_Espanyol_v_Rayo_Vallecano_(cropped).jpg) García playing for Espanyol in 2012 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sergio García Riina de la Fuente[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1983-06-09)9 June 1983 (age 42)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Barcelona, Spain | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Forward,winger | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Damm (under-19) | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1989–1993 | Bon Pastor | ||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1995 | Damm | ||||||||||||||||
| 1995–2002 | Barcelona | ||||||||||||||||
| 1997–1999 | →Damm (loan) | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | Barcelona C | 22 | (11) | ||||||||||||||
| 2002–2004 | Barcelona B | 60 | (34) | ||||||||||||||
| 2002–2005 | Barcelona | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | →Levante (loan) | 31 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2008 | Zaragoza | 90 | (14) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Betis | 62 | (21) | ||||||||||||||
| 2010–2015 | Espanyol | 145 | (41) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | Al-Rayyan | 49 | (27) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Espanyol | 62 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Montañesa | 8 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 533 | (162) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1999 | Spain U16 | 2 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2001 | Spain U17 | 3 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | Spain U19 | 9 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| 2003 | Spain U20 | 11 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Spain U21 | 11 | (4) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Spain | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2003–2019 | Catalonia | 16 | (9) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2022– | Damm (under-19) | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Sergio García de la Fuente (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈseɾxjoɣaɾˈθi.a];[A] born 9 June 1983) is a Spanish former professionalfootballer. Mainly aforward, he could also appear as awinger, preferably on the right. He is the currentmanager ofDamm under-19 team.
After starting out atBarcelona, he went on to represent mainlyZaragoza andEspanyol, serving ascaptain of the latter. Over 14 seasons, he amassedLa Liga totals of 360 matches and 75 goals.
García appeared forSpain atEuro 2008, winning the tournament. He also played for theCatalonia national team in unofficial matches.
Born inBarcelona,Catalonia, García rose through the ranks ofFC Barcelona, finding however opportunities almost non-existent in the senior squad.[2] A frequent goalscorer forthe reserves in theSegunda División B, he made his first-team debut on 29 October 2002, coming on as asubstitute forGeovanni for the final 28 minutes of a 2–0 away win againstClub Brugge KV inthat season'sUEFA Champions League;[3] he made another cameo in that competition the following 19 March, in a 2–0 victory atNewcastle United in the second group phase.[4]
On 3 September 2003, García started in hisLa Liga debut in his first match at theCamp Nou, a 1–1 draw withSevilla FC.[5] On 1 March of the following year, he signed a three-year contract extension.[6]
García was loaned toLevante UD on 21 July 2004, ahead of theupcoming top-flight campaign.[7] He scored his first goal in the competition on 3 October to complete a 2–0 win overRCD Mallorca at theEstadi Ciutat de València,[8] ranking team top scorer as theValencians were relegated; his last goal came on 5 May 2004 in a 3–1 away loss toAlbacete Balompié, where he wassent off moments later for fighting withSanti.[9]
Garcia played all 38 matches forReal Zaragoza in2007–08, as they were eventually relegated from the top tier. At the beginning ofthe following season, he was linked with a number ofPremier League clubs includingLiverpool,Tottenham Hotspur,West Ham United andStoke City, along with teammateDiego Milito. Rumours that he would leave Zaragoza had been further fuelled after the club's relegation, as he was thrown out of a side pre-season training session by managerMarcelino García Toral and was then left out of their opening day defeat against Levante.[10]
On 1 September 2008, in the dying seconds of thetransfer window, after continuous rumours, García signed forReal Betis,[11][12] for a fee close to€10 million. He scored his first goal for his new club on 27 September in the team's home game againstReal Madrid (2–1 loss), following up on his own savedpenalty.[13] On 16 November he netted a brace in at 3–1 home win overRacing de Santander[14] and, on 18 January of the following year, added another in the 3–1 away defeat ofReal Valladolid in which he alsoassisted the other goal.[15]
García was sent off three times in the first half ofthe season.[16][17] On 7 February 2009, he helped Betis achieve a landmark victory at neighbouring Sevilla, scoring in a 2–1 win.[18] In form, he was struck with a knee injury after celebrating his goal againstCD Numancia, a 3–3 home draw on 4 April,[19][20] eventually missing a month of competition – with the team struggling during this time – and eventually dropping down a level at the end.[21]
