Óscar Boniek García Ramírez (born 4 September 1984) is a Honduran former 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 lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. Before moving to the United States, García had a successful career in Honduras with Olimpia and Marathón, winning eight league titles. He earned over 130 caps for the Honduras national team and is the fourth most capped player in the country's history and has the fourth most appearances in Houston Dynamo history.

Club career

García made his senior debut on August 10, 2003 with Real Patepluma, losing 4–1 to

Atlético Olanchano Atlético Olanchano was a Honduras, Honduran association football, football club based in Catacamas, Olancho (department), Olancho. The club last played in the Liga Nacional de Ascenso de Honduras, Honduran second division. History Campamento ...

. In 2004, he joined Olimpia of Honduras. He also played for Marathón of Honduras. He also went for a 15-day trial with French club

Paris Saint Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. With 52 major trophies ...

and played two friendly games with the team that toured Portugal to play against

Vitória Guimarães Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

and Benfica. During August 2009, it was announced that he would travel to

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

, who were in England's

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at the time, in order to sign a three-year contract with the club, along with fellow Honduran, Roger Rojas. The contract was not signed and García stayed with Olimpia. On June 7, 2012, García signed with Major League Soccer club

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

to become their 2nd ever Designated Player. He made his Dynamo debut on June 30 in a 2–0 win over the

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

. On July 15, 2012, he scored his first goal in a Dynamo jersey and in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

against D.C. United in the 62nd minute. García's impact was immense, with the Dynamo having a +10 goal differential and a record of 9-4-6 after he joined the team. On August 30, García returned to Olimpia as the Dynamo traveled to Honduras to face his old club in the 2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League. He would play all 90 minutes as Houston earned a 1–1 draw. On November 26, 2012, García was awarded the "Newcomer of the Year" and "Player's Player of the Year" award by the team, despite playing only half of the season. García was also named the MLS Latin Player of the Year, as voted on by fans. He helped the team reach

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

in 2012, where the Dynamo would fall to the

LA Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

3–1. On October 27, 2013, García scored in a 2–1 win over

DC United D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Suppor ...

in a game that clinched the Dynamo's spot in the 2013 MLS Cup Playoffs. He scored again on October 31 in a 3–0 win over the Montreal Impact in the first game of the playoffs. In the second leg of the conference finals, García scored in the 3rd minute to give the Dynamo a 1–0 lead on aggregate. However, Sporting Kansas City would come back and win 2–1. 2014 was a mixed year for García. He got to represent Honduras at the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

, but the Dynamo missed out on a playoff spot by 10 points, in part because the team struggled when García missed games for international duty. However, his volley against the Chicago Fire on September 28 was named the Dynamo's Goal of the Year. The Dynamo would miss out on the playoffs in 2015 and 2016, but García helped lead them to a return in 2017 under new coach Wilmer Cabrera. Although he only made 12 starts on the year, his fewest since joining the Dynamo, García was an important leader in the locker room and on the field. He signed a new contract with Houston on 11 December 2017. 2018 saw García and the Dynamo fail to qualify for the playoffs, however he would make 3 appearances in the

US Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

, including a start in the final, as Houston won the tournament for the first time in club history. The win qualified them for the 2019

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

, returning to the competition for the first time since 2013. García made his first appearance of the season on 26 February, coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 win over C.D. Guastatoya in a Champions League match. He picked up his first assist on 18 May in a 2–1 win over D.C. United. On 29 September, García made his 200th MLS appearance for the Dynamo, becoming the 4th player in club history to reach that milestone. 2019 saw a personal resurgence for García, playing the most minutes of his Dynamo career and bringing energy to the middle of the pitch. However, the Dynamo would miss out on the playoffs once again. On 20 December he signed a one-year contract to remain in Houston. García started the first 5 games of the 2020 season for the Dynamo, however he would only start 2 games the rest of the year, primarily featuring as a substitute. Garcia played in 18 games, 7 of them starts, out of a possible 23 in a shortened 2020 season due to the

COVID-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. It was another poor season for the Dynamo, missing out on the playoffs for the third straight season. His contract was initially not renewed by Houston following their 2020 season. However, a new one-year deal was agreed on 15 February 2021. On 16 April, in the opening match of the 2021 season, the Dynamo defeated the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

2–1, with García playing the full match as a centerback due to injuries to Houston's other centerbacks. He was named to the MLS Team of the Week following the game. García made 16 appearances during the 2021 season, 6 as a centerback, as Houston finished last in the Western Conference for the second consecutive season. On 15 November, Houston Dynamo announced that García will no longer continue on with the club for 2022, choosing to rescind his contract, and enter

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. He left Houston tied for the 3rd most appearances and with the 2nd most assists in team history.

