FC Goa have signed 30-year-old Spanish defender Iván González from the Segunda División B (third tier) club Cultural Leonesa on a two-year deal.
Hailing from Parla in Spain, Iván was part of the youth academy at Real Madrid between the years 2002 and 2008. In 2008, he was promoted to Real Madrid’s second reserve team Real Madrid C who used to play in the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system.
González left the Madrid setup in 2012 and went on to feature for a few Spanish clubs before settling down at Cultural Leonesa in 2016 – a club he returned to for a second stint.
After four years at the club where he was the captain, Iván decided to pursue a new challenge and terminated his contract with a year left. FC Goa who had been tracking him for months stepped up to sign the player.
González was originally a right back and was moved to the centre of defence by coach Rubén De la Barrera Fernández when he joined Culturnal Leonesa. The defender was teammates with FC Goa’s new signing Ortiz at Leonesa and also trained briefly under current FC Goa manager Juan Ferrando a few years ago.
He is FC Goa’s third foreign signing for the upcoming ISL season behind Spanish compatriots Igor Angulo and Jorge Ortiz Mendoza.
I’m really happy to be here. It’s a great opportunity. The project was really appealing. And in the space of a few years, the club has become a big name in India, and it is a brilliant chance for me to progress with my career.
I have more to offer than just being a defender. I, of course, defend, but I like to play with the ball and build up the game from the back and I think that is something I’m good at.
I have worked previously with Juan Ferrando and I had a word with him as well. And I would say that the club and the coach’s vision completely aligns with mine and that really was a big pull.
We finished at the top of the table last season, something we would love to repeat. There is a Champions League campaign also at hand. I’m looking forward to everything that’s coming. At the moment, I just want to get started.
Iván González
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