Cristian Gérard Alfaro Gonzáles (born 30 August 1976), also known as Abubakar Mustafa Habibi or Mustafa Habibi, is a former

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 lea ...

who played as a striker. He was top scorer in

Liga Indonesia The Indonesian football league system is a series of league system for association football clubs in Indonesia. Since 1994, Liga Indonesia is the league competition featuring association football clubs, as a result of two existing top-flight foot ...

four times, scoring a total of 249 goals in the league. Born in Uruguay and a former Uruguay youth international, he is the first naturalized player to be called up to the Indonesian national team.

Club career

Sud América

In 1995, he joined the Uruguayan club

Sud América Institución Atlética Sud América, usually known as Sud América or just IASA, is a football club from Montevideo. They currently play in the Uruguayan Segunda Division. History Sud América was formed from the team formerly known as the "Mo ...

. During the 28 months there, he played only once, scoring no goals. After being loaned to Huracán Corrientes, he went back to Sud America in the starting lineup. He played 12 times and scored one goal.

Huracán Corrientes (loan)

He was loaned to Huracán Corrientes where he played three times without scoring a goal.

Deportivo Maldonado

In 2000, on expiry of his contract, he moved to

Deportivo Maldonado Club Deportivo Maldonado is a football club from Maldonado, Uruguay. They currently play in the Uruguayan Segunda División following their relegation from the Uruguayan Primera División The Liga Profesional de Primera División (American ...

on a free transfer. He played 22 times and scored one goal.

PSM Makassar

He started playing in Indonesia in 2003, joining

PSM Makassar Persatuan Sepakbola Makassar ( 'Football Association of Makassar') commonly referred to as PSM Makassar, is an Indonesian professional football club based in Makassar, South Sulawesi that competes in Liga 1. PSM was founded in 1915 as , ma ...

. In that season he scored 27 goals. PSM won the

in that season. He was fined Rp20 million for hitting one of the officials from

Persita Tangerang Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Kabupaten Tangerang ( 'Indonesian Football Association of Tangerang'), commonly known as Persita is an Indonesian professional football club based in Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia. The club currently competes in the ...

and was suspended.

Persik Kediri

Free from suspension, he joined and led

Persik Kediri Persatuan sepak bola Indonesia Kediri ( ''Indonesian football association of Kediri''; abbreviated Persik Kediri) (), is an Indonesian professional football club based in Kediri, East Java, Indonesia. They currently compete in the Liga 1. Th ...

to become champions of

in 2006. In 2008, he was sentenced to suspension by the PSSI for unsportsmanlike behaviour. A financial crisis at Persik Kediri led Persik management to rationalize salaries. Gonzáles was one of the few players who was against the decision and looked for another club.

Persib Bandung

On 30 January 2009,

Persib Bandung Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Bandung (), also known in acronym as Persib (), is an Indonesian professional football club based in Bandung, West Java. The club competes in the Liga 1, the top tier of Indonesian football. Founded in 1919 as ...

management announced that they had recruited Gonzáles with remission from PSSI chairman Nurdin Halid. Gonzáles was contracted as a loan from Persik Kediri and was paid 60 million rupiahs per month by Persib Bandung. He debuted as a starter in the Super League for Persib against

Persipura Jayapura Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Jayapura, or Persipura, is an Indonesia, Indonesian professional association football, football club based in Jayapura, Papua. The club was founded in 1963 and currently competes in the Liga 2 (Indonesia), Liga 2 ...

in a 1–1 draw thanks to a

goal A goal or objective is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan, and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to ...

he scored. In 2008, he played 16 times in the League and scored 14 goals, making Gonzáles a top scorer in the Super League. After his contract at Persik Kediri expired, he was immediately hired by Persib Bandung. In the 2009–10 pre-season, he scored a goal for Persib in the East Java Government Cup. In the 2009–10 season, he scored 51 goals.

Persisam Putra Samarinda

In September 2011, Gonzáles signed a year contract with Persisam Putra Samarinda. He made his league debut on 4 December 2011 in a match against

PSAP Sigli Persatuan Sepak Bola Aceh Pidie Sigli (simply known as a PSAP Sigli) is an Indonesian football club based in Sigli, Pidie, Aceh. They play in Liga 4. Their best achievement was to play in Indonesia Super League in 2011–12 season. Their home ...

. 4 December 2011, Gonzáles scored his first goal for Persisam Putra Samarinda in the 32nd minute at the

Harapan Bangsa Stadium Harapan Bangsa Stadium or Lhong Raya Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Banda Aceh, Aceh, Indonesia. It is currently used mostly for football (soccer), football matches. The stadium holds 18,000 people.https://aceh.tribunnews.com/amp/2024/10/13/st ...

