 García asPAOK coach in 2014 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Pablo Gabriel García Pérez[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1977-05-11)11 May 1977 (age 48)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Pando, Uruguay | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | APOEL (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1990–1996 | Montevideo Wanderers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1996–1997 | Montevideo Wanderers | 35 | (1) |
| 1997–2000 | Atlético Madrid B | 38 | (3) |
| 1997 | →Valladolid (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 1998 | →Peñarol (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2000–2002 | Milan | 5 | (0) |
| 2002 | →Venezia (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2002–2005 | Osasuna | 78 | (6) |
| 2005–2008 | Real Madrid | 22 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | →Celta (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | →Murcia (loan) | 21 | (0) |
| 2008–2013 | PAOK | 109 | (5) |
| 2014 | Skoda Xanthi | 3 | (0) |
| Total | 348 | (15) | |
| International career | |||
| 1997–2007 | Uruguay | 66 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2015–2016 | PAOK U19 (assistant) | ||
| 2016–2020 | PAOK U19 | ||
| 2020–2021 | PAOK | ||
| 2021–2023 | PAOK B | ||
| 2023–2024 | Panserraikos | ||
| 2024–2025 | Atromitos | ||
| 2025– | APOEL | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Pablo Gabriel García Pérez (Latin American Spanish:[ˈpaβloɣaˈβɾjelɣaɾˈsi.aˈpeɾes];[a] born 11 May 1977) is a Uruguayan professionalfootballmanager and former player who played as adefensive midfielder. He is the manager ofCypriot First Division clubAPOEL.
A player of physical approach to the game (which earned him a reputation for being a dirty player), his nickname isCanario (canary), referring to his birthplace.[2][3] He spent most of his professional career inLa Liga, making 135 appearances in six years in representation of four teams, but also played several seasons in Greece withPAOK.[4]
AUruguayan international over one decade, García appeared for the nation at the2002 World Cup and twoCopa América tournaments.
Born inPando,Canelones Department, García started his career inMontevideo Wanderers. After a six-month spell atPeñarol, he signed forAtlético Madrid, but would never make it pasttheir reserves, being transferred to Italian giantsAC Milan two years later.[5]
After just fiveSerie A appearances during the2000–01 season, García was loaned to fellow top-division clubVenezia in January 2002. In spite oftheir relegation, he had overall good performances.[5]
Moving toOsasuna for the2002–03 campaign,[6] García played intense football throughout three seasons inNavarre. In his first match, a 2–2La Liga draw atVillarreal on 1 September 2002, he collected abooking and scored the match's final goal.[7]
Inthe final of the 2005Copa del Rey, García, already an essential midfield element for Osasuna, received a straightred card after a dangerous challenge onReal Betis'Joaquín, in an eventual 2–1extra time loss.[8] However, he had already caught the eye ofReal Madrid which signed the player to a three-year contract, with compatriotCarlos Diogo also being purchased.[9]
Having totalled 17 yellow (season-most) and one red cards during2004–05 (the Cup final notwithstanding),[10] García made his Real Madrid official debut on 10 September 2005, playing 11 minutes in a 2–3 home defeat toCelta.[11] Eventually, he won the battle for the team's first-choice holding midfielder overThomas Gravesen, although none were an undisputed starter.[12][13]
García helped Madrid to a runner-up place in the2005–06 season, but was deemed surplus to requirements by new managerFabio Capello and, on 29 August 2006, he agreed to a one-year loan at Celta.[14] After an uneventful personalcampaign where he was injured for most of the year[15][16] and was also relegated, he returned to theSantiago Bernabéu Stadium in July 2007 to be loaned immediately again, this time to newly promotedReal Murcia.[17]
Followinganother relegation, García was released by Real Madrid on 10 July 2008,[18] and joinedPAOK later that month. He quickly became a fan favorite for his tenacity, being shown three red cards in his first six games and also starring in an incident withOlympiacos playerDiogo; after being hit in the face by Diogo's elbow in a confrontation during aset piece, García retaliated with a punch to the Brazilian's abdomen; both actions, surprisingly, eluded the referee's attention, but the Uruguayan eventually received a three-match ban.[4]
García'ssecond season was much better overall, as PAOK only conceded 16 goals in 30 matches, finishing second in the table, with him forming a stable midfield partnership with SpaniardVitolo. On 21 February 2010, he scored in a 2–1 home win over againstPanathinaikos, shortening the gap to that opposition to two points.[19] Additionally, he renewed his link until 2012, even agreeing to a reduction in his salary in line with the club's stagnant finances.[2]
On 23 May 2012, it was announced that the 35-year-old García renewed his contract for one more year.[20] On 20 March of the following year, he was released by mutual consent after falling out with coachGiorgos Donis.[21]
García returned to PAOK on 4 June 2013 at the request of major shareholderIvan Savvidis, on a one-year deal.[22] In the following wintertransfer window, however, he left for fellowSuper League Greece sideSkoda Xanthi,[23] retiring after a couple of months at the age of 37 and settling inThessaloniki.[24]
A fullUruguayan international since 13 December 1997, in aKing Fahd Cup match againstUnited Arab Emirates, García quickly developed into a mainstay for the national team, going on to earn a total of 66caps.[25][26] He played all 270 minutes in the country's participation in the2002 FIFA World Cup,[27][28][29] but was not able to helpqualify for the2006 edition after losing apenalty shootout toAustralia on 16 November 2005.[30]
García scored a powerful finesse shot from outside the box againstVenezuela in the2007 Copa América quarter-finals,[31] but also missed a decisive penalty againstBrazil in the next round.[32]
On 24 May 2015, García returned to PAOK in an unspecified position.[33] The following month, the club's sporting directorFrank Arnesen announced that the former would start his managerial career as anassistant in the under-17 team.[34]
García was undefeated for 78 matches during his spell at the helm of the under-19 side, winning three national championships in the process.[35] On 30 October 2020, he was appointed coach of the main squad following the dismissal ofAbel Ferreira,[36] taking them from sixth place to afinal runner-up position 26 points behind champions Olympiacos.[37] The following 22 May, he won thedomestic cup with a 2–1 victory against the same opposition inthe final;[38] he was fired shortly after, however, being offered a position atthe reserves.[39][40]
In summer 2023, García was appointed atPanserraikos also from the Greek top tier.[41] In thecup quarter-finals, they were eliminated by PAOK 9–0 on aggregate.[42]
On 11 May 2024, García announced he was leaving the club.[43] Later that month, he became the manager ofAtromitos in the same league after signing a one-year contract.[44]
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||||
| PAOK U19 | 10 September 2016 | 29 October 2020 | 85 | 71 | 11 | 3 | 083.53 | |||
| PAOK | 30 October 2020 | 26 May 2021 | 42 | 23 | 9 | 10 | 054.76 | |||
| PAOK B | 15 July 2021 | 19 June 2023 | 58 | 24 | 18 | 16 | 041.38 | |||
| Panserraikos | 4 July 2023 | 11 May 2024 | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 028.95 | |||
| Atromitos | 31 May 2024 | 13 June 2025 | 36 | 13 | 8 | 15 | 036.11 | |||
| Career total | 259 | 142 | 58 | 59 | 054.83 | |||||
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