- Birthdate: 10 July 1984
- Birthplace: Durban, South Africa
- Nationality: Chile
- Other clubs: Universidad Católica (2002-04), Albacete (2004-05), Real Sociedad (loan 2005-06), Real Betis (2007-09), CSKA Moskva (2009-14), Universidad Católica (2/ loan 2014), Universidad Catolica (3/2014-16), SC Recife (2016), Colo-Colo (2017), Deportivo Magallanes (2018-2019)
- Signed from: Albacete
- Signed for LFC: £1.5m, 20.10.2005
- International debut: 08.06.2003 vs. Costa Rica
- International caps: 46/4 - 17.10.2012
- Liverpool debut: 09.08.2006
- Last appearance: 05.05.2007
- Debut goal: 09.08.2006
- Last goal: 09.12.2006
- Contract expiry: 17.07.2007
- Win ratio: 66.67% W:24 D:5 L:7
- League games / goals / assists: 25 / 2 / 0
- Total games / goals / assists: 36 / 3 / 0
Player Profile
Mark Dennis Gonzalez Hoffman was born to Chilean parents in South Africa as his father, Raul, was playing football there at the time. He was named after Mark Tovey and Dennis Wicks, both former teammates of his dad while playing for NSL champions Durban Bush Bucks during the mid-1980s. Mark Dennis revealed a coin was tossed to decide whose name would feature first, with "Mark" being the winner. Mark moved to Chile when he was ten-years-old but failed to get opportunities at top clubs and eventually ended up on the books of Everton! This was, however, a Chilean club called Everton de Viña del Mar. He made his breakthrough at one of Chile's top clubs, Universidad Católica. Gonzalez was spotted by Liverpool's first-team coach Paco Herrera, a former manager of Albacete, where the Chilean prospect was playing. Despite his excellent progress, he couldn't prevent Albacete from being relegated from the Spanish La Liga. A cruciate knee ligament injury in April 2005 threatened the move, but Liverpool's application for his work permit proved a bigger obstacle as Chile was outside the top 70 in the FIFA world rankings. Gonzalez' arrival at Liverpool was delayed by one year, of which he spent six months on loan at Real Sociedad, proving a great success for the Spanish side. Finally he got his permit in the summer of 2006 and his move to Liverpool became a reality.
Gonzalez' career at Anfield got off to a sensational start. He came on as a late substitute for Steven Gerrard in the home leg of the Champions League qualifier against Maccabi Haifa with the score delicately balanced at 1-1. Gonzalez received a pass from Alonso and clipped a precise shot past the goalkeeper and into the far corner of the net to ensure a vital victory on the night. Although he played a part in 36 of Liverpool's first-team matches during his one and only full season at Anfield, the goal against Haifa would prove to be the highlight. The Chilean was clearly out of his depth in the Premier League and in July 2007 Gonzalez signed a contract with Real Betis. He stayed at Betis until the summer of 2009, which coincided with the Seville club's relegation to the Spanish second tier. CSKA Moskva outbid Olympiacos in August 2009 that resulted in Gonzalez signing a five-year deal with the club from the Russian capital. He was a member of the Chile squad that was knocked out by Brazil in the first match of the knock-out stage at the South African World Cup. He played in all three of the group matches against Honduras, Switzerland and Spain and scored the winning goal against the Swiss as Chile finished as runners-up to Spain in Group H.
Gonzalez played in eleven league matches for CSKA Moscow during the 2012/13 season. He also played twice in the Europa League (both legs against AIK Stockholm in August 2012). In 2013/14 the winger made 7 league appearances for the Moscow club plus one in the Champions League (against Viktoria Plzen) before agreeing a loan move in January 2014 back to his first professional club, Universidad Católica in Santiago, Chile, a move which became permanent later that year when his contract with CSKA expired. In January 2016 he was on the move again, joining Brazilian side SC Recife. After a season there he returned to Chile with Colo-Colo, making just four appearances between January and April 2017. After being released from there he dropped to the Chilean second division, joining Deportivo Magallanes in February 2018 and after two seasons there he retired from playing in November 2019.
