 García in action forEupen in 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Luis García Fernández | ||
| Date of birth | (1981-02-06)6 February 1981 (age 44) | ||
| Place of birth | Oviedo, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker,winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Las Palmas (manager) | ||
| 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) | |
| International career | |||
| 2007–2008 | Spain | 7 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2019–2022 | Damm (youth) | ||
| 2022–2023 | Internacional | ||
| 2023 | Espanyol | ||
| 2023–2024 | Qatar (assistant) | ||
| 2024–2025 | Qatar | ||
| 2025– | Las Palmas | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Luis García Fernández (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈlwisɣaɾˈθi.afeɾˈnandeθ]; born 6 February 1981) is a Spanish former professionalfootballer, currentlymanager ofSegunda División clubLas Palmas. Mainly astriker, he could also operate as awinger.
Over nine seasons, he amassedLa Liga totals of 329 matches and 73 goals, mainly withEspanyol with whom he won oneCopa del Rey and reached the2007 UEFA Cup final.[1] He also spent five in years in Belgium at the service ofEupen.
García earned sevencaps forSpain in the late 2000s. He worked as amanager after retiring, notably being in charge of Espanyol and theQatar national team.
García was born inOviedo,Asturias. After representing three clubs as a youth he began his senior career with his last one,Real Madrid, first appearing with itsC team then progressing in 2001 toCastilla in theSegunda División B.[2]
On 8 January 2003, García played his only official game for the main squad, as a latesubstitute forEsteban Cambiasso in the 3–3 draw away toTerrassa FC in theround of 16 of theCopa del Rey.[3]
Released by Madrid in 2003, García joinedReal Murcia CF, making hisLa Liga debut on 31 August and scoring apenalty in a 1–1 away draw againstRC Celta de Vigo.[4] He finished hisfirst season with 11 goals and appeared in all the matches, although the side would be relegated;[5] on 16 May 2004, he netted twice in a 2–1 fruitless home win over his former employers.[6]
The following season, García produced similar numbers atRCD Mallorca, who barely avoided relegation after ranking 17th[7] and, in summer 2005, signed a five-year contract withRCD Espanyol,[8] playing competitive 48 games in hisdebut campaign and adding 15 goals,[9] including a brace in the2006 Spanish Cup final, a 4–1 defeat ofReal Zaragoza.[10] In the ensuing summer, he extended his link until 2012.[11]
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García, forming a formidable attacking partnership at theCatalans with youth graduateRaúl Tamudo (the pair combined for 68 league goals from 2005 to 2008),[12] contributed five goals during their2006–07 runner-up run in theUEFA Cup, including ahat-trick in a 23 November 2006 group stage 6–2 home win againstS.V. Zulte Waregem.[13] However, inthe May final, he missed hispenalty shootout attempt in a final loss to fellow SpaniardsSevilla FC.[14]
García was an everpresent figure for Espanyol until the end of his tenure, never making less than 36 appearances and scoring an average of seven goals, 13 alone in2007–08.[15][9] After the arrival in January 2010 of ArgentineDani Osvaldo, he operated almost exclusively as awinger.[16]
On 31 August 2011 – the last day of the summertransfer window – the 30-year-old García moved to Zaragoza on a three-year deal.[17] On 18 September, he scored twice against his former team and also missed apenalty kick in a 2–1 home victory.[18] He would, however, only manage two in the other 33 fixtures ofthe season he appeared in (2,297 minutes of action),[19] with theAragonese again narrowly avoiding top-flight relegation.[20]
García arrived toMonterrey on 5 July 2012 accompanied by his agent, to kickstart negotiations withLiga MX sideTigres UANL.[21] On 15 September, he scored twice againstCruz Azul for a 2–0 win at theEstadio Universitario[22] and, in two games in March of the following year, contributed one goal each in 2–1 wins overSan Luis F.C.[23] andPuebla FC.[24]
In July 2014, García signed a two-year contract withBelgian Second Division teamK.A.S. Eupen, joining a host of compatriots including managerTintín Márquez.[25] He becamecaptain of theKehrwegstadion club, and signed for two more years aftertheir promotion in June 2016.[26]
