Kily González

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.

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and, during his three-year spell in Aragon, shared teams with countryman Gustavo López who was also a winger.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Subsequently, González joined fellow league club Valencia for 1,300 million pesetas,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>– 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Inter

In summer 2003, González followed former Valencia coach Héctor Cuper to Inter Milan, and again shared teams with several compatriots.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

He was used mainly as a substitute during his tenure, playing 75 official games and failing to find the net.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On his debut on 3 November, the club won 2–1 at home to Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The following 20 March, after a derby defeat to Newell's Old Boys, he was dismissed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

International career

An Argentine international since 1995, González made his debut on 8 November in a 0–1 home defeat to Brazil.<ref name=TC>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He went on to become a regular member of the starting eleven under that coach,<ref name=TC/> 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.<ref>Argentina – Record International Players; at RSSSF {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Two years later, again under Bielsa, González was selected for the 2004 Summer Olympics tournament as one of three overaged players.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Uruguay,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref name=TC/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition<ref>Template:BDFutbol</ref><ref name="NFT">Template:NFT</ref>

Club	Season	League			National cupTemplate:Efn		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	16Template:Efn	3	1Template:Efn	0	49	5
	2000–01	La Liga	22	3	0	0	14Template:Efn	2	–		36	5
	2001–02	La Liga	26	3	0	0	6Template:Efn	0	–		32	3
	2002–03	La Liga	13	0	1	0	6Template:Efn	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	2Template:Efn	0	–		21	0
	2005–06	Serie A	16	0	4	0	2Template:Efn	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	–		–		2Template:Efn	0	26	3
	Total		79	10	–		–		2	0	81	10
San Lorenzo	2009–10	Primera División	32	0	–		5Template:Efn	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

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year<ref name="NFT"/>

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	Template:Fb	1–0	2–0	1999 Copa América
2	17 November 1999	Estadio La Cartuja, Seville, Spain	Template:Fb	1–0	2–0	Friendly
3	28 February 2001	Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy	Template:Fb	1–1	2–1	Friendly
4	3 June 2001	El Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Template:Fb	1–0	3–0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
5	6 September 2003	El Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Template:Fb	1–0	2–2	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	28 April 2004	Mohammed V Stadium, Casablanca, Morocco	Template:Fb	1–0	1–0	Friendly
7	7 July 2004	Estadio Elías Aguirre, Chiclayo, Peru	Template:Fb	1–0	6–1	2004 Copa America
8	13 July 2004	Estadio Miguel Grau (Piura), Piura, Peru	Template:Fb	1–1	4–2	2004 Copa America
9	25 July 2004	Estadio Nacional del Perú, Lima, Peru	Template:Fb	1–0	2–2 (2–4 p.)	2004 Copa America

Managerial

As of 24 October 2025

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip
Rosario Central	Template:Flagicon	1 July 2020	21 March 2022
Unión		26 June 2023	14 April 2025
Platense		17 June 2025	27 October 2025
Total

Honours

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

Valencia<ref name=ES>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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

Inter Milan<ref name=SW>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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

Argentina

• Summer Olympics: 2004<ref name="ES" />

Argentina

• Copa América runner-up: 2004<ref name="SW" />

Individual

• UEFA Team of the Year: 2001<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

External links

• Template:Webarchive Template:In lang
• Template:Webarchive
• Template:BDFutbol
• Template:TuttoCalciatori
• Inter archives Template:Webarchive Template:In lang
• Template:FIFA player