouth and South ...

, whom the club had loaned from

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. González said that at Sociedad he would aim to improve his tactical play. At Sociedad, González put in some good performances, most notably against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

, against whom he scored Sociedad's equaliser on 8 April as the game finished 1–1. He played 16 league games for Sociedad and scored five goals. Sociedad showed interest in taking him permanently, along with several other

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

clubs, but González is quoted to have said, "I am very thankful to Real Sociedad and their coach José Mari Bakero, but while they'd like me to stay I'm going to England to join Liverpool."

Return to Liverpool

On 5 July 2006, González was granted a work permit, and was allowed to start his Liverpool career, wearing the number 11 shirt. His manager,

Rafael Benítez Rafael Benítez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who most recently managed club Everton. Benítez joined Real Madrid's coaching staff at the age of 26, going on to work as the under-1 ...

, said, "This is very good news for us and I am absolutely delighted to welcome Mark González to Liverpool as he is a player the supporters will like to see." González made his first appearance as a half-time substitute for fellow debutant

Fábio Aurélio Fábio Aurélio Rodrigues (born 24 September 1979) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played for Grêmio, São Paulo, Valencia and Liverpool. He played as either a left back or left winger and represented Brazil at under-17 and ...

in a pre-season friendly away against

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

on 22 July. González made his competitive debut on 9 August 2006 against Israeli side

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...

, coming off the bench in the 85th minute for

Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and former player, who most recently managed club Aston Villa. Described by pundits and fellow professionals as one of his generation's greatest players, Ge ...

and scoring an 88th-minute winner in Liverpool's Champions League 3rd Round Qualifier to seal a 2–1 win. He scored his first

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

goal in Liverpool's 3–0 win over

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

on his first league start for the club on 23 September. He scored just once more for Liverpool, in a 4–0 win over

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

on 10 December. González was injured inside the first ten minutes of the quarter-finals of the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

on 9 January 2007 as a result of a challenge on

Theo Walcott Theo James Walcott (born 16 March 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Southampton and previously for the English national team. Walcott is a product of the Southampton Academy and started his career with ...

. He was brought off on a stretcher for Luis García, who was also taken off injured later in the match as Liverpool lost 3–6. He played his last game for Liverpool on 5 May 2007 against Fulham in a 1–0 defeat. but then he had an ankle injury

Real Betis

On 24 May 2007, Rafael Benítez confirmed that Liverpool had almost reached an agreement with

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...

over the Chilean winger. On 12 June, González confirmed that he had signed a contract for £5 million with Betis, who presented him to the press and fans on 17 July 2007. He went on to score on his home debut with a penalty goal in the 1–0 victory over Champions League holders

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

in the Centenary Match in front of 55,000 fans. González scored in a 2–1 victory over high-flying Real Madrid to steer Betis out of the relegation zone in La Liga. He ultimately scored ten goals in 44 first-team appearances for the club. Betis received an offer of €11 million from an unnamed club in July 2008.

CSKA Moscow

In June 2009, following the relegation of Real Betis, Greek double holders

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

made an offer of €3 million to secure him a starting eleven position in their squad for the forthcoming Champions League, but

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was a central piece ...

offered €6.5 million and on 11 August 2009, he signed a five-year deal with the Russian club. He debuted for the club on 16 August 2009 in a

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

match away to

Lokomotiv Moscow FC Lokomotiv Moscow (''FC Lokomotiv Moskva'', russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб "Локомотив" Москва, ) is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москв ...

. On 6 December 2010, it was reported that he had been accused of

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. However, later the same day the investigators announced that the accused was an unrelated Portuguese citizen named Mario Gonzalez, who is also allegedly a professional footballer. On 21 January 2014, CSKA announced that González had left them to join Universidad Católica in Chile on loan. In December 2014, González had his CSKA contract terminated by mutual consent.

Universidad Católica

Originally a loan, González joined his first professional club Universidad Católica in Chile in January 2015 after spending ten years abroad. After the mutual termination of his contract at CSKA, he joined Católica on a permanent move as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He helped the team with nine goals in the campaign, which Católica won. It was also González's first Primera División win after previously finishing second in the 2002 Clausura. González signed a new one-year deal with Católica for the 2015–16 season.

Sport Recife

On 4 January 2016, González rescinded his contract at Universidad Católica and joined Brazilian club

Sport Recife Sport Club do Recife, (; known as Sport Recife or Sport, is a Brazilian sports club, located in the city of Recife, in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. Founded in 1905, the club currently plays in Série B. In football, the club has w ...

for the next two years. He made his debut on the 31st, playing the full 90 minutes as they lost 1–0 at

Salgueiro Atlético Clube Salgueiro Atlético Clube is a Brazilian football club, founded in 1972 in Salgueiro, Pernambuco. History The club was founded on May 23, 1972. Salgueiro's greatest achievement so far was being the first club outside Recife, to win the Pernambu ...

in the 2016 Campeonato Pernambucano first match of the year. He played only one more game before being sidelined for a month by a thigh injury, and totalled seven appearances as they finished runners-up to Santa Cruz. González made his

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian"), and also known as Brasileirão Assaí due to sponsorship with Assaí Atacadista, is a Br ...

debut on 14 May as his team began the season with a 1–0 loss at

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football t ...

; he was substituted after 49 minutes for Serginho.

Colo Colo

On 30 December 2016, González signed for Chilean club

Colo Colo Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo () is a Chilean professional Association football, football club based in Macul, Santiago. Founded in 1925 by David Arellano they play in the Chilean Primera División, from which they have List of unrelegated a ...

International career

Born in South Africa, González was also eligible to play for that country, but he chose Chile instead. On 21 June 2010, González scored the only goal of the game for Chile against Switzerland during the group stage of the

in his birthplace South Africa, heading in a cross from

Esteban Paredes Esteban Efraín Paredes Quintanilla (born 1 August 1980) is a Chilean former footballer who played as a forward. Paredes is the first player to be five-time Primera División de Chile top goalscorer and has scored 286 league goals in his caree ...

. He was named in the preliminary squad for the 2015 Copa America but was omitted from the final squad. The following year he was not initially named in Chile's

squad, but was called up when Matías Fernández withdrew through injury. Chile went on to win the tournament.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Chile's goal tally first.''

Personal life

He is the son of the former Chile international footballer

Raúl González 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 ...

as well as the brother of the actor and football agent Raúl Hoffmann. From his maternal line, he is the grandnephew of the former Chile international footballers Carlos Hoffmann and , as well as the cousin-nephew of the also former footballers Reinaldo and Alejandro, sons of Reynaldo. González began dating Chilean television personality and model Maura Rivera in 2008, and they married in 2010. They have one son, Mark González, Jr. In 2015, they welcome their daughter Luciana González. In March 2021, González suffered from mild pericarditis, which was treated successfully and he made a full recovery.

Honours

Club

;Liverpool *

FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

runner-up: 2006–07 ;CSKA *

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...

: 2012–13, 2013–14 * Russian Cup: 2010–11, 2012–13 *

Russian Super Cup The Russian Super Cup () is a one-match football annual competition. Its official sponsored name is ''OLIMPBET Russian Supercup'' (). The two participating clubs are the Russian Premier League champions and the Russian Cup winners. If the Premie ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

International

;Chile *

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Individual

*In the list of 33 best football players of the championship of Russia: 2010

References

External links