García was a key player over threePro League seasons until his retirement in April 2019.[27] The previous 28 October, he scored to open a 2–1 home win overR.S.C. Anderlecht.[28]
After a remarkable2006–07 with Espanyol, García got his first callup forSpain, under managerLuis Aragonés, appearing in anUEFA Euro 2008qualifier againstLatvia inRiga on 2 June 2007.[29][30]
Immediately after retiring, García began working as a coach, being in charge ofCF Damm's youths. In August 2022, after Real Madrid acquiredRSC Internacional FC who became their third team, he was appointed manager.[31]
García moved straight to the top tier on 3 April 2023, taking over another club he represented as a player, Espanyol.[32] On his debut five days later, the team lost 2–1 at home toAthletic Bilbao.[33] They wererelegated as 19th, thus returning toSegunda División after two years.[34] They started thefollowing season strongly, winning four of their first five matches; however, after just three wins in the following nine fixtures,[35] he was dismissed.[36]
In December 2023, García joined theQatar national side as Márquez's assistant.[37] One year later, after a series of poor performances during the2026 FIFA World Cupqualifying campaign, mainly a 5–0 away loss against theUnited Arab Emirates, he took over from the latter.[38]
García himself was sacked on 30 April 2025, following a disappointing campaign in the26th Arabian Gulf Cup and the World Cup qualifiers, finishing bottom of the group in the former tournament. He was replaced by another Spaniard,Julen Lopetegui.[39][40]
On 7 June 2025, García agreed to a one-year contract atUD Las Palmas.[41]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Real Madrid C | 2001–02 | Tercera División | 24 | 14 | – | – | – | 24 | 14 | |||
| Real Madrid B | 2001–02 | Segunda División B | 34 | 15 | – | – | 6[a] | 5 | 40 | 20 | ||
| 2002–03 | 33 | 17 | – | – | – | 33 | 17 | |||||
| Total | 67 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 73 | 37 | ||
| Murcia | 2003–04 | La Liga | 38 | 11 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 39 | 11 | ||
| Mallorca | 2004–05 | La Liga | 37 | 11 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 39 | 11 | ||
| Espanyol | 2005–06 | La Liga | 36 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 2 | – | 48 | 15 | |
| 2006–07 | 36 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 53 | 16 | ||
| 2007–08 | 37 | 13 | 4 | 2 | – | – | 41 | 15 | ||||
| 2008–09 | 37 | 5 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 41 | 5 | ||||
| 2009–10 | 36 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 38 | 3 | ||||
| 2010–11 | 37 | 6 | 3 | 1 | – | – | 40 | 7 | ||||
| 2011–12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 220 | 47 | 19 | 7 | 21 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 262 | 61 | ||
| Zaragoza | 2011–12 | La Liga | 34 | 4 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 36 | 4 | ||
| 2012–13 | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||
| 2013–14 | Segunda División | 26 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 26 | 4 | |||
| Total | 60 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 8 | ||
| Tigres (loan) | 2012–13 | Liga MX | 28 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | – | 30 | 5 | |
| Eupen | 2014–15 | Belgian Second Division | 34 | 4 | 2 | 0 | – | 6[c] | 2 | 42 | 6 | |
| 2015–16 | 30 | 6 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 32 | 6 | ||||
| 2016–17 | Belgian Pro League | 28 | 3 | 4 | 2 | – | 9[d] | 4 | 41 | 9 | ||
| 2017–18 | 29 | 6 | 2 | 0 | – | 3 | 1 | 34 | 7 | |||
| 2018–19 | 30 | 8 | 0 | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | 35 | 8 | |||
| Total | 151 | 27 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 7 | 184 | 36 | ||
| Career total | 625 | 155 | 34 | 9 | 23 | 7 | 31 | 7 | 713 | 183 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2007 | 6 | 0 |
| 2008 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 7 | 0 | |
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Internacional |  | 15 July 2022 | 4 April 2023 | 27 | 19 | 4 | 4 | 68 | 25 | +43 | 070.37 | [46] |
| Espanyol | | 4 April 2023 | 5 November 2023 | 26 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 45 | 41 | +4 | 038.46 | [47] |
| Qatar |  | 11 December 2024 | 30 April 2025 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 020.00 | |
| Las Palmas | | 7 June 2025 | Present | 16 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 19 | 12 | +7 | 050.00 | [48] |
| Total | 74 | 38 | 18 | 18 | 141 | 86 | +55 | 051.35 | — | |||
Espanyol