García scored 12 goals in the2009–10 campaign, but theAndalusians failed to win promotion.[22]
In August 2010, García signed a five-year contract withRCD Espanyol, moving to the club as a replacement to veteranRaúl Tamudo who left after nearly 20 years of service. He did not score in his first 15 games forMauricio Pochettino's team, ending the drought on 9 January 2011 when as a substitute he concluded a 4–0 home victory over former team Zaragoza, assisted by his namesakeLuis.[23]
On 24 November 2013, García scored his first hat-trick for thePericos in a 4–1 win atRayo Vallecano – two of his three goals came from the penalty spot.[24]The following season, he netted a career-best (in Spain) 14 league goals.[25]
García turned down an offer to join Qatar'sAl Sadd SC, who had recently signed Barcelona'sXavi.[26] On 29 June, however, he joinedAl-Rayyan SC in the same country.[27] He made his debut on 11 September, starting in a 4–0Stars League home win againstAl-Sailiya SC, and scored his first goal on 2 October when he confirmed a 2–0 victory overAl-Mesaimeer Sports Club at theThani bin Jassim Stadium; on 22 November, he scored twice and assisted one ofRodrigo Tabata's four goals in a league record 9–0 rout atQatar SC.[28]
On 5 March 2016, García netted once in a 5–0 win atAl-Wakrah Sport Club that handed his teamtheir first league title in 21 years, and with five games to spare.[29]
On 16 June 2017, aged 34, García returned to Espanyol after agreeing to a one-year contract.[30] Exactly two years later, he left.[31]
In November 2020, García returned to football atNou Barris-basedCF Montañesa of theTercera División, signing alongside his former Barcelona and Espanyol teammateJoan Verdú.[32]
García was part of theSpain under-19 team that won the2002 UEFA European Championship in Norway, equalising in the 3–1 win overSlovakia in their final group game inDrammen.[33] On 22 October 2003, againstthe same country but atunder-20 level, he netted a hat-trick in a 4–0 win in preparation for theFIFA World Youth Championship.[34] During the tournament in theUnited Arab Emirates, he scored againstMali in the group and netted the only goal againstParaguay in thelast 16,[35] as the nation finished as runners-up.[36]
Without having been previouslycapped, García made theSpanish final squad-of-23 forUEFA Euro 2008 (which Spain went on to win) as a replacement for Barcelona'sBojan Krkić.[37] He made his debut for the national side on 31 May 2008, coming on as an 83rd-minute substitute forDavid Silva in a 2–1friendly win againstPeru inHuelva.[38] He made his debut on 18 June, playing for the full 90 minutes againstGreece in Spain's third and finalgroup D game in Euro 2008: in the 88th minute, he delivered a pinpoint left-footedcross forDani Güiza to head home the 2–1 winner.[39]
García also represented Spain at allyouth levels, as well as appearing frequently for theunofficial Catalan national team. On 22 December 2009, he scored the side's first goal in a 4–2 defeat ofArgentina and, on 30 December 2013, he netted twice in a 4–1 victory overCape Verde.[40] In March 2019, he played his 16th game againstVenezuela inGirona, and surpassedSergio González as the most capped player in its history.[41]
García started his managerial career in 2021 withCF Damm, as part of the club's under-19 staff. The following year, he was promoted to head coaching duties, succeeding his former Espanyol and Spain teammate Luis García.[42]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Barcelona | 2002–03[43] | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2003–04[43] | La Liga | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||
| Levante (loan) | 2004–05[43] | La Liga | 31 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | 32 | 7 | |
| Zaragoza | 2005–06[43] | La Liga | 19 | 4 | 6 | 0 | — | 25 | 4 | |
| 2006–07[43] | La Liga | 33 | 6 | 6 | 2 | — | 39 | 8 | ||
| 2007–08[43] | La Liga | 38 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2[b] | 0 | 44 | 5 | |
| Total | 90 | 14 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 108 | 17 | ||
| Betis | 2008–09[43] | La Liga | 28 | 9 | 4 | 1 | — | 32 | 10 | |
| 2009–10[43] | Segunda División | 34 | 12 | 1 | 0 | — | 35 | 12 | ||
| Total | 62 | 21 | 5 | 1 | — | 67 | 22 | |||
| Espanyol | 2010–11[43] | La Liga | 21 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | 25 | 3 | |
| 2011–12[43] | La Liga | 24 | 5 | 3 | 2 | — | 27 | 7 | ||
| 2012–13[43] | La Liga | 28 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | 28 | 7 | ||
| 2013–14[43] | La Liga | 37 | 12 | 4 | 1 | — | 41 | 13 | ||
| 2014–15[44] | La Liga | 35 | 14 | 6 | 1 | — | 41 | 15 | ||
| Total | 145 | 41 | 17 | 4 | — | 162 | 45 | |||
| Al-Rayyan | 2015–16[44] | Qatar Stars League | 24 | 16 | 0 | 0 | — | 24 | 16 | |
| 2016–17[44] | Qatar Stars League | 25 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 31 | 14 | |
| Total | 49 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 55 | 30 | ||
| Espanyol | 2017–18[44] | La Liga | 33 | 2 | 5 | 1 | — | 38 | 3 | |
| 2018–19[44] | La Liga | 29 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 31 | 2 | ||
| Total | 62 | 4 | 7 | 1 | — | 69 | 5 | |||
| Montañesa | 2020–21[44] | Tercera División | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 3 | |
| Career total | 451 | 117 | 48 | 9 | 11 | 3 | 508 | 129 | ||
Al-Rayan
Spain
Spain U19
Spain U20