Banda Aceh Banda Aceh (; , Jawi script, Jawi: ) is the capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia. It is located on the island of Sumatra and has an elevation of 35 metres. The city covers an area of and had a population of 223,446 peopl ...

Arema FC

After his contract at Persisam Samarinda expired. He joined Arema Cronus and wore number 10. Gonzáles made his league debut on 9 January 2013 in a match against

Persidafon Dafonsoro Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Dafonsoro or Persidafon is an Indonesian football club based in Jayapura Regency, Papua. The club was founded in 1970. The traditional team home kit is black and white striped shirt, resembling the Udinese Calcio ...

. On 9 January 2013, Gonzáles scored his first goal for Arema in the 9th minute at the

Kanjuruhan Stadium Kanjuruhan Stadium (Indonesian language, Indonesian: ''Stadion Kanjuruhan'') is a multi-purpose stadium in Malang Regency, East Java, Indonesia. It was primarily used for football (soccer), football matches. The stadium held 21,603 spectators. I ...

Malang Malang (; , ), historically known as Tumapel, is an inland List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of East Java. It has a history dating back to the age of the Singhasari, Singhasari K ...

Madura United

He was signed for

Madura United Madura United Football Club is an Indonesian professional football club. The club is based in Pamekasan, Madura, East Java. They currently play in the Liga 1. The current form of the club was established on 10 January 2016; the team's lin ...

to play in Liga 1 in the

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

season. Gonzáles made his league debut on 2 April 2018 in a match against

PS TIRA Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Kabupaten Bogor 1973, commonly known as Persikabo 1973, is an Indonesian professional football club based in Bogor Regency, West Java, Indonesia. The club set to competes in the Liga Nusantara, the third tier of ...

at the Sultan Agung Stadium,

Bantul Bantul is a town and district, and the capital of Bantul Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The district (''kapanewon'') covers an area of and had a population of 64,360 at the 2020 Census. It is a bustling town about to the s ...

PSS Sleman

In 2018, Gonzales signed a one-year contract with Indonesian Liga 2 club

PSS Sleman Perserikatan Sepakbola Sleman ( 'Sleman Football Union'), or mostly known through its abbreviation PSS, is an Indonesian professional football club based in Sleman Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta. The club dons the nickname Super Elang Ja ...

. On 4 December 2018 PSS won the

2018 Liga 2 Final The 2018 Liga 2 Final was the final match of the 2018 Liga 2 (Indonesia), 2018 Liga 2, the ninth season of second-tier competition in Indonesia organised by PT Liga Indonesia Baru, and the second season since it was renamed from the Liga Indonesia ...

and promoted to Liga 1, after defeated

Semen Padang PT Semen Padang is the state-owned company that became oldest cement plant in Indonesia, having been founded in 1910. The company owns the football club Semen Padang F.C., that competes in the Liga 1 (Indonesia). History PT Semen Padang (P ...

2–0 at the

Pakansari Stadium Stadion Pakansari is an all-seater stadium at Pakansari, Cibinong, Bogor, West Java in Indonesia. It is mostly used for football matches and is the home stadium of Persikabo 1973. It can hold 30,000 spectators. The stadium is one of the venues fo ...

Cibinong Cibinong () is a large town and an administrative district (''kecamatan'') in Bogor Regency, West Java Province, Indonesia which serves as the Regency's administrative seat - not to be confused with the district of the same name in Cianjur Regenc ...

. He made 19 league appearances and scored 15 goals for PSS Sleman.

PSIM Yogyakarta

He was signed for

PSIM Yogyakarta Perserikatan Sepakbola Indonesia Mataram ( Hanacaraka: ꦥꦼꦂꦱꦠꦸꦮꦤ꧀ꦱꦼꦥꦏ꧀ꦧꦺꦴꦭꦆꦤ꧀ꦢꦺꦴꦤꦺꦱꦶꦪꦩꦠꦫꦩ꧀ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ), commonly known as PSIM Yogyakarta, is an Indonesian profes ...

to play in Liga 2 in the

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

season. He made 17 league appearances and scored 9 goals for PSIM Yogyakarta.

RANS Cilegon

In 2021, Gonzáles signed a contract with Indonesian Liga 2 club RANS Cilegon. He made his league debut on 5 October against

Persekat Tegal Perserikatan Sepakbola Kabupaten Tegal or Persekat is a professional football club based in Tegal Regency, Central Java. They are currently playing in the Liga 2, and their homebase is Tri Sanja Stadium. Players Current squad ...

