Francisco Gonzales León
 Gonzales León in 1973 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Francisco Gonzales León | ||
| Date of birth | 28 March 1947 | ||
| Place of birth | Lima, Lima Province, Peru | ||
| Date of death | 29 September 2008 (aged 61) | ||
| Place of death | Lima, Lima Province, Peru | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Center forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1967–1968 | Defensor Lima | ||
| 1969 | Sporting Cristal | ||
| 1970 | Defensor Lima | ||
| 1971–1972 | Juan Aurich | ||
| 1973–1975 | Defensor Lima | ||
| 1976 | Unión Huaral | ||
| 1977–1978 | Defensor Lima | ||
| 1979–1983 | Alfonso Ugarte | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Francisco Gonzales León (28 March 1947 – 29 September 2008) was a Peruvian footballer. Nicknamed "Pancho", he played as a center forward for various clubs throughout the 1970s, primarily playing for Defensor Lima. He was also known for being within the top 20 goalscorers in the history of the Liga 1, scoring 146 throughout his career.
Career
[edit]He began his career with Defensor Lima in 1967, playing alongside players such as Juan José Ávalos, Carlos Oliva Sosa and Carlos Urrunaga. In his inaugural season he became the top goalscorer for both is club and ranked second place in the top scorers for the 1967 Torneo Descentralizado, losing out by one goal to Pedro Pablo León's 14 goals. In 1968, he was approached by Universidad de Chile to play for them but he personally declined the offer. He later played for Sporting Cristal for the 1969 season and played in the 1969 Copa Libertadores, finishing the season with four goals. He later transfered to Juan Aurich where due to the persuasion of the club manager, who ended up getting him and eight other players to sign up for the season.[1]
He later returned to Defensor Lima to later be a part of the winning squad in the club's first national title, as well as serving as a source of inspiration for the younger players in the season.[2][3] He would also be the top goalscorer for both the 1972 and the 1973 Torneo Descentralizado.[4] He played with the club twice, spanning from 1973 to 1975 and 1977 to 1978 as he consistently achieved high results with the club as well as being an excellent header with the press at the time considering him one of the best headers in all of South America. This was interrupted with a brief spell for Unión Huaral in 1976 when the club earned their first title but Gonzales wasn't the top scorer for the club, losing out to Alejandro Luces. He finished his career with Alfonso Ugarte before retiring after the 1983 Torneo Descentralizado with the club narrowly missing out on relegation with the following season serving as a coach for the club.[1]
He ultimately scored 150 goals, with 69 of those being for Defensor Lima.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Behr, Raúl (28 May 2012). "Francisco Gonzales: Carasucia de goles limpios". dechalaca.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 May 2022.
- ^ Hernández, Sharles (12 January 2024). "A 50 años de la hazaña: el día que Defensor Lima fue campeón nacional y se hizo gigante". Depor (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 April 2025.
- ^ "Carlos Suarez Secretario Club Atletico Defensor Lima". Suarezmanagements (in Italian). 26 January 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
- ^ Andrés, Juan Pablo (2007). "Peru - List of First Division Topscorers". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.