On September 16, Mexican Independence Day, Armando “Hormiga” González scored the first European goal of his career. Olympiacos trailed Jagiellonia Białystok 1-0 at Karaiskakis when a 43rd-minute corner turned into a scramble in the Polish box, and González did what he has always done: he was standing in exactly the right place. The rebound fell to him at the back post and he finished it from close range, 1-1. Roman Yaremchuk won it in the 84th, 2-1, but the night belonged to the 23-year-old Mexican.
“It’s a very special day because it’s my mom’s birthday and I told her: ‘Mom, I love you so much, happy birthday, and this goal was for you. Not just for my mother, but for all Mexicans. I think that honouring my country abroad is one of my goals, and I’m very happy that today, on Mexican Independence Day, I managed to score a goal to show that Mexicans are capable of many things,’” he said afterward.
One month into his European adventure, the move is developing faster than anyone planned.
The transfer, briefly
Chivas made it official on Saturday, August 22, 2026. Terms were not disclosed, but reporting in both countries put the deal at about $12 million for 80 percent of his rights, with Chivas keeping 20 percent of a future sale. Five-year contract, number 34 shirt, after Chivas reportedly turned down an earlier offer of around $7 million.
“It wasn’t an easy decision, because Chivas was my home for more than eight years. I grew up there since I was 15 years old. It was a tough decision, but I knew I had to take this opportunity,” González said in the announcement video.
He arrived with a serious resume: 29 first-team goals for Chivas, the Apertura 2025 Golden Boot with 12, an El Tri debut in November 2025, and a 2026 World Cup squad place, where he got a 14-minute cameo in the 2-0 opening win over South Africa. He also arrived after Olympiacos’ Champions League qualifying exit to Dutch side NEC Nijmegen, so his continental stage would be the Europa League.
Every appearance, in order
The complete competitive log since he joined, all competitions:
August 22, Super League vs Atromitos (1-0 win, home): unavailable. The announcement came on matchday itself; he was not yet registered.
August 30, Super League vs Asteras Tripolis (1-0 win, away): substitute, 21 minutes. The debut. A short cameo, and a frustrating one: he missed a golden chance.
September 2, Greek Cup vs AEL Larissa (3-0 win, home): started, one goal, one assist. His first start under José Luis Mendilibar. In the 34th minute, the same number he wears on his shirt, he met a cross with a precise header to open the scoring, then set up the third. The celebration was pure Hormiga: Goku’s Kamehameha.
September 5, Super League vs Volos (1-1 draw, away): substitute, on at halftime. The night that changed Olympiacos’ season. Ayoub El Kaabi collided with the Volos goalkeeper before the break and was stretchered off; González replaced him.
September 8, Greek Cup vs Volos (3-2 win, home): started, two goals, one assist, off around the 70th to a standing ovation. In the 41st minute he pounced on a loose ball after a corner and smashed it home. In the 50th he soared for a diving header from Mads Pedersen’s cross. In the 68th he set up Gustavo Puerta. This time the celebration was Naruto’s Fireball Jutsu.
September 12, Super League vs OFI Crete (0-1 loss, home): started, 67 minutes, replaced by Yaremchuk. Imanol Alguacil’s first match after Mendilibar’s dismissal. González started as the lone striker, but OFI stunned the hosts.
September 16, Europa League vs Jagiellonia Białystok (2-1 win, home): started, 43rd-minute goal, off in the 62nd for Yaremchuk. His continental debut.
The totals: six appearances, four starts, four goals, two assists, no cards. Still no Super League goal. Next: Levadiakos away on September 20, then the international break.
A new coach, and a blunt message
Mendilibar gave him the cup platform where he exploded, but was dismissed after the September 8 cup win, along with the sporting director who had championed the signing, Darko Kovačević. Imanol Alguacil was appointed on September 10. Both of González’s main backers were gone within weeks of his arrival.
In an interview with Claro Sports, Alguacil called González “super focused, always thinking about soccer, and hungry to improve.” The homework is physical, he added: “Hormiga might not be the biggest guy out there, but he’s got to figure out how to make room for himself among those giant center backs. In aerial duels, he’ll often be at a disadvantage, but he’ll have to find other ways to create space.”
Mendilibar’s parting assessment still frames the competition: “González came here to fight for a starting spot. From day one, his goal was to compete with El Kaabi. Today’s two goals will boost his confidence, but he’ll still have to battle with teammates Yaremchuk and Jota Silva for that position.”
The striker race: FutnSoccer analysis
What follows is analysis based on the squad situation and the matches so far, not reported fact.
El Kaabi’s injury scrambled the hierarchy. The undisputed first-choice striker suffered a broken tibia and fibula in the Volos collision, with reports putting the recovery at six to seven months at minimum. His season is effectively over.
Olympiacos did not wait to fill the hole. On September 16 the club officially signed 28-year-old Chad international Marius Mouandilmadji from Turkish side Samsunspor on a three-year contract through June 2029, for a reported fee of around €8 million. The 1.90-meter center-forward arrives with real pedigree: 10 goals and 4 assists in last season’s Süper Lig and 8 goals leading Samsunspor’s Conference League scoring. He is cleared for domestic competitions starting with the Levadiakos trip, but he cannot feature in the Europa League’s league phase, since Olympiacos had already submitted its European list and used El Kaabi’s vacated slot on Roman Yaremchuk.
So the competition has a new shape. Yaremchuk is the immediate challenger: added to the Europa League list to replace El Kaabi, he has replaced González in both of Alguacil’s matches and scored the winner against Jagiellonia. Mouandilmadji is the natural center-forward alternative for the league and cup, but he has only just arrived. Jota Silva is the versatile forward who can fill in but is not a true nine. Mehdi Taremi remains on the books but is peripheral, left out of the Champions League qualifying UEFA list with no part in the September matches.
For now, González has put himself at the front of a suddenly more crowded race. He has started both matches under Alguacil and already delivered a Europa League goal, but Yaremchuk’s winner against Jagiellonia and the arrival of Mouandilmadji mean the position is anything but settled.
What travels, and what still needs proving
The strengths travel. His movement in the box is elite: all four goals came from being in the right place, the header against AEL, the rebound and the diving header against Volos, the back-post finish against Jagiellonia. He can create too, with assists in both cup matches.
What he must still prove: no Super League goal yet, and league form is the currency that matters most in Greece. The aerial and physical adaptation Alguacil keeps naming is the real project. And he needs the consistency that turns a hot cup run into an unquestioned starting job.
The Mexico picture
Rafa Márquez has noticed. González is in the new manager’s first squad for the September-October tour of the United States, among the forwards with Santiago Giménez, Hirving Lozano, Roberto Alvarado, Germán Berterame and Hugo Camberos.
The timing could not be better. Raúl Jiménez is out injured, Julián Quiñones is out injured, and González has already pushed himself into the early conversation alongside Santiago Giménez for Mexico’s long-term number nine role.
A month after the transfer, USA Today’s prediction that González would play a large role in Márquez’s plans as Mexico searches for Jiménez’s long-term replacement reads less like projection and more like a plan coming together.
The first month in Europe has already answered the biggest question: the goals translate. Everything else is coaching.
