Luis García (footballer, born 1981)
 García in action for Espanyol in 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Luis García Fernández | ||
| Date of birth | 6 February 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Oviedo, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker / Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Eupen | ||
| Number | 20 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1991–1996 | Oviedo | ||
| 1996 | La Braña | ||
| 1996–2000 | Real Madrid | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2000–2001 | Real Madrid C | 24 | (14) |
| 2001–2003 | Real Madrid B | 73 | (37) |
| 2003–2004 | Murcia | 38 | (11) |
| 2004–2005 | Mallorca | 37 | (11) |
| 2005–2011 | Espanyol | 220 | (47) |
| 2011–2014 | Zaragoza | 60 | (8) |
| 2012–2013 | → UANL (loan) | 28 | (5) |
| 2014– | Eupen | 59 | (10) |
| International career | |||
| 2007–2008 | Spain | 7 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 March 2016 | |||
Template:Spanish name Luis García Fernández (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈlwis ɣarˈθi.a ferˈnandeθ]; born 6 February 1981) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Belgian club K.A.S. Eupen. Mainly a striker, he can also operate as a winger.
Over the course of nine seasons, he amassed La Liga totals of 329 games and 73 goals, mainly with Espanyol, with which he won one Copa del Rey and reached the 2007 UEFA Cup Final.[1]
Club career
Real Madrid / Early years
García was born in Oviedo, Asturias. After representing three clubs as a youth player he began his senior career with his last one, Real Madrid, first appearing with its C-team then progressing in 2001 to Castilla in the third division; he played his first game for the main squad in the Copa del Rey.
Released by Madrid in 2003, García joined Real Murcia, making his La Liga debut on 31 August and scoring a penalty in a 1–1 away draw against Celta de Vigo.[2] He finished his debut season with 11 goals as he appeared in all the matches, although the side would be relegated; on 16 May 2004, he netted both goals in a 2–1 fruitless home win against his former employee.[3]
Espanyol
The following season, García produced similar numbers at RCD Mallorca, which barely avoided relegation after ranking 17th and, in the 2005 off-season, signed a five-year contract with RCD Espanyol,[4] playing 49 games overall in his first season and adding 14 goals, including a brace in the 2006 Spanish Cup final, a 4–1 win over Real Zaragoza.[5] in the ensuing summer, he extended his link until 2012.[6]
García, forming a formidable offensive partnership at the Catalonians with youth graduate Raúl Tamudo (the pair combined for 67 league goals from 2005 to 2008), contributed with five goals during the club's 2006–07 runner-up run in the UEFA Cup, including a hat-trick in a 23 November 2006 group stage 6–2 home win against SV Zulte-Waregem.[7] However, in the May final, he missed his penalty shootout attempt in a final loss to fellow league side Sevilla FC.[8]
García was an everpresent figure for Espanyol in the following three campaigns, never making less than 36 league appearances and scoring an average of seven goals, 13 alone in 2007–08. After the arrival in January 2010 of Argentine Dani Osvaldo, he operated almost exclusively as a winger.
Zaragoza
On 31 August 2011 – the very last day of the summer transfer window – 30-year-old García signed a three-year contract with Zaragoza.[9] On 18 September he scored twice against his former team and also missed a penalty kick, in a 2–1 home success.[10]
García, however, would only score two more goals in the other 33 games of the season he appeared in (in a total of 2,297 minutes of action), with the Aragonese again barely avoiding top flight relegation.
García arrived to Monterrey on 5 July 2012 accompanied by his agent, to kickstart negotiations with Liga MX outfit Tigres de la UANL.[11] On 15 September he scored twice against Cruz Azul for a 2–0 win at the Estadio Universitario and, in two games in March of the following year, contributed with one successful strike each in 2–1 wins over San Luis F.C. and Puebla FC.
Eupen
In July 2014, García signed a two-year contract with Belgian Second Division team K.A.S. Eupen, joining a host of compatriots including manager Tintín Márquez.[12]
International career
After a remarkable 2006–07 with Espanyol, García got his first callup for Spain, under manager Luis Aragonés, appearing in an UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Latvia in Riga on 2 June 2007.[13]
Honours
- Espanyol
References
- ^ LUÍS GARCÍA; Hall of Fame Perico, 30 May 2009 Template:Es icon
- ^ El Murcia sale indemne de Balaídos (Murcia leave Balaídos unscathed); El Mundo, 31 August 2003 Template:Es icon
- ^ Murcia 2–1 Real Madrid; ESPN Soccernet, 16 May 2004
- ^ Espanyol beckon for Luis García; UEFA.com, 23 August 2005
- ^ "¡Increíble Espanyol!" (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 13 April 2006. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ Luís García extends at Espanyol; UEFA.com, 15 August 2006
- ^ García thrives in Espanyol rout; UEFA.com, 23 November 2006
- ^ García pride in beaten Espanyol; UEFA.com, 17 May 2007
- ^ Oficial, Luis García ficha por el Zaragoza (Official, Luis García signs for Zaragoza); Goal.com, 31 August 2011 Template:Es icon
- ^ Garcia haunts former side; ESPN Soccernet, 18 September 2011
- ^ Llegará Luis García para negociar con Tigres (Luis García will arrive to negotiate with Tigres); Tigres' official website, 4 July 2012 Template:Es icon
- ^ Eupen: Luis Garcia, ex-joueur de «La Roja», a signé! (Eupen: Luis Garcia, ex «La Roja» player, has signed!); L'Avenir, 19 July 2014 Template:Fr icon
- ^ España cumple en Letonia (Spain gets job done in Letonia); UEFA.com, 2 June 2007 Template:Es icon
- ^ "¡Increíble Espanyol!" (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 13 April 2006. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ Atkin, John (17 May 2007). "Palop lauds perfect performance". UEFA.com. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
External links
- Luis García at BDFutbol
- National team data
- Luis García at National-Football-Teams.com
- Luis García – Liga MX stats at MedioTiempo.com (archived) (in Spanish)
- Luis García at Soccerway
- Use dmy dates from July 2013
- 1981 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Oviedo
- Spanish footballers
- Asturian footballers
- Association football forwards
- La Liga players
- Segunda División players
- Segunda División B players
- Tercera División players
- Real Madrid C footballers
- Real Madrid Castilla footballers
- Real Madrid C.F. players
- Real Murcia players
- RCD Mallorca players
- RCD Espanyol footballers
- Real Zaragoza players
- Liga MX players
- Tigres UANL footballers
- Belgian Second Division/Belgian First Division B players
- K.A.S. Eupen players
- Spain international footballers
- Spanish expatriate footballers
- Expatriate footballers in Mexico
- Expatriate footballers in Belgium
- Spanish expatriates in Belgium
- Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Mexico