Kily González

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is González and the second or maternal family name is Peret.

Cristian Alberto 'Kily' González Peret (born 4 August 1974) is an Argentine football manager and former professional player who played mainly as a left winger, and is the manager of Unión.

Kily González

González in 2003
Personal information
Full name	Cristian Alberto González Peret
Date of birth	(1974-08-04) 4 August 1974 (age 50)
Place of birth	Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Winger
Team information
Current team	Unión (head coach)
Youth career
	Rosario Central
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1993–1995	Rosario Central	51	(7)
1995–1996	Boca Juniors	37	(3)
1996–1999	Zaragoza	90	(15)
1999–2003	Valencia	92	(8)
2003–2006	Inter Milan	51	(0)
2006–2009	Rosario Central	76	(10)
2009–2010	San Lorenzo	32	(0)
2010–2011	Rosario Central	17	(2)
Total		446	(45)
International career
1995–2005	Argentina	56	(9)
2004	Argentina Olympic (O.P.)	6	(1)
Managerial career
2020–2022	Rosario Central
2023–	Unión
Medal record Men's Football Representing  Argentina Olympic Games 2004 Athens Team Copa América Runner-up 2004 Peru
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He started his career with Rosario Central, which he would represent in three different spells, moving to Spain in 1996 where he appeared for Zaragoza and Valencia, amassing La Liga totals of 182 matches and 23 goals during seven seasons and winning the national championship with the latter. He also played in two consecutive UEFA Champions League finals (1999–2000, 2000–01) and was named in the UEFA Team of the Year in 2001. He left Valencia in 2003, spending three years in Italy with Inter Milan before returning to the Argentine league.

González's spell in the Argentina national team lasted for ten years, in which he was selected for the 2002 World Cup and two Copa América tournaments, for a total of 56 caps, scoring 9 goals.

Club career

Early years

Born in Rosario, Santa Fe, González started playing with local Rosario Central, making his Argentine Primera División debut on 18 December 1993 in a 0–2 away loss against Gimnasia.

After two years, he moved to Boca Juniors, spending the 1995–96 season there, playing alongside Diego Maradona.^[1]

Spain

In 1996, González was transferred to Real Zaragoza. He appeared in his first game in La Liga on 8 September, playing 19 minutes in a 2–1 win against Sevilla^[2] and, during his three-year spell in Aragon, shared teams with countryman Gustavo López who was also a winger.^[3]

Subsequently, González joined fellow league club Valencia for 1,300 million pesetas,^[4] being teammate to also Argentines Pablo Aimar and Roberto Ayala for several seasons and contributing with 31 matches and two goals in the 2001–02 campaign as his team won the league title after a 31-year wait. Following the emergence of younger Vicente, he became surplus to requirements – only 13 appearances and 546 minutes of action in his last year, which also included a run-in with manager Rafael Benítez^[5]– and left the Che as a free agent; additionally, he amassed UEFA Champions League combined totals of 31 matches and five goals, as they reached the final in 2000 and 2001, and was granted Spanish nationality in early January 2001.^[6]

Inter

In summer 2003, González followed former Valencia coach Héctor Cuper to Inter Milan, and again shared teams with several compatriots.^[7]

He was used mainly as a substitute during his tenure, playing 75 official games and failing to find the net.^[8]

Return home

Aged 32, González returned to his country and Rosario Central, going on to still be an important first-team member during three top flight seasons. On 4 August 2009, he joined San Lorenzo who was managed by former national teammate Diego Simeone; after the former's relegation, however, he decided to rejoin for a third spell and help in the Primera B Nacional campaign,^[9] following which he retired at 37.

In June 2020, after over a year in charge of its reserve team, González became Rosario Central's manager on an 18-month contract.^[10] On his debut on 3 November, the club won 2–1 at home to Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba.^[11]

González led Central to the quarter-finals of the Copa Sudamericana in 2021, losing 5–3 on aggregate to Brazil's Red Bull Bragantino in August.^[12] The following 20 March, after a derby defeat to Newell's Old Boys, he was dismissed.^[13]

International career

An Argentine international since 1995, González made his debut on 8 November in a 0–1 home defeat to Brazil.^[14] He was selected by manager Marcelo Bielsa for his 1999 Copa América squad, scoring one of his nine goals in the nation's 2–0 group stage win against Uruguay as the former went on to reach the quarter-finals only to be eliminated by eventual champions Brazil.^[15] He went on to become a regular member of the starting eleven under that coach,^[14] and also participated in the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea, starting against England (and being replaced) and also appearing against Nigeria and Sweden in an eventual group stage exit.^[16]

Two years later, again under Bielsa, González was selected for the 2004 Summer Olympics tournament as one of three overaged players.^[17] He featured in all games and scored in the opener against Serbia (6–0), helping the Albiceleste win gold in Athens.

