Boniek García

Óscar Boniek García
García warming up at Livestrong Sporting Park
Personal information
Full name Óscar Boniek García Ramírez[1]
Date of birth (1984-09-04) September 4, 1984
Place of birth Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Houston Dynamo
Number 27
Youth career
2003 Real Patepluma
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2012 Olimpia 115 (14)
2006–2007 → Marathón (loan)
2012– Houston Dynamo 165 (13)
National team‡
2005– Honduras 125 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 September 2018 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12 November 2017

Óscar Boniek García Ramírez (born September 4, 1984) is a Honduran footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Houston Dynamo in Major League Soccer. He received his middle name Boniek after famous Polish international player Zbigniew Boniek.[2]

Club career

García made his senior debut on August 10, 2003 with Real Patepluma, losing 4–1 to Atlético Olanchano.[3] In 2004, he joined Olimpia of Honduras. He also played for Marathón of Honduras. He also went for a 15-day trial with French club Paris Saint Germain and played two friendly games with the team that toured Portugal to play against Vitória Guimarães and Benfica.

During August 2009, it was announced that he would travel to Wigan Athletic, who were in the English Premier League at the time, in order to sign a three-year contract with the club, along with fellow Honduran, Roger Rojas. The contract was not signed and García stayed with Olimpia.

On June 7, 2012, García signed with Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo to become their 2nd ever Designated Player. On July 15, 2012, he scored his first goal in a Dynamo jersey and in Major League Soccer against D.C. United in the 62nd minute. Boniek's impact was immense, with the Dynamo having a +10 goal differential and a record of 9-4-6 after he joined the team. On November 26, 2012, Boniek was awarded the "Newcomer of the Year" and "Player's Player of the Year" award by the team, despite playing only half of the season.[4] García was also named the MLS Latin Player of the Year, as voted on by fans.[5] He helped the team reach MLS Cup in 2012, where the Dynamo would fall to the LA Galaxy 3-1.[6]

On October 27, 2013, Boniek scored in a 2-1 win over DC United in a game that clinched the Dynamo's spot in the 2013 MLS Cup Playoffs.[7] He scored again on October 31 in a 3-0 win over the Montreal Impact in the first game of the playoffs.[8] In the second leg of the conference finals, Boniek scored in the 3rd minute to give the Dynamo a 1-0 lead on aggregate. However, Sporting Kansas City would come back and win 2-1.[9]

2014 was a mixed year for Boniek. he got to represent Honduras at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but the Dynamo missed out on a playoff spot by 10 points, in part because the team struggled when Boniek missed games for international duty. However, his volley against the Chicago Fire on September 28 was named the Dynamo's Goal of the Year.[10]

The Dynamo would miss out on the playoffs in 2015 and 2016, but Boniek helped lead them to a return in 2017 under new coach Wilmer Cabrera.[11] Although he only made 12 starts on the year, his fewest since joining the Dynamo, Boniek was an important leader in the locker room and on the field.[12]

International career

García made his debut for Honduras in a July 2005 friendly match against Canada and has earned, as of July 2015, a total of 105 caps, scoring two goals. He has represented his country in 11 FIFA World Cup qualification matches[13] and played at the 2007,[14] 2009,[15] and 2011 UNCAF Nations Cups[16] as well as at the 2005,[17] 2007,[18] and 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cups.[19] He was also a non-playing squad member at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He played all three group E matches for Honduras at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil including against France when he came on as a substitute.[20] Boniek has the 4th most caps for Honduras with 125 caps.[21]

Personal life

He was given the middle name Boniek in honor of Zbigniew Boniek, the famous Polish international footballer.[22] García chose to have the name "Boniek" written across the back of his jersey while playing for Houston.

