Sergio García (footballer, born 1983)

For other people named Sergio García, see Sergio García (disambiguation).

For another Spanish footballer, see Sergio García (footballer, born 1989).

Sergio García

250px García playing for Espanyol in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Sergio García de la Fuente
Date of birth	(1983-06-09) 9 June 1983
Place of birth	Barcelona, Spain
Height
Position(s)	Forward / Winger
Team information
Current team	Al-Rayan
Number	9
Youth career
	Bon Pastor
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)
2003–2005	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–	Al-Rayan	13	(8)
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–	Catalonia	13	(8)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12 December 2015 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 December 2015

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is García and the second or maternal family name is De la Fuente.

Sergio García de la Fuente (born 9 June 1983) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Qatari club Al Rayyan SC. Mainly a forward, he can also appear as a winger, preferably on the right.

After starting out at Barcelona he went on to represent mainly Zaragoza and Espanyol, serving as captain of the latter. Over the course of 12 seasons, he amassed La Liga totals of 298 games and 71 goals.

García appeared for Spain at Euro 2008, winning the tournament.

Club career

Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, García rose through the ranks of FC Barcelona, finding however opportunities almost non-existent in the senior squad. He made four first-team appearances during the 2003–04 season, his debut coming on 3 September 2003 in a 1–1 home draw against Sevilla FC.

Moving to Levante UD in 2004 mere months after extending his Barça link, García proved himself a La Liga player, a trait he continued to display at Real Zaragoza, whether as a starter or the first option from the bench. In 2007–08 he played all 38 matches, while the Aragonese were eventually relegated from the top level.

At the beginning of the 2008–09 campaign, García was linked with a number of Premier League clubs including Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Stoke City, along with fellow team-mate Diego 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 manager Marcelino García Toral and was then left out of their opening day defeat against Levante.

On 1 September 2008, in the dying seconds of the transfer window, after continuous rumours, García signed for Real Betis, 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 against Real Madrid (1–2 loss), following up on his own saved penalty. On 16 November he netted a brace in at 3–1 home win over Racing de Santander and, on 18 January of the following, added another in the 3–1 success at Real Valladolid, in which he also assisted the other goal.

On 7 February 2009 García helped Betis achieve a landmark victory at neighbouring Sevilla, scoring in a 2–1 win. In form, he was struck with a knee injury after celebrating his opener against CD Numancia, a 3–3 home draw on 4 April, eventually missing a month of competition – with Betis struggling during this time – and eventually dropping down a level at the end.

García scored 12 goals in the 2009–10 season, but the Andalusians failed to promote. In August 2010 he signed a five-year contract with RCD Espanyol, moving to the Catalan side as a replacement to veteran Raúl Tamudo, who left the club after nearly 20 years of service.

In May 2015, after netting a career-best 14 league goals during the campaign, García turned down an offer to join Qatar's Al Sadd SC, who had recently signed Barcelona's Xavi. On 29 June, however, he joined Al Rayyan SC in the same country.

International career

Without having been previously capped, García made the Spanish final squad-of-23 for UEFA Euro 2008 (which Spain went on to win) as a replacement for Barcelona's Bojan Krkić. On 31 May 2008 he made his debut for the national side, coming on as an 83rd-minute substitute for David Silva in a 2–1 friendly win against Peru in Huelva.

On 18 June García earned his first competitive cap, playing for the full 90 minutes against Greece in Spain's third and final group D game in Euro 2008: in the 88th minute he delivered a pinpoint left-footed cross for Daniel Güiza to head home the 2–1 winner.

García also represented Spain at all youth levels, as well as appearing frequently for the unofficial Catalan national team. On 22 December 2009 he scored the side's first goal in a 4–2 victory against Argentina and, on 30 December 2013, he netted twice in a 4–1 triumph over Cape Verde.

Club statistics

As of 20 March 2015

Club	Season	League			Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Barcelona	2002–03	La Liga	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	0
	2003–04	La Liga	4	0	2	0	1	0	7	0
	Total		4	0	2	0	3	0	9	0
Levante (loan)	2004–05	La Liga	31	7	1	0	—		32	7
Zaragoza	2005–06	La Liga	19	4	6	0	—		25	4
	2006–07	La Liga	33	6	6	2	—		39	8
	2007–08	La Liga	38	4	4	1	2	0	44	5
	Total		90	14	16	3	2	0	108	17
Betis	2008–09	La Liga	28	9	4	1	—		32	10
	2009–10	Segunda División	34	12	1	0	—		35	12
	Total		62	21	5	1	—		67	22
Espanyol	2010–11	La Liga	21	3	4	0	—		25	3
	2011–12	La Liga	24	5	3	2	—		27	7
	2012–13	La Liga	28	7	0	0	—		28	7
	2013–14	La Liga	37	12	4	1	—		41	13
	2014–15	La Liga	25	9	6	1	—		31	14
	Total		135	36	17	4	—		152	40
Career total			322	78	41	8	5	0	368	86

Honours

Spain

• UEFA European Championship: 2008

Spain U19

• UEFA European Under-19 Championship: 2002

Spain U20

• FIFA U-20 World Cup: Runner-up 2003

External links

• Sergio García profile at BDFutbol
• National team data
• García.html Sergio García at National-Football-Teams.com
• Sergio García – FIFA competition record