International career

García made his debut for

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

in a July 2005

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and has played at the

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, and

2011 UNCAF Nations Cup The 2011 Copa Centroamericana () was the eleventh edition of Copa Centroamericana (formerly known as the UNCAF Nations Cup), an international football championship for national teams affiliated with the Central American Football Union (UNCAF) of t ...

s as well as at the

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, and

2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 11th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition, and the 21st CONCACAF regional championship overall in CONCACAF's 50 years of existence. The United States was the host nation. The competition started on Jun ...

s. García helped Honduras win the

2011 Copa Centroamericana The 2011 Copa Centroamericana () was the eleventh edition of Copa Centroamericana (formerly known as the UNCAF Nations Cup), an international association football, football championship for national teams affiliated with the Central American Footb ...

finish second at the

2013 Copa Centroamericana The 2013 Copa Centroamericana was the 12th Copa Centroamericana, the regional championship for men's national association football teams in Central America. It was organized by the ''Unión Centroamericana de Fútbol'' or UNCAF, and took place in ...

. He was also a non-playing squad member at the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

in South Africa. He played in all three Group E matches for Honduras at the

in Brazil including against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

when he came on as a substitute. García earned his 100th cap for Honduras on 4 September 2015 in a 3–0 win against

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. As of 2017, García had the 4th most caps for Honduras with 125 caps. He returned to play for the national team in a friendly match against

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

on 15 November 2020, after three years of absence.

Personal life

He was given the middle name ''Boniek'' in honour of

Zbigniew Boniek Zbigniew Kazimierz Boniek (; born 3 March 1956) is a Polish former association football, footballer and manager as well as a current UEFA vice-president. A former midfielder, who was also capable of playing mostly as a right winger and Forward ( ...

, the famous Polish international footballer. García's father was a professional footballer for Olimpia. He chose to have the name "Boniek" written across the back of his shirt while playing for Houston. He and his wife Ivania Reyes have a daughter and twin sons. Every offseason, García returns home to do charitable work in

. First inspired by former Honduran international

Víctor Bernárdez Víctor Salvador Bernárdez Blanco (; born 24 May 1982), also known as Muma, is a Honduran former Association football, footballer who most recently played as a Defender (association football), defender for Oakland Roots SC. Early life Bern ...

, he collected toys for children dealing with cancer. He has also donated school supplies and clothes to underprivileged children in Honduras, as well as doing charitable work in the

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

area throughout the year. Following

Hurricane Eta Hurricane Eta was a deadly and erratic tropical cyclone that devastated parts of Central America in early November 2020. The record-tying twenty-eighth named storm, thirteenth hurricane, and sixth major hurricane of the extremely active 2020 A ...

hitting Honduras in 2020, he and fellow Honduran international footballers worked to raise money for those affected by the storm. García holds a U.S. green card which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS team purposes.

Coaching career

Was the head coach for Lutheran South Academy's Junior Varsity team for the 2023 season.

Career statistics

Club

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year

Goals

:''Scores and results list Honduras' goal tally first.''

Honours

Olimpia *

Liga Profesional de Honduras Liga (Spanish and Portuguese: ''League'') or LIGA may refer to: Sports Basketball * Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain * Liga Femenina de Baloncesto, women's professional basketball league in Spain Football Latin Ameri ...

(8): 2004–05 C, 2005–06 A, 2005–06 C, 2007–08 C, 2008–09 C, 2009–10 C, 2011–12 A, 2011–12 C Houston Dynamo * US Open Cup (1):

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

MLS Eastern Conference The Eastern Conference () is one of Major League Soccer's two conferences, along with the Western Conference. The division of the conferences broadly follows the path of the Mississippi River from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, with c ...

(1):

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Honduras *

Copa Centroamericana The Copa Centroamericana () was an association football competition organized by UNCAF as its top regional tournament for men's senior national teams from Central America. The tournament was held from 1991 to 2017, every two years in the years be ...

(1):

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Individual * Dynamo Newcomer of the Year:

*Dynamo Player's Player of the Year:

* MLS Latin Player of the Year (Latino del Año):

* Dynamo Goal of the Year:

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Boniek 1984 births Living people Footballers from Tegucigalpa Honduran men's footballers 21st-century Honduran sportsmen Men's association football wingers C.D. Olimpia players C.D. Marathón players Houston Dynamo FC players Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional de Honduras players Major League Soccer players Designated Players (MLS) Honduras men's international footballers 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup players FIFA Men's Century Club Garifuna people Honduran expatriate men's footballers Honduran expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States