Raúl García Escudero (; born 11 July 1986) is a Spanish professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who plays for
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
club
Athletic Bilbao mainly as an
attacking midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
or
second striker
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
.
Formed at
Osasuna
Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El ...
, he spent most of his career at
Atlético Madrid, scoring 46 goals in 329 games across all competitions over eight seasons and winning six major titles, including the
2014 national championship and the
2010 Europa League. In 2015 he signed with Athletic Bilbao, going on to have an equally lengthy spell and win the
2020–21 Supercopa de España
The 2020–21 Supercopa de España was the 37th edition of the Supercopa de España, an annual football competition for clubs in the Spanish football league system that were successful in its major competitions in the preceding season.
It was th ...
.
García played twice with
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, making his debut in 2014.
Club career
Osasuna
Born in
Pamplona
Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region.
Lying at near above ...
, García played for hometown's
CA Osasuna
Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El S ...
during his first years as a professional. On 24 October 2004, he made his debut for the first team in a 3–0 away defeat against
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.
Found ...
, with his first chance being offered by Mexican coach
Javier Aguirre
Javier Aguirre Onaindía (; born 1 December 1958), nicknamed ''El Vasco'' (The Basque), is a Mexican former professional footballer and manager who is currently in charge of Spanish team RCD Mallorca.
Aguirre played for Mexico at the 1986 Wo ...
.
García scored five league goals (the first on 26 October 2005 in a 3–2 home win over
Athletic Bilbao) in
his first full season as the
Navarrese finished in fourth place in
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
, starting in 28 of his 33 appearances at the age of just 19.
Atlético Madrid
In July 2007, after helping Osasuna to
the semi-finals of the
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
with one goal in 12 games, García signed a five-year contract with
Atlético Madrid, reuniting with former boss Aguirre upon the
€
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...
13 million deal.
In January 2010, García lost his starting position to newly signed
Tiago Mendes
Tiago Cardoso Mendes (; born 2 May 1981), known simply as Tiago, is a Portuguese football manager and former player who played as a midfielder.
He played professionally in five of Europe's major leagues, Portugal, England, France, Italy and S ...
, who had arrived on loan from
Juventus FC
)''I Bianconeri'' (The White and Blacks)''Le Zebre'' (The Zebras)''La Signora Omicidi'' (The Killer Lady)''La Gheuba'' (: The Hunchback)
, founded = as Sport-Club Juventus
, ground = Juventus Stadium
, capacity = 41,507
, owner = Agnell ...
. However, he started the
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
* Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
against
Fulham, as the Portuguese was
cup-tied
In association football, a player who has appeared for a football club during a knockout cup but subsequently transfers to another club is ineligible to play for the new club in the remainder of that season's cup competition. Such a player is said ...
, playing the full 90 minutes and
extra time in the 2–1 victory for the first honour of his career; additionally, he appeared in the second half of the
Copa del Rey
The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...
's decider against
Sevilla FC
Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football's top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA E ...
, a
2–0 loss.
On 27 August 2010, García featured the entire match in the
UEFA Super Cup
The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...
against
Inter Milan
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is ...
, giving away a
penalty kick
A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
in the last minute for a foul on
Goran Pandev
Goran Pandev ( mk, Горан Пандев, ; born 27 July 1983) is a Macedonian former professional footballer who played as a forward.
After establishing himself at Lazio, Pandev moved to Inter Milan in early 2010. While playing for the ''Ne ...
; the shot was however saved by
David de Gea
David de Gea Quintana (born 7 November 1990) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Manchester United. During the mid-2010s, he was widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
Born in Madrid ...
, and the ''Colchoneros''
won it 2–0. Again, he played significantly less minutes than Tiago, but still managed to collect 29 league appearances as Atlético finally
qualified to the Europa League, and netted his only goal of
the season in a 2–1 home loss to eventual champions Barcelona, heading in from a
corner kick
A corner kick is the method of restarting play in a game of association football when the ball goes out of play over the goal line, without a goal being scored and having last been touched by a member of the defending team. The kick is take ...
.
After renewing his contract for a further three years, García was loaned to former club Osasuna for
2011–12, where he began to appear more prominently as an
attacking midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
.
He scored 11 goals during the campaign, including twice against
RCD Mallorca – both through headers from corners by
Álvaro Cejudo
Álvaro Cejudo Carmona (; born 29 January 1984) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played mainly as a right winger.
