Luis García (footballer, born 1981)

Luis García

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)
Playing position	Striker / Winger
Club 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)
National team
2007–2008	Spain	7	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 March 2016. † Appearances (goals)

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 running past Villarreal's Bruno Soriano in October 2008

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

• Copa del Rey: 2005–06^[14]
• UEFA Cup: Runner-up 2006–07^[15]

References

1. LUÍS GARCÍA; Hall of Fame Perico, 30 May 2009 (Spanish)
2. El Murcia sale indemne de Balaídos (Murcia leave Balaídos unscathed); El Mundo, 31 August 2003 (Spanish)
3. Murcia 2–1 Real Madrid; ESPN Soccernet, 16 May 2004
4. Espanyol beckon for Luis García; UEFA.com, 23 August 2005
5. "¡Increíble Espanyol!" [Incredible Espanyol!] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 13 April 2006. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
6. Luís García extends at Espanyol; UEFA.com, 15 August 2006
7. García thrives in Espanyol rout; UEFA.com, 23 November 2006
8. García pride in beaten Espanyol; UEFA.com, 17 May 2007
9. Oficial, Luis García ficha por el Zaragoza (Official, Luis García signs for Zaragoza); Goal.com, 31 August 2011 (Spanish)
10. Garcia haunts former side; ESPN Soccernet, 18 September 2011
11. Llegará Luis García para negociar con Tigres (Luis García will arrive to negotiate with Tigres); Tigres' official website, 4 July 2012 (Spanish)
12. Eupen: Luis Garcia, ex-joueur de «La Roja», a signé! (Eupen: Luis Garcia, ex «La Roja» player, has signed!); L'Avenir, 19 July 2014 (French)
13. España cumple en Letonia (Spain gets job done in Letonia); UEFA.com, 2 June 2007 (Spanish)
14. "¡Increíble Espanyol!" [Incredible Espanyol!] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 13 April 2006. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
15. Atkin, John (17 May 2007). "Palop lauds perfect performance". UEFA.com. Retrieved 10 April 2015.

External links

• Luis García profile at BDFutbol
• National team data
• Luis García at National-Football-Teams.com
• Luis García Liga MX stats at Medio Tiempo.com (Spanish)
• Luis García profile at Soccerway