Appearances per season
Season |
League |
FA |
LC |
Europe |
Other |
Total |
Totals |
25 |
0 |
2 |
8 |
1 |
36 |
2006-2007 |
25 |
0 |
2 |
8 |
1 |
36 |
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps |
Minutes |
Opponent |
4 |
78 |
PSV Eindhoven |
3 |
141 |
Arsenal |
2 |
154 |
Sheffield United |
2 |
113 |
Manchester United |
2 |
103 |
Reading |
2 |
95 |
Maccabi Haifa |
2 |
93 |
Fulham |
2 |
88 |
Tottenham |
2 |
87 |
Middlesbrough |
2 |
56 |
Chelsea |
2 |
35 |
West Ham United |
1 |
90 |
Birmingham City |
1 |
90 |
Wigan Athletic |
1 |
69 |
Bolton Wanderers |
1 |
68 |
Bordeaux |
1 |
67 |
Charlton Athletic |
1 |
66 |
Portsmouth |
1 |
64 |
Blackburn Rovers |
1 |
25 |
Manchester City |
1 |
24 |
Galatasaray |
1 |
24 |
Watford |
1 |
5 |
Newcastle United |
Total |
Started/substitutions |
20 |
Started |
7 |
On the bench |
16 |
Substitute |
16 |
Substituted |
Total |
Venue |
18 |
Home |
17 |
Away |
1 |
Neutral |
Goals per season
Season |
League |
FA |
LC |
Europe |
Other |
Total |
Totals |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
2006-2007 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
A more detailed look at the player's goalscoring
Milestone Appearances
# |
Date |
Against |
Stadium |
Competition |
1 |
09.08.2006 |
Maccabi Haifa |
Anfield |
Europe |
Milestone Goals
# |
Minute |
Date |
Against |
Stadium |
Competition |
1 |
88 |
09.08.2006 |
Maccabi Haifa |
Anfield |
Europe |
Related Articles
Declan Sloan has put together a complete record of every South American player to wear the famous Red Jersey, from Mauricio Pellegrino in 2005 to newly recruited Roberto Firmino.
Report on Liverpool 2 - Maccabi Haifa 1 in the Daily Post by Ian Doyle.
In the Independent By Paul Walker - Published: 06 July 2006.
Article from 3rd May 2004 by FIFAworldcup.com.
Related Quotes
"It's easy for me to keep things in perspective as I have seen difficult times too. I went from having it all in South Africa to starting again with nothing here. My family also keeps me rooted, as they are very down-to-earth people. Everything I have achieved so far has come from sacrifice and hard work, and that's how I intend to continue. My goal is to improve every single day,".
Mark Gonzalez
"I need to settle more to English football. I knew it would be difficult and it's going to take me more time to get used to it. I know I must do more, but I'm confident I will. I know sometimes people don't understand that you can make mistakes in a game and things don't always look perfect immediately, but I'll keep on working.
I just have to keep working hard to get myself fitter. It's a demanding league and it's not the same working on physical training as playing in games. The best way to adjust is always to play as much as possible, and at the moment I'm doing that. There are a lot of new players to the squad, and it's normal for it to take time. At the moment it's not happening, but hopefully it's not going to take long to gel using a system with the two wingers."
Mark Gonzalez in November 2006
"I always say ‘Vamos tata’ at kick-off in the first and second half. That means ‘Come on grandfather’. He is up there now but he is like my angel."
Mark Gonzalez' match routine
Other Clubs
Club |
Season |
Club rank |
League apps |
League goals |
Total apps |
Total goals |
Universidad Catolica |
2002-2004 |
Chile 1 |
42 |
10 |
54 |
10 |
Albacete |
2004-2005 |
Spain 1 |
25 |
5 |
25 |
5 |
Real Sociedad |
2006-2007 |
Spain 1 |
16 |
5 |
16 |
5 |
Real Betis |
2007-2008 |
Spain 1 |
24 |
6 |
25 |
7 |
Real Betis |
2008-2009 |
Spain 1 |
20 |
4 |
21 |
4 |
CSKA Moscow |
2009-2010 |
Russia 1 |
21 |
3 |
27 |
4 |
CSKA Moscow |
2010-2011 |
Russia 1 |
5 |
2 |
15 |
4 |
CSKA Moscow |
2011-2012 |
Russia 1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
CSKA Moscow |
2012-2013 |
Russia 1 |
11 |
0 |
13 |
0 |
CSKA Moscow |
2013-2014 |
Russia 1 |
7 |
0 |
9 |
0 |
Universidad Catolica |
2014-2015 |
Chile 1 |
26 |
8 |
29 |
8 |
Universidad Catolica |
2015-2016 |
Chile 1 |
9 |
5 |
14 |
7 |
Sport Recife |
2016-2017 |
Brazil 1 |
8 |
1 |
10 |
1 |
Colo-Colo |
2016-2017 |
Chile 1 |
4 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
Total |
218 |
49 |
262 |
55 |