Formed at Betis, he amassed La Liga totals of 156 matches and 12 goals over six seasons, with that club and Osa ...
(2–2)– and one in a defeat of Barcelona (3–2), finishing as team top scorer with four more goals than
Ibrahima Baldé Ibrahima Baldé may refer to:
* Ibrahima Baldé (footballer, born 1989), Senegalese football forward for Boluspor
* Ibrahima Baldé (footballer, born 2003), French football forward for Annecy
See also
* Ibraima Baldé (born 1986), Bissau-Gu ...
.
On 9 April 2014, after playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
home defeat of Barcelona that
qualified Atlético Madrid to the semi-finals for the first time in 40 years, García became the club's most capped player in the competition with 22 appearances, surpassing
Luis Aragonés
Luis Aragonés Suárez (; 28 July 1938 – 1 February 2014) was a Spanish football player and manager.
Aragonés spent the majority of his career as a player and coach at Atlético Madrid. He was a prominent player and then coach of the succe ...
. On 19 August he scored a
88th-minute 1–1 equaliser against
Real Madrid at the
Santiago Bernabéu for the
Supercopa de España, as his team went on to
win the trophy 2–1 on aggregate and conquer it for the second time in their history.
Athletic Bilbao
On 31 August 2015, after a transfer request, García signed a four-year contract with
Athletic Bilbao which included a release clause of €40 million. He scored in his first appearance, helping to a 3–1 home victory over
Getafe CF where he featured 79 minutes.
García made his 100th appearance for the club in October 2017. In late May 2018, after he had scored ten league goals in each of his first two seasons, he and Athletic agreed on a contract extension running to June 2020.
On 20 July 2019, the 33-year-old García agreed to a one-year extension at the
San Mamés Stadium until June 2021, with no release clause. He scored a career-best 15 goals
that campaign (seven penalties) – entering the league's record books after becoming the first player to find the net in every month of a calendar year – but his team could only finish 11th.
García became only the 11th player in La Liga history to reach 500 games in the competition on 31 December 2020, in a 1–0 home
Basque derby
The Basque derby (in Basque ''Euskal Derbia'', in Spanish ''derbi Vasco'') is the name of the football local derby between Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao. It embodies the inter-city rivalry between Bilbao and Donostia-San Sebastián, capita ...
loss to
Real Sociedad.
International career
From 2006 to 2009, García played with
Spain under-21s, earning a total of 20
caps
Caps are flat headgear.
Caps or CAPS may also refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters
* Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...
in the category and representing the nation at the
2009 UEFA European Championship, in a group stage exit. He also appeared for the
under-19 team.
On 29 August 2014, aged 28, García was named by
full side manager
Vicente del Bosque
Vicente del Bosque González, 1st Marquess of Del Bosque (; born 23 December 1950) is a Spanish retired football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time and is to date the only football manager to ha ...
in a 23-man squad for matches against
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
and
Macedonia in September. He made his debut on 4 September, starting and playing 58 minutes in a 1–0
friendly loss to the former.
In 2004 and 2005, García played in representative matches for both
Navarre and the
Basque Country.
Style of play
García was known for scoring
from the bench and having good aerial ability.
[ A competent penalty taker, he was also often deployed as a false 9 due to his movements off the ball.
]
Career statistics
Club
Honours
Atlético Madrid
*La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
: 2013–14
*Copa del Rey
The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...
: 2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
; runner-up 2009–10
* Supercopa de España: 2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
; runner-up 2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
*UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
: 2009–10
*UEFA Super Cup
The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...
: 2010, 2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
*UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
runner-up: 2013–14
Athletic Bilbao
*Supercopa de España: 2020–21
*Copa del Rey runner-up: 2019–20, 2020–21
See also
* List of Atlético Madrid players (+100)
*List of Athletic Bilbao players
Athletic Bilbao is an association football club based in Bilbao, in Biscay in the Basque Country of Spain. The club was a founder member of the Spanish league, better known as La Liga, in 1928, and has won the league championship eight times. ...
(+200 appearances)
* List of La Liga players (400+ appearances)
Notes
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Raul
1986 births
Living people
Spanish footballers
Footballers from Pamplona
Association football midfielders
Association football forwards
La Liga players
Segunda División B players
CA Osasuna B players
CA Osasuna players
Atlético Madrid footballers
Athletic Bilbao footballers
UEFA Europa League winning players
Spain youth international footballers
Spain under-21 international footballers
Spain international footballers
Basque Country international footballers