Introduction
Sergio González Soriano (born 10 November 1976), known simply as Sergio, is a retired Spanish footballer, and the current manager of the Catalonia national team.
A hard-working central midfielder he was adept at both defence and playmaking, and spent nearly one decade as a professional at Deportivo de La Coruña after starting at Espanyol. Over the course of 14 La Liga seasons, he amassed totals of 418 games and 34 goals.
Sergio represented the Spanish national team in the 2002 World Cup.
Club career
Born in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia, Sergio started out at local CE L'Hospitalet, moving to neighbouring RCD Espanyol in 1995 and going on to spend nearly three years with its reserves in the third division. He played his first La Liga match on 10 April 1998, in a 2–0 home win against CD Tenerife, and was an undisputed starter in the next three seasons, going on to total nearly 125 official appearances.
Looking for greater challenges, Sergio accepted a move to Deportivo de La Coruña in the summer of 2001. In his first year with the Galician team he played all 38 matches and added four goals, as Depor finished runner-up and won the Copa del Rey – in the final he scored the opener in a 2–1 win over Real Madrid in its homeground, as the opposing club was celebrating its 100th anniversary (the play was dubbed Centenariazo).
Sergio went on to only miss eight league matches in the following four seasons combined, amassing over 300 overall appearances during his stint. He only failed to find the net at least once in the 2009–10 campaign, in which he appeared in 24 matches.
In mid-July 2010, after nearly one full decade with Deportivo, 33-year-old Sergio moved to Levante UD, freshly returned to the top level. After three losses he was essential as the Valencians won in the fourth round of the season, scoring the only goal at UD Almería on 22 September; he was released by the club after an injury-ravaged season.
Sergio started working as a manager in 2013, being in charge of Espanyol B. On 27 May 2014 he was named as the new coach of the first team, replacing Javier Aguirre after his contract expired. Sporting director Óscar Perarnau commented: "We are delighted with Sergio's personality and he knows the club perfectly. "He has little experience as a coach but everyone has to start one day and we believe he has what it takes".
On 14 December 2015, after a 0–1 away loss against Celta de Vigo, and even though the team was still several points clear of the relegation zone, Sergio was relieved of his duties. During his 62 games in charge, he collected 22 wins, 14 draws and 26 losses.
International career
Sergio made his debut for Spain on 24 March 2001, coming on as a substitute for Pep Guardiola in a 5–0 win against Liechtenstein for the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Selected for the finals in Japan and South Korea, he appeared in a 3–2 group stage defeat of South Africa, replacing David Albelda.
Since 1999, Sergio represented the Catalonia football team, making his debut on 23 December in a 1–0 friendly win with Yugoslavia and scoring his first goal nearly ten years later, in a 4–2 friendly against Argentina.
International goals
- Scores and results list Catalonia's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 December 2009 | Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain |  Argentina |
3–1 | 4–2 | Friendly |
| 2 | 2 January 2013 | Cornellà-El Prat, Barcelona, Spain |  Nigeria |
1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
Career statistics
Club
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Spain | League | Copa del Rey | Supercopa de España | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 1994–95 | Hospitalet | Segunda División B | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 |
| 1995–96 | Espanyol B | 36 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 4 | |
| 1996–97 | 34 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 2 | ||
| 1997–98 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 5 | ||
| 1997–98 | Espanyol | La Liga | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 1998–99 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 0 | ||
| 1999–00 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 5 | ||
| 2000–01 | 37 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 4 | ||
| 2001–02 | Deportivo | 38 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 4 | |
| 2002–03 | 37 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 3 | ||
| 2003–04 | 37 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 3 | ||
| 2004–05 | 34 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 3 | ||
| 2005–06 | 36 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 4 | ||
| 2006–07 | 28 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 2 | ||
| 2007–08 | 32 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 5 | ||
| 2008–09 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 36 | 5 | ||
| 2009–10 | 24 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | Levante | 14 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 3 | |
| Total | Spain | 526 | 53 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 540 | 55 | |
| Career total | 526 | 53 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 540 | 55 | ||
International
| Spain | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2001 | 3 | 0 |
| 2002 | 4 | 0 |
| 2003 | 3 | 0 |
| 2004 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 11 | 0 |
| Catalonia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 1999 | 1 | 0 |
| 2000 | 1 | 0 |
| 2001 | 1 | 0 |
| 2002 | 1 | 0 |
| 2003 | 1 | 0 |
| 2004 | 2 | 0 |
| 2005 | 1 | 0 |
| 2006 | 1 | 0 |
| 2007 | 1 | 0 |
| 2008 | 2 | 0 |
| 2009 | 1 | 1 |
| 2010 | 1 | 0 |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 15 | 2 |
Honours
- Espanyol
- Copa del Rey: 1999–2000
- Deportivo
- Copa del Rey: 2001–02
- Supercopa de España: 2002
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2008