Luis García Fernández (; born 6 February 1981) is a Spanish 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 ...

, currently

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

club

Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital city of the Canary Islands (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and the m ...

. Mainly a striker, he could also operate as a winger. Over nine seasons, he amassed

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

totals of 329 matches and 73 goals, mainly with

Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spa ...

with whom he won one

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

and reached the

2007 UEFA Cup final The 2007 UEFA Cup Final was a football match that took place on 16 May 2007 at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland. In an all-Spanish final, holders Sevilla FC, Sevilla defeated RCD Espanyol, Espanyol 3–1 on Penalty shoot-out (association footbal ...

. He also spent five in years in Belgium at the service of

Eupen Eupen (, , ; ; ; former ) is the capital of German-speaking Community of Belgium and is a city and municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Belgium, Belgian Liège Province, province of Liège, from the Germany, German border (Aachen ...

. García earned seven

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 Java ...

for

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in the late 2000s. He worked as a

after retiring, notably being in charge of Espanyol and the Qatar national team.

Club career

Real Madrid

García was born in

Oviedo Oviedo () or Uviéu (Asturian language, Asturian: ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains th ...

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

. After representing three clubs as a youth he began his senior career with his last one,

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, first appearing with its C team then progressing in 2001 to

Castilla Castile, Castille or Castilla may refer to: Places Spain *Castile (historical region), a vaguely defined historical region of Spain covering most of Castile and León, all of the Community of Madrid and most of Castilla–La Mancha *Kingdom of ...

in the

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

. On 8 January 2003, García played his only official game for the main squad, as a late substitute for

Esteban Cambiasso Esteban Matías Cambiasso Deleau (; born 18 August 1980), nicknamed ''"Cuchu"'', is an Argentine former professional association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. During his career, Cambiasso won 21 official titles, the majority ...

in the 3–3 draw away to

Terrassa FC Terrassa Futbol Club is a Spanish football team based in Terrassa, Barcelona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1906, it currently plays in , holding home matches at '' Estadi Olímpic de Terrassa'', with a capacity of 7,500 sp ...

in the

round of 16 A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

of the

Murcia

Released by Madrid in 2003, García joined

Real Murcia CF Real Murcia Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., commonly known as Real Murcia (, "Royal Murcia"), is a Spanish football club based in Murcia, in the Región de Murcia. Founded in 1919, it currently plays in , playing home matches at Estadio Nueva Condo ...

, making his

debut on 31 August and scoring a

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

in a 1–1 away draw against

RC Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), the club was fou ...

. He finished his first season with 11 goals and appeared in all the matches, although the side would be relegated; on 16 May 2004, he netted twice in a 2–1 fruitless home win over his former employers.

Espanyol

The following season, García produced similar numbers at

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (, , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or RCD Mallorca, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Palma de Mallorca, ...

, who barely avoided relegation after ranking 17th and, in summer 2005, signed a five-year contract with

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spa ...

, playing competitive 48 games in his debut campaign and adding 15 goals, including a brace in the 2006 Spanish Cup final, a 4–1 defeat of

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

. In the ensuing summer, he extended his link until 2012. Luisgarcia

García, forming a formidable attacking partnership at the

Catalans Catalans ( Catalan, French and Occitan: ''catalans''; ; ; or ) are a Romance ethnic group native to Catalonia, who speak Catalan. The current official category of "Catalans" is that of the citizens of Catalonia, a nationality and autono ...

with youth graduate

Raúl Tamudo Raúl Tamudo Montero (born 19 October 1977) is a Spanish retired 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 footbal ...

(the pair combined for 68 league goals from 2005 to 2008), contributed five goals during their 2006–07 runner-up run in the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

, including a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in a 23 November 2006 group stage 6–2 home win against

S.V. Zulte Waregem Sportvereniging Zulte Waregem (), commonly known as Zulte Waregem or by their nickname Essevee (), is a Belgian professional association football, football club based in Waregem, West Flanders. The club set to play in Belgian Pro League from 2025� ...

. However, in the May final, he missed his

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

attempt in a final loss to fellow Spaniards

Sevilla FC Sevilla Fútbol Club () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, that competes in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. The club was formed on 25 January ...

. García was an everpresent figure for Espanyol until the end of his tenure, never making less than 36 appearances and scoring an average of seven goals, 13 alone in 2007–08. After the arrival in January 2010 of Argentine

Dani Osvaldo Pablo Daniel "Dani" Osvaldo (; born 12 January 1986) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born and raised in Argentina, Osvaldo represented the Italy national team internationally. Osvaldo began his career at Huracán ...

