K League 2 club Gimpo sign midfielder from Liverpool (not that one)

Football

Published: 31 Jan. 2023, 17:26 Updated: 31 Jan. 2023, 17:32

K League 2 club Gimpo sign midfielder from Liverpool (not that one)

Uruguayan midfielder Pablo Gonzalez poses in a Gimpo FC jersey in a photo uploaded on Gimpo FC's official Instagram account on Tuesday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

K League 2 club Gimpo FC signed Uruguayan midfielder Pablo Gonzalez from Liverpool FC — not that one.

Gonzalez comes from the Liverpool FC based in the Uruguayan capital Montevideo, not the die-hard Everton rivals from the home of The Beatles.

Gonzalez’s former club has no direct relation to the English club, nor do they wear red kits. They play in the first division of the Uruguayan football league and finished in fourth place on the 16-team table in the 2022 season. The club took its name from Liverpool due to the close trade relationship between Montevideo and the English city.

Twenty-six-year-old Gonzalez, who mainly plays as an attacking midfielder, started his career at — again, the Uruguayan — Liverpool in 2016. Since then, he has played for other Uruguayan clubs like Atenas de San Carlos and Albion FC, but rejoined his former side last season to record three goals and four assists in 42 appearances.

The Uruguayan midfielder’s new team Gimpo FC is based in Seoul satellite city Gimpo in Gyeonggi. Gimpo FC earned a spot in the K League 2 a couple of years ago and finished 11th on the 13-team table.

Gonzalez’s former club is not the only South American team that has taken inspiration from a European football club.

Barcelona S.C. is another example. They are an Ecuadorian football club that have the same name as the prestigious Spanish club FC Barcelona.

The emblem of Barcelona S.C. uploaded on the team's official Twitter account [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The Ecuadorian team chose the name because Spanish immigrant to the Ecuador Eutimio Perez founded the club and named it after his home city, Barcelona in Spain.

The Ecuadorian club even has an emblem that is very similar to the Spanish Barcelona’s.

Back in Uruguay, Liverpool are not the only Montevideo team to take their name from a Premier League side, with local rivals Montevideo Wanderers taking inspiration from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

It's not clear whether the Uruguayan Liverpool have ever found themselves facing Chilean side Everton de Viña del Mar in a continental tournament, but if they had it would recreate the infamous Merseyside derby on the other side of the world. Like Barcelona, the Chilean side owe their name to a descendant of immigrants with Liverpudlian roots

Over in Argentina, Arsenal de Sarandi actually take their name from links to the country's military arsenal, the same reason the Premier League club Arsenal got its name, but the two are not in any way connected.

Meanwhile, Gonzalez revealed his desire to play well at his new team in Korea: “I am very happy that I have joined Gimpo FC. I will do my best, so Gimpo can achieve their biggest objective,” Gonzalez said. “I joined the team to make better results and will work hard to help the team get promoted.”

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]