. Gonzáles scored his first goal for RANS Cilegon against Badak Lampung in the 18th minute at the

Gelora Bung Karno Madya Stadium Gelora Bung Karno Madya Stadium () or simply Madya Stadium is a stadium in Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex with 9,170 seats and a maximum capacity of 20,000. It is used mostly for track and field Sport of athletics, athletics training and even ...

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

International career

Although Gonzales began his career in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

as an

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

an, he became an Indonesian national on 3 November 2010 after a six-year wait, including not going home to his father's funeral. He is the first naturalised football player in Indonesia and the first to join the

Indonesia national football team The Indonesia national football team () represents Indonesia in international men's Association football, football matches since 1945. The men's national team is controlled by the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI), the governing body fo ...

. His debut with the national team was on 21 November 2010, in a friendly game against

Timor-Leste Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

, where he scored twice in a 6–0 win.

Career statistics

International

:''Scores and results list Indonesia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Gonzáles goal.''

Personal life

Gonzáles was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. He married his wife, Eva Nurida Siregar, in 1995 and has 4 children. On 9 October 2003, he

converted to Islam Reversion to Islam, also known within Islam as reversion, is adopting Islam as a religion or faith. Conversion requires a formal statement of the '' shahādah'', the credo of Islam, whereby the prospective convert must state that "there is none w ...

and chose Mustafa Habibi as his

Islamic name Arabic names have historically been based on a long naming system. Many people from Arabic-speaking and also non-Arab Muslim countries have not had given name, given, middle name, middle, and family names but rather a chain of names. This system ...

. He gained an Indonesian passport in 2010. Gonzáles also appeared in Indonesian soap operas and television commercials.

Controversies

Gonzáles is known for his temper, and has been reprimanded by the

Football Association of Indonesia The Football Association of Indonesia (; 'All-Indonesian Football Association'; abbreviated as PSSI) is the governing body of Football soccer, football in Indonesia. It was founded on 19 April 1930. The PSSI joined FIFA in 1952 and the Asian F ...

(PSSI) on a number of occasions.

Trivia

He is one of the most lethal strikers in the history of the Indonesian football competition. His ability to kick, head, score, and in positioning and game vision are renowned, and he has a strong physique. When playing in Uruguay, he was an attacking midfielder. He was not at his best before finally moving to Indonesia and joining PSM Makassar as a striker. Since then he has proved his quality as a powerful striker. Cristian Gonzales is a popular figure among Indonesians and has starred in commercials speaking Bahasa Indonesia. In 2006, he was the most expensive player in the Liga Indonesia according to the data from the Indonesian Football Association at Rp 1.2 billion On 21 November 2010 Cristian Gonzales debuted as a member of Indonesia's national football team in a game against

Timor Leste Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

scoring two goals, and joined Indonesia's core national football team in the

2010 AFF Suzuki Cup The 2010 AFF Championship, sponsored by Suzuki and P&G and officially known as the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup, was the 8th edition of the AFF Championship, took place on 1–29 December 2010. Indonesia and Vietnam hosted the group stage from 1 to 8 De ...

Honours

Persik Kediri *

Liga Indonesia Premier Division Liga Indonesia Premier Division (Indonesian language, Indonesian: ''Divisi Utama Liga Indonesia'') was the second-tier of the Indonesian football league system, football competition system in Indonesia, organized by PSSI. The competition starte ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Arema * East Java Governor Cup: 2013 * Menpora Cup: 2013 * Inter Island Cup: 2014/15 *

Indonesia President's Cup The Piala Presiden () is an annual pre-season association football tournament held in Indonesia and organized by the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI). Liga 1 clubs are entitled to participate. The inaugural tournament was held in 2015 to ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

PSS Sleman * Liga 2:

RANS Cilegon * Liga 2 runner-up:

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Indonesia *

AFF Championship The ASEAN Championship (formerly known as the AFF Championship or AFF Cup), currently known as the ASEAN Hyundai Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the biennial football tournament organized by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) for men's natio ...

runner-up:

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Individual *

Top Goalscorer:

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, 2007–08 *

Indonesia Super League Liga 1 (), officially known as BRI Liga 1 for sponsorship reasons, is the men's top professional association football, football division of the Indonesian football league system. Administered by Liga Indonesia Baru, PT Liga Indonesia Baru (), Li ...

Top Goalscorer: 2008–09 (shared) *

Piala Indonesia Piala Indonesia () is the professional annual cup competition for football clubs in Indonesia. Its origins date back to the start of the semi-professional football era in 1985 as Piala Liga, which ran until 1989 under Galatama competition. The Fo ...