A hard-working central midfielder, he was adept at both defence and playmaking, and spent nearly one decade as a professional at Deportivo de La Coruña after starting at Espanyol.

He made his La Liga debut on 10 April 1998 in a 2–0 home win against CD Tenerife, and was an undisputed starter the next three seasons, going on to total nearly 125 official appearances.

[7] Sergio made his debut for Spain on 24 March 2001, coming on as a substitute for Pep Guardiola in a 5–0 win against Liechtenstein for the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

On 27 May 2014 he was named as the new coach of the first team, replacing Javier Aguirre after the latter's contract expired; sporting director Óscar Perarnau commented: "We are delighted with Sergio's personality and he knows the club perfectly.

[11] On 14 December 2015, after a 1–0 away loss against RC Celta de Vigo, and even though the team was still several points clear of the relegation zone, González was relieved of his duties.

[17] In his first game four days later, the team advanced on penalties after a goalless draw away to Sporting de Gijón in the domestic cup, making the quarter-finals for the fourth time in their history and first since 2006.