González also took part in the 2004 Copa América, netting three times in the tournament: his first two came in the group stage, in Argentina's victories against Ecuador^[18] and Uruguay,^[19] and his last was a penalty in regulation time in the final against Brazil, which eventually ended in a shootout loss with the player again converting his attempt.^[20][21]

Style of play

González was a quick, strong and versatile midfielder, who was capable of playing both as a winger and as an attacking midfielder. His main attributes were his technical ability, vision, range of passing, determination and his powerful and accurate striking ability from distance, which enabled him both to create and score goals.^[14][22]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^[23][24]

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Rosario Central	1993–94	Primera División	21	2	–		–		–		21	2
	1994–95	Primera División	30	5	–		–		–		30	5
	Total		51	7	–		–		–		51	7
Boca Juniors	1995–96	Primera División	36	3	–		–		–		36	3
	1996–97	Primera División	1	0	–		–		–		1	0
	Total		37	3	–		–		–		37	3
Zaragoza	1996–97	La Liga	30	3	4	1	–		–		34	4
	1997–98	La Liga	33	6	7	1	–		–		40	7
	1998–99	La Liga	29	6	1	0	–		–		30	6
	Total		92	15	12	2	–		–		104	17
Valencia	1999–2000	La Liga	31	2	1	0	16[b]	3	1[c]	0	49	5
	2000–01	La Liga	22	3	0	0	14[b]	2	–		36	5
	2001–02	La Liga	26	3	0	0	6[d]	0	–		32	3
	2002–03	La Liga	13	0	1	0	6[b]	1	0	0	20	1
	Total		92	8	2	0	42	6	1	0	137	14
Inter Milan	2003–04	Serie A	21	0	4	0	7	0	–		31	0
	2004–05	Serie A	14	0	5	0	2[b]	0	–		21	0
	2005–06	Serie A	16	0	4	0	2[b]	0	0	0	22	0
	Total		51	0	13	0	11	0	0	0	74	0
Rosario Central	2006–07	Primera División	31	4	–		–		–		31	4
	2007–08	Primera División	24	3	–		–		–		24	3
	2008–09	Primera División	24	3	–		–		2[e]	0	26	3
	Total		79	10	–		–		2	0	81	10
San Lorenzo	2009–10	Primera División	32	0	–		5[f]	1	–		37	1
Rosario Central	2010–11	Primera B Nacional	15	2	–		–		–		15	2
Career total			447	45	27	2	58	7	3	0	535	54

1. Includes Copa del Rey, Coppa Italia
2. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
3. Appearance in Supercopa de España
4. Appearances in UEFA Cup
5. Appearances in Argentine Primera relegation play-offs
6. Appearances in Copa Sudamericana

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[24]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Argentina	1995	1	0
	1996	0	0
	1997	0	0
	1998	0	0
	1999	10	2
	2000	10	0
	2001	7	2
	2002	7	0
	2003	5	1
	2004	12	4
	2005	4	0
Total		56	9

Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each González goal.

List of international goals scored by Kily González

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	7 July 1999	Estadio Feliciano Cáceres, Luque, Paraguay	Uruguay	1–0	2–0	1999 Copa América
2	17 November 1999	Estadio La Cartuja, Seville, Spain	Spain	1–0	2–0	Friendly
3	28 February 2001	Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy	Italy	1–1	2–1	Friendly
4	3 June 2001	El Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Colombia	1–0	3–0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
5	6 September 2003	El Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Chile	1–0	2–2	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	28 April 2004	Mohammed V Stadium, Casablanca, Morocco	Morocco	1–0	1–0	Friendly
7	7 July 2004	Estadio Elías Aguirre, Chiclayo, Peru	Ecuador	1–0	6–1	2004 Copa America
8	13 July 2004	Estadio Miguel Grau (Piura), Piura, Peru	Uruguay	1–1	4–2	2004 Copa America
9	25 July 2004	Estadio Nacional del Perú, Lima, Peru	Brazil	1–0	2–2 (2–4 p.)	2004 Copa America

Managerial

As of 10 March 2025

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Rosario Central		1 July 2020	21 March 2022	68	25	14	29	95	98	−3	036.76
Unión		26 June 2023	present	71	22	25	24	62	66	−4	030.99
Total				139	47	39	53	157	164	−7	033.81

Honours

Plaque in Rosario commemorating González's Olympic gold medal in 2004

Valencia^[25]

• La Liga: 2001–02
• Supercopa de España: 1999
• UEFA Champions League runner-up: 1999–2000, 2000–01

Inter Milan^[26]

• Serie A: 2005–06
• Coppa Italia: 2004–05, 2005–06
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2006

Argentina

• Summer Olympics: 2004^[25]

Argentina

• Copa América runner-up: 2004^[26]

Individual

• UEFA Team of the Year: 2001^[27]