Garcia holds a U.S. green card which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.[23]

Career statistics

Club Statistics

As of 28 September 2018[24][25]
Appearances, goals, and assists by club, season and competition
Club Season League Playoffs US Open Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoals AssistsAppsGoals AssistsAppsGoals AssistsAppsGoals AssitsAppsGoals Assits
Houston Dynamo 2012 MLS 174 661 100 02[lower-alpha 1]0 0255 7
2013 223 652 000 04[lower-alpha 1]0 0315 6
2014 272 1—00 0—272 1
2015 233 500 0233 5
2016 310 930 1340 10
2017 200 420 010 0230 4
2018 25 1 5 — 3 0 0 28 1 5
Career totals 16513 36133 170 160 019116 38
  1. 1 2 Appearances in CONCACAF Champions League

International Statistics

As of 8 June 2018[26]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National Team Year Apps Goals
Honduras 2005 7 0
2006 4 0
2007 17 0
2008 4 0
2009 8 0
2010 8 1
2011 14 0
2012 11 0
2013 16 1
2014 8 0
2015 12 0
2016 7 1
2017 9 0
Total 125 3

International Goals

Scores and results list Honduras' goal tally first.
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.September 4, 2010Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, USA El Salvador1–12–2Friendly
2.June 11, 2013Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino, Tegucigalpa, Honduras Jamaica2–02–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.March 29, 2016Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras El Salvador1–02–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Club

C.D. Olimpia

Houston Dynamo

International

Honduras

Individual

Houston Dynamo

  • Newcomer of the Year: 2012[4]
  • Player's Player of the Year: 2012[4]
  • MLS Latin Player of the Year (Latino del Año): 2012[5]
  • Goal of the Year: 2014[10]

References

  1. ↑ "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 11 June 2014. p. 19. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  2. ↑ MŚ:Boniek będzie kibicował...Bońkowi, onet.pl, 2010-06-04 (Polish)
  3. ↑ "Boniek García: "Mi máximo anhelo es ganar la Copa MLS"" (in Spanish). La Prensa. November 28, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 "Houston Dynamo announce 2012 team awards". Houston Dynamo. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  5. 1 2 Pinzón, Diego (December 3, 2012). "Houston's Boniek García named FutbolMLS.com's 2012 Latino del Año". mlssoccer.com. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  6. ↑ "2012-12-01-LA-v-HOU | MLSsoccer.com". 2012-12-05. Retrieved 2018-06-08.
  7. ↑ Cammarota, Nick (October 27, 2013). "Match Recap: Houston Dynamo 2, D.C. United 1". houstondynamo.com. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  8. ↑ Lovell, Darrell (October 31, 2013). "Match Recap: Houston Dynamo 3, Montreal Impact 0". houstondynamo.com. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  9. ↑ Brisendine, Steve (November 23, 2013). "Match Recap: Houston Dynamo 1, Sporting Kansas City 2". houstondynamo.com. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  10. 1 2 "Houston Dynamo announce 2014 team awards". houstondynamo.com. December 5, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Dynamo's return to playoffs a three-year process". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2018-06-08.
  12. ↑ "Midfielder Boniek Garcia re-signs with the Houston Dynamo". mlssoccer.com. December 11, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  13. ↑ Boniek García – FIFA competition record (archive)
  14. ↑ Courtney, Barrie (January 29, 2009). "UNCAF (Qualifying Tournament for Gold Cup) 2007". RSSSF. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  15. ↑ Courtney, Barrie (June 19, 2009). "UNCAF (Qualifying Tournament for Gold Cup) 2009 - Details". RSSSF. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  16. ↑ Lugo, Erik Francisco; Torres, Steven (January 4, 2013). "Copa Centroamericana 2011 (UNCAF Nations Cup)". RSSSF. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  17. ↑ Courtney, Barrie; Saaid, Hamdan (July 30, 2005). "CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2005 - Full Details". RSSSF. Archived from the original on October 24, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  18. ↑ Saaid, Hamdan (July 19, 2007). "CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2007 - Full Details". RSSSF. Archived from the original on October 24, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  19. ↑ Lugo, Erik Francisco (July 11, 2013). "CONCACAF Championship, Gold Cup 2011". RSSSF. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Honduras Squad list". FIFA.com. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Honduras - Record International Players". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 2018-06-08.
  22. ↑ "MŚ: Boniek będzie kibicował... Bońkowi" (in Polish). onet.pl. June 4, 2010. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  23. ↑ http://www.houstondynamo.com/post/2016/06/14/what-do-you-need-know-lamar-hunt-us-open-cup
  24. ↑ Boniek García at Soccerway. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  25. ↑ "Boniek Garcia". houstondynamo.com. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  26. ↑ "Óscar Boniek García - Century of International Appearances". rsssf.com. January 11, 2018. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
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