Manu García (footballer, born 1986)

Manuel "Manu" Alejandro García Sánchez (born 26 April 1986) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for and captains Deportivo Alavés. Mainly a central midfielder, he can also play as a winger or a left back.[1]

Not to be confused with Manu García (footballer, born 1998).
This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is García and the second or maternal family name is Sánchez.
Manu García
Personal information
Full name Manuel Alejandro García Sánchez
Date of birth (1986-04-26) 26 April 1986
Place of birth Vitoria, Spain
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Alavés
Number 19
Youth career
Real Sociedad
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2008 Real Sociedad B 101 (18)
2008–2010 Eibar 35 (6)
2008–2009 → Real Unión (loan) 29 (8)
2010–2012 Logroñés 53 (13)
2012– Alavés 252 (19)
National team‡
2003 Spain U17 1 (0)
2016– Basque Country 3 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 March 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12 October 2018

Club career

Early career

Born in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, García finished his development at Real Sociedad, and made his senior debut with the reserves in the 2005–06 season, in Segunda División B. In July 2008 he signed for Segunda División club SD Eibar, but was immediately loaned to Real Unión in the third level.[2]

García featured regularly during his loan spell, scoring eight goals to help his team return to division two after 44 years. In July 2009 he rejoined the Armeros, who in turn suffered relegation;[3] despite being an undisputed starter during the campaign, he was deemed surplus to requirements in July 2010.[4]

On 30 December 2010, García joined fellow third-tier side UD Logroñés.[5] In 2011–12 he netted a career-best seven goals, as they finished two points short of the play-offs.

Alavés

In June 2012, García moved to Deportivo Alavés.[6] He was an ever-present figure in his first year, appearing in 37 league matches to help his team achieve promotion to the second division in the playoffs.

García appeared in his first game as a professional on 24 August 2013, a 1–1 home draw against UD Las Palmas.[7] He scored his first professional goal on 15 September 2013, netting in a 1–2 away loss to Real Murcia.[8] On 2 July 2014, he signed a new two-year contract with the Basques.[9]

García contributed 37 appearances and five goals in 2015–16, and Alavés returned to La Liga after ten years.[10] He made his debut in the league on 21 August, starting and scoring a last-minute equaliser in a 1–1 draw at Atlético Madrid.[11]

On 6 October 2018, after having come on as a 74th-minute substitute for Mubarak Wakaso, García netted 21 minutes later from a corner kick to help his team get their first win against Real Madrid in 88 years.[12]

Honours

Alavés

References
  1. "100 veces Manu" [100 times Manu] (in Spanish). Noticias de Álava. 20 January 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  2. Olazabal, Borja (25 June 2009). "El Real Unión da a conocer las bajas" [Real Unión make the departures known]. El Diario Vasco (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  3. Morquecho, Félix (2 July 2009). "Ángel Viadero dice que "quiero que la afición se sienta orgullosa del equipo"" [Ángel Viadero says that he "wants the supporters to feel proud of the team"]. El Diario Vasco (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  4. Rementería, José Antonio (1 September 2010). "Cascón, Lanzarote y Hadzic se incorporan al proyecto del Eibar" [Cascón, Lanzarote and Hadzic added to Eibar's project]. El Diario Vasco (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  5. Rementería, José Antonio (30 December 2010). "Manu García rescinde con el Eibar y fichará por el Logroñés" [Manu García cuts ties with Eibar and will sign with Logroñés]. El Diario Vasco (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  6. "Manu García cambia la UDL por el Alavés" [Manu García exchanges UDL for Alavés] (in Spanish). La Rioja. 28 June 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  7. "El balón parado propicia el reparto de puntos en Mendizorroza" [Set piece gives draw in Mendizorroza]. Marca (in Spanish). 24 August 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  8. "El Murcia se consolida en la zona noble con un gol 'in extremis'" [Murcia consolidate in top part of the table with a goal 'in extremis']. Marca (in Spanish). 15 September 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  9. "El capitán Manu García se queda en el Alavés" [Captain Manu García remains at Alavés]. El Correo (in Spanish). 2 July 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  10. Rodrigálvarez, Eduardo (29 May 2016). "El Alavés vuelve a Primera" [Alavés return to Primera]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  11. Melero, Delfín (21 August 2016). "Al Atleti le sobra el final" [To Atleti the ending is too much]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  12. Rodríguez, José María (6 October 2018). "El Madrid entra en barrena" [Freefalling Madrid]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 October 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.