José Manuel González López


José Manuel González López is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a forward and currently the manager of Chinese Super League side Wuhan Zall.

Playing career

Born in Cádiz, Andalusia, he was known as simply José during his playing days. He finished his formation with Cádiz CF, making his senior debuts with the reserves in Tercera División. On 9 September 1984 he played his first match as a professional, starting in a 2–0 home win over Celta de Vigo for the Segunda División championship.
José was definitely promoted to the first team in summer 1986, and made his La Liga debut on 2 November of that year by coming on as a late substitute in a 0–1 away loss against RCD Español. He scored his first professional goal on 20 March 1988, netting his side's third in a 4–1 home routing of Real Betis.
On 17 August 1991, after scoring a career-best seven goals to help his team avoid relegation in the play-offs, José signed a three-year deal with fellow league club RCD Mallorca, for 75 million pesetas. He appeared in only five matches during his first season, which ended in relegation.
After featuring more regularly in the following campaign, José joined Albacete Balompié in a return to the top level. He subsequently represented Rayo Vallecano, Málaga CF and China's Tianjin TEDA FC, retiring with the latter in 1997 at the age of only 30.

Coaching career

González returned to Cádiz in 2001, being named manager of the youth setup. On 24 May 2002, he was appointed at the helm of the first team.
González was promoted from Segunda División B in his first season, and led the team to a seventh-place finish in his second. On 2 June 2004 he was appointed at another club he had already represented as a player, Albacete; in February of the following year, he was sacked.
González returned the Estadio Ramón de Carranza on 5 November 2006, taking the place of Oli. He left at the end of the season, and on 1 April 2008 signed with Córdoba CF who was seriously threatened with relegation.
On 8 December 2008, González was fired by the Verdiblancos, and moved to Real Murcia on 2 November of the following year. He re-joined Cádiz after suffering relegation, leaving his post in 2012.
González was named Gregorio Manzano's assistant at Beijing Guoan F.C. from the Chinese Super League on 13 February, moving alongside former Cádiz teammate José María Quevedo. On 22 February 2016, he was appointed manager at Spanish top flight's Granada CF as a replacement to fired José Ramón Sandoval.
On 23 November 2016, González returned to Beijing Guoan, now as a head coach. He returned to his country in January 2018, replacing the fired Míchel at Málaga.
On 4 January 2020, González returned to China and became the manager of Wuhan Zall. The city was in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, but he pledged to stay with the club.

Managerial statistics