Luis Aquilino Gonzalez (born July 14, 1980) is an American soccer coach and former player who was recently the head coach of San Jose Earthquakes in MLS.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Birth name | Luis Aquilino Gonzalez[1] | ||
| Date of birth | July 14, 1980 | ||
| Place of birth | Hialeah, Florida, United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–2001 | SMU Mustangs | ? | (48) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2002 | San Jose Earthquakes | 8 | (0) |
| 2003 | Bodens BK | ? | (8) |
| 2004 | Sporting Cristal | ? | (5) |
| 2005–2006 | Colorado Rapids | 22 | (2) |
| 2007 | Miami FC | 26 | (4) |
| 2008 | Minnesota Thunder | 29 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 1997 | United States U17 | 3 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2012–2018 | FC Dallas (academy director) | ||
| 2018–2021 | FC Dallas | ||
| 2021–2022 | United States (assistant) | ||
| 2023–2024 | San Jose Earthquakes | ||
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of July 10, 2019 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of July 10, 2019 | |||
Youth and college
editGonzalez was born in Hialeah, Florida, to a Peruvian father and an American mother.[2]
Gonzalez represented the United States U17s at the 1997 FIFA U-17 World Championship making 3 appearances in their group stage exit.[3][4][5] He played four years of college soccer at Southern Methodist University, emerging in 2001, his senior season, to win the Hermann Trophy as college soccer's best player.[citation needed] He had 128 points during his career, including 48 goals and 32 assists.
Playing career
editUpon graduating, Gonzalez was drafted 6th overall in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft by the San Jose Earthquakes. Gonzalez failed to make a mark with the Earthquakes, however, playing only 47 minutes in his rookie season. In the offseason he was acquired by the Columbus Crew and made the roster, but could not agree to a deal.
He left the United States for Sweden, where he signed with second-division club Bodens BK. Gonzalez scored 8 goals and had 4 assists in his first season in Europe; along with Leighton O'Brien, Gonzalez was one of the most respected players in the squad.[citation needed] He left Boden in late October 2003. Gonzalez joined Peruvian Sporting Cristal, where he was acquired to be a backup striker. Gonzalez appeared in the prestigious Copa Libertadores tournament, playing against the likes of Boca Juniors during his time.
Gonzalez came back to MLS in 2005. He signed with the Colorado Rapids, but following the 2006 season he was waived. He signed for Miami FC in 2007.
Coaching career
editIn December 2018, Gonzalez was named Head Coach of FC Dallas in MLS, earning a promotion from his academy director role. Gonzalez has adopted a style of play dubbed 'Luchi Ball' by fans, emphasizing possession and counter-pressing.[6][7]
Gonzalez coached Dallas to playoff appearances in 2019 and 2020. On September 19, 2021, he was fired by FC Dallas after missing the playoffs.[8]
On December 4, 2021, Gonzalez was appointed assistant coach of the United States men's national soccer team.[9]
On August 17, 2022, it was announced that Gonzalez would take over as head coach of the San Jose Earthquakes prior to the start of the 2023 Major League Soccer season. He would officially join the club following the conclusion of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Gonzalez qualified his team to the playoffs in his first season,[10] but the Earthquakes were eliminated by Sporting Kansas City on penalties in the first edition of the Wild-card round as part of the new playoff format.[11] However, in 2024, he was only able to coach his team to three wins in their first 19 matches and a placement at the bottom of the league table, and Gonzalez was fired on June 24.[12]
Coaching statistics
edit- As of match played June 22, 2024[13]
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||
| FC Dallas | December 16, 2018 | September 19, 2021 | 87 | 29 | 26 | 32 | 129 | 121 | +8 | 33.33 |
| San Jose Earthquakes | January 1, 2023 | June 24, 2024 | 59 | 14 | 17 | 28 | 72 | 102 | −30 | 23.73 |
| Total | 146 | 43 | 43 | 60 | 201 | 223 | −22 | 29.45 | ||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Squad list: USA" (PDF). FIFA. November 15, 2022. p. 31. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
- ^ "Boehm: Who is Luchi Gonzalez? Get to know FC Dallas' homegrown head coach | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer.
- ^ "FIFA U-17 World Championship Egypt 1997 - Matches - Oman-USA". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on August 22, 2018.
- ^ "FIFA U-17 World Championship Egypt 1997 - Matches - USA-Brazil". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2017.
- ^ "FIFA U-17 World Championship Egypt 1997 - Matches - USA-Austria". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2017.
- ^ "Let's talk about Luchi-Ball". DallasMorningNews.com. March 8, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
- ^ "From USL League One to MLS: How Luchi Gonzalez got FC Dallas' coaching job". MLSsoccer.com. April 1, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
- ^ "FC Dallas Announces Departure of Head Coach Luchi Gonzalez | FC Dallas".
- ^ "Luchi Gonzalez Appointed Assistant Coach of U.S. Men's National Team". USSF. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- ^ "San Jose Earthquakes clinch Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs spot". MLS Soccer. October 21, 2023. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
- ^ Earthquakes Communications (October 26, 2023). "MATCH RECAP: Earthquakes 0 (2), Sporting Kansas City 0 (4)". San Jose Earthquakes. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
- ^ Singh, Sanjesh (June 24, 2024). "MLS-worst Earthquakes fire head coach Luchi Gonzalez". NBC Bay Area. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
- ^ "Luchi Gonzalez career sheet". footballdatabase. Retrieved February 5, 2021.