Luis García (footballer, born 1981)

Luis García Fernández (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈlwis ɣaɾˈθi.a feɾˈnandeθ]; born 6 February 1981) is a Spanish former professional footballer, and the current manager of CF Damm's under-19 team. Mainly a striker, he could also operate as a winger.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is García and the second or maternal family name is Fernández.

Luis García
García in action for Eupen in 2017
Personal information
Full name Luis García Fernández
Date of birth (1981-02-06) 6 February 1981
Place of birth Oviedo, Spain
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position(s) Striker, winger
Club information
Current team
 Damm (youth)
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 67 (32)
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)
2014–2019 Eupen 151 (27)
Total 625 (155)
National team
2007–2008 Spain 7 (0)
Teams managed
2019– Damm (youth)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Over nine seasons, he amassed La Liga totals of 329 matches and 73 goals, mainly with Espanyol with whom he won one Copa del Rey and reached the 2007 UEFA Cup Final.[1] He also spent five in years in Belgium, at the service of Eupen.

Club career

Real Madrid and 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 and only game for the main squad in the Copa del Rey, away to Terrassa FC.[2]

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 RC Celta de Vigo.[3] 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 over his former employee.[4]

Espanyol

The following season, García produced similar numbers at RCD Mallorca, who barely avoided relegation after ranking 17th and, in the 2005 off-season, signed a five-year contract with RCD Espanyol,[5] playing 49 games overall in his first season and adding 14 goals, including a brace in the 2006 Spanish Cup final, a 4–1 defeat of Real Zaragoza.[6] in the ensuing summer, he extended his link until 2012.[7]

García running past Villarreal's Bruno Soriano in October 2008

García, forming a formidable attacking partnership at the Catalans with youth graduate Raúl Tamudo (the pair combined for 67 league goals from 2005 to 2008), contributed with five goals during their 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.[8] However, in the May final, he missed his penalty shootout attempt in a final loss to fellow league side Sevilla FC.[9]

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.[10] On 18 September, he scored twice against his former team and also missed a penalty kick in a 2–1 home success;[11] he would, however, only net twice in the other 33 matches 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 side Tigres UANL.[12] On 15 September he scored twice against Cruz Azul for a 2–0 win at the Estadio Universitario[13] 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.[14] and Puebla FC.[15]

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.[16]

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.[17]

Career statistics

Club
Sources:[18][19][20][21]
Club Season League National Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Real Madrid C 2001–02 Tercera División 2414–––2414
Real Madrid B 2001–02 Segunda División B 3415–––3415
2002–03 3317–––3317
Total 67320000006732
Murcia 2003–04 La Liga 381110––3911
Mallorca 2004–05 La Liga 371120––3911
Espanyol 2005–06 La Liga 36104382–4815
2006–07 361021135205316
2007–08 371342––4115
2008–09 37540––415
2009–10 36320––383
2010–11 37631––407
2011–12 1000––10
Total 220471972172026261
Zaragoza 2011–12 La Liga 34420––364
2012–13 –––––
2013–14 Segunda División 26400––264
Total 608200000628
Tigres (loan) 2012–13 Liga MX 285002[lower-alpha 1]0–305
Eupen 2014–15 Belgian Second Division 34420–6[lower-alpha 2]2426
2015–16 30620––326
2016–17 Belgian First Division A 28342–9[lower-alpha 3]4419
2017–18 29620–31347
2018–19 30800–50358
Total 151271020023718436
Career total 625155349237257707178
  1. Appearances in the North American Champions League
  2. Appearances in the Belgian Second Division promotion play-offs
  3. Appearances in the Belgian First Division A 'Europa League' play-offs

Honours

Espanyol

References
  1. LUÍS GARCÍA; Hall of Fame Perico, 30 May 2009 (in Spanish)
  2. El Madrid desprecia un triunfo cantado (Madrid snub guaranteed win); El Mundo, 8 January 2003 (in Spanish)
  3. El Murcia sale indemne de Balaídos (Murcia leave Balaídos unscathed); El Mundo, 31 August 2003 (in Spanish)
  4. Murcia 2–1 Real Madrid; ESPN Soccernet, 16 May 2004
  5. Espanyol beckon for Luis García; UEFA, 23 August 2005
  6. "¡Increíble Espanyol!" [Incredible Espanyol!] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 13 April 2006. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  7. Luís García extends at Espanyol; UEFA, 15 August 2006
  8. García thrives in Espanyol rout; UEFA, 23 November 2006
  9. García pride in beaten Espanyol; UEFA, 17 May 2007
  10. Oficial, Luis García ficha por el Zaragoza (Official, Luis García signs for Zaragoza); Goal, 31 August 2011 (in Spanish)
  11. Garcia haunts former side; ESPN Soccernet, 18 September 2011
  12. Llegará Luis García para negociar con Tigres (Luis García will arrive to negotiate with Tigres); Tigres UANL, 4 July 2012 (in Spanish)
  13. "Luis García lleva a Tigres a la victoria" [Luis García leads Tigres to win] (in Spanish). Marca. 16 September 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  14. "San Luis 1–2 Tigres: El superlíder no para y ganó con fiesta en el Alfonso Lastras" [San Luis 1–2 Tigres: Unstoppable superleaders won at the Alfonso Lastras in party climate] (in Spanish). Univision Deportes. 10 March 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  15. "El español García anota un gol en triunfo de Tigres que recupera el liderato" [Spaniard García scores once in win of Tigres who are leaders again] (in Spanish). La Información. 31 March 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  16. Eupen: Luis Garcia, ex-joueur de «La Roja», a signé! (Eupen: Luis Garcia, ex «La Roja» player, has signed!); L'Avenir, 19 July 2014 (in French)
  17. España cumple en Letonia (Spain get job done in Letonia); UEFA, 2 June 2007 (in Spanish)
  18. "Luis García". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  19. Luis García at Soccerway. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  20. Luis García at BDFutbol
  21. Luis García at National-Football-Teams.com
  22. Atkin, John (17 May 2007). "Palop lauds perfect performance". UEFA. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
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