Armando González Alba

They call him "La Hormiga," and Armando González has spent his career gnawing away at expectations. He came up through Guadalajara's own academy, spending three seasons with the reserve side Deportivo Tapatío before the first team ever saw him play a competitive minute. When his chance finally came in a Liga MX match against Santos Laguna, he had already been wearing the number 34 for some time — a number he kept deliberately, in honour of his father, who had worn it at Chivas before him.

The breakthrough, when it arrived, was emphatic. In the Apertura 2025 tournament González finished as the league's top scorer, sharing the Golden Boot with Paulinho and João Pedro, and was named the tournament's most valuable player. He was picked for the Liga MX Best XI in back-to-back tournaments, Apertura 2025 and Clausura 2026, and collected Player of the Month honours three times within a few months of each other. A place in the Liga MX All-Star Game followed.

That run of form did not go unnoticed abroad. Olympiacos moved for him in August 2026, paying in the region of €8.6 million to take him to the Greek Super League, where he asked for and kept his familiar number 34. He settled in quickly, scoring five goals and adding two assists in his first four matches for the club.

González has also broken into the Mexico national team, making his debut against Paraguay and scoring his first international goal in a friendly against Iceland. For a forward who spent years waiting for a first-team opportunity at his boyhood club, the last twelve months have moved fast.