Francisco González Galán

Francisco González Galán (14 February 1897 – 9 February 1976), also known as Paco González , was a Spanish footballer who played as a forward for Real Madrid, and Espanyol in the 1920s.

He later worked as a manager, taking charge of Deportivo de La Coruña and Real Zaragoza.

Playing career Early career Born in A Coruña on 14 February 1897, González began his football career in the youth ranks of his hometown teams Celita and Arvida, from where he moved to Real Club Coruña in 1913. In the following year, he signed for Deportivo de La Coruña, with whom he played for five years, until 1919, when he was sent to Madrid to carry out his mandatory military service in the El Pardo battalion, where he quickly became the captain of the Telegraph Regiment team in the Central Region Military Championship. He remained loyal to Espanyol for two seasons, scoring a total of 1 goal in 10 official matches, all in the Catalan championship.

In January 1925, González returned to his hometown after receiving a call from Deportivo to replace Ramón González, who had traveled to Seville to represent the Galician national team in the semifinals of the 1922–23 Prince of Asturias Cup. However, he was only able to play two matches for Deportivo, as in the second, a derby against Celta de Vigo at the Coia field in the Galician Championship, he broke his collarbone in a collision with Celta's Luis Pasarín, although he remained on the field until the end.

On 19 May 1925, González left Elche upon receiving a call from his friend Bernabéu to return to Madrid, doing so even after Elche, in a desperate attempt to retain him, offered him a position as a councilor on the city council.

Managerial career Early success After his career as a player ended in 1927, González remained linked to Torrelavega, now as a coach, which he oversaw for two more years, from 1927 until 1929, He was also registered as a player in case his participation in any match was necessary, which happened in some matches of the Galician Championship, due to injuries to Eguía and Ramón González, as well as on the third day against Valencia on 15 December 1929, in which the 32-year-old González helped his side to a 3–1 victory. In the following month, however, on 26 January 1930, he resigned after a heavy defeat to Real Murcia (6–2), being replaced by Félix Gila. In August 1931, following a hiatus of 18 months, he returned to the world of football as coach of Nacional de Madrid, on a recommendation by his friend Zamora, who was the godfather to his son David Ricardo. Surprisingly, González managed to lead Nacional to a runner-up finish in the 1932 Mancomunado Centro-Aragón tournament, which qualified the club to the Copa del Rey, where they knocked out Júpiter in the round of 32 before losing to Celta de Vigo in the round of 16. In his first (and only) season at Racing, he led them to a fourth place finish, behind only Athletic Bilbao, Madrid, and Real Oviedo.

Later career After leaving the sanatorium in December 1942, González was the subject of a tribute match on 3 January 1943 at the Estadio Riazor, where a Deportivo team with several veterans faced a Galician team reinforced by his friend Zamora, which ended in a 3–3 draw.

González went on to coach Salamanca in the 1943–44 season, In June 1947, he was the subject of a tribute match between Santiago and Club Arenal, in which the 50-year-old González started for the former side, forming a forward line with veterans Ramón Polo and Vicente Rey.

Later life and death Outside football, González worked as a union official, a job provided to him by his friend Fernando Fuertes de Villavicencio, a former Atlético Madrid player, and he remained there until the end of his working life.

González died in Coruña on 9 February 1976, at the age of 78.

Honours Real Madrid Centro Championship: Champions (3): 1919–20, 1921–22, and 1925–26