early years with Auxerre to the reluctance of manager Guy Roux to rotate the squad, even when players were carrying injuries. After making only one more appearance for the club between 1998 and 2000, Gonzalez was put on the list of players available to be loaned to Ligue 2 clubs in the summer of 2000. AS Beauvais Oise manager Jacky Bonnevay expressed an interest in Gonzalez, and he joined the team on a season-long loan for the 2000–01 campaign. He impressed the manager in pre-season, scoring the winning goal in a 2–1 friendly win against Red Star Saint-Ouen. Gonzalez made his full Beauvais debut in the club's first league match of the season, a 1–3 home defeat to Montpellier HSC on 29 July 2000, and played in all of the team's opening 17 matches of the campaign. After three matches out of the team, he returned as a substitute for the 2–0 loss to FC Gueugnon on 29 November 2000. He started the following match, and scored his first goal for the club in the 1–1 draw with AS Nancy. Gonzalez went on to score twice in 34 league games for Beauvais before returning to Auxerre for the beginning of the 2001–02 season. Upon his return, Gonzalez again found himself on the fringes of the first-team, making 12 appearances throughout the campaign, mostly as a substitute. Auxerre qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the following season, and Gonzalez played four matches in the competition, including a substitute appearance against Arsenal on 3 October 2002. He continued to play for Auxerre until the summer of 2005, scoring four goals in a total of 56 matches for the club. Gonzalez signed for EA Guingamp, who had just been relegated from Ligue 1, on a free transfer for the 2005–06 season. He made his debut for the club on 5 August 2005 in the 0–0 draw away at FC Istres. Two matches later, he scored his first Guingamp goal in the 2–1 win against his hometown team Dijon FCO. He then netted in consecutive league matches for the first time in his career, firstly scoring the winning goal in the victory over FC Sète and then adding to his tally in the side's 1–2 loss to FC Lorient. Gonzalez left Guingamp in 2006 after just one season, and he was signed on a free transfer by Chamois Niortais, who were managed at