, he operated almost exclusively as a winger.

Zaragoza

On 31 August 2011 – the last day of the summer

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

– the 30-year-old García moved to Zaragoza on a three-year deal. On 18 September, he scored twice against his former team and also missed 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 a 2–1 home victory. He would, however, only manage two in the other 33 fixtures of the season he appeared in (2,297 minutes of action), with the

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

ese again narrowly avoiding top-flight relegation. García arrived to

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

on 5 July 2012 accompanied by his agent, to kickstart negotiations with

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

side

Tigres UANL Club Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, abbreviated as Tigres UANL and simply known as Tigres or internationally as Tigres de México, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in the Monterrey metropo ...

. On 15 September, he scored twice against

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S.A. de C.V., commonly referred to as Cruz Azul, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football league system, Mexican footba ...

for a 2–0 win at the Estadio Universitario and, in two games in March of the following year, contributed one goal each in 2–1 wins over

San Luis F.C. San Luis Fútbol Club was a Mexican professional Association football, football club from the city of San Luis Potosí (city), San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí. The club was founded in 1957, when they were known as Santos (saints). The team's nic ...

and

Puebla FC Club Puebla is a Mexican professional football club based in Puebla. It competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 1944 as Puebla Fútbol Club, and then changed to its current name in 2016. Nicknamed ''La Franja'' (" ...

Eupen

In July 2014, García signed a two-year contract with

Belgian Second Division The Belgian Second Division was the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was founded by the Royal Belgian Football Association in 1909 and folded in 2016, when it was replace ...

team

K.A.S. Eupen K.A.S. Eupen (short for Königliche Allgemeine Sportvereinigung Eupen, English: ''Royal General Sports Association Eupen'', simply referred to as Eupen) is a Belgian professional association football club located in Eupen, Liège (province), Prov ...

, joining a host of compatriots including manager

Tintín Márquez Bartolomé "Tintín" Márquez López (born 7 January 1962) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, currently a manager. His career was closely associated to Espanyol, as both a player and coach. Pl ...

. He became

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the

Kehrwegstadion The Kehrwegstadion is a multi-purpose stadium in Eupen, Belgium. It is mainly used for association football, football matches and hosts the home matches of K.A.S. Eupen of the Belgian First Division. The stadium has a capacity of 8,363 < ...

club, and signed for two more years after their promotion in June 2016. García was a key player over three Pro League seasons until his retirement in April 2019. The previous 28 October, he scored to open a 2–1 home win over

R.S.C. Anderlecht Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht, commonly abbreviated to RSC Anderlecht (, , ) or RSCA (, , ), is a Belgian professional football club based in Anderlecht, Brussels Capital-Region. Anderlecht plays in the Belgian First Division A and is the mos ...

International career

After a remarkable 2006–07 with Espanyol, García got his first callup for

, under manager

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 succes ...

, appearing in an

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...

qualifier against

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

on 2 June 2007.

Coaching career

Immediately after retiring, García began working as a coach, being in charge of

CF Damm Club de Futbol Damm is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Barcelona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1954, it is dedicated to youth football. Their ''Juvenil A'' squad play in the Group III of t ...

's youths. In August 2022, after Real Madrid acquired

RSC Internacional FC RSC Internacional Fútbol Club, was a Spanish football club based in Madrid, in the autonomous community of Madrid. Founded in 1973, it was the second reserve team of Real Madrid CF for the 2022–23 season. History Founded in 1973 as Club Depo ...

who became their third team, he was appointed manager. García moved straight to the top tier on 3 April 2023, taking over another club he represented as a player, Espanyol. On his debut five days later, the team lost 2–1 at home to

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

. They were relegated as 19th, thus returning to

after two years. They started the following season strongly, winning four of their first five matches; however, after just three wins in the following nine fixtures, he was dismissed. In December 2023, García joined the Qatar national side as Márquez's assistant. One year later, after a series of poor performances during the

2026 FIFA World Cup The 2026 FIFA World Cup, marketed as FIFA World Cup 26, will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's Association football, soccer championship contested by the List of men's n ...

qualifying campaign, mainly a 5–0 away loss against the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

, he took over from the latter. García himself was sacked on 30 April 2025, following a disappointing campaign in the

26th Arabian Gulf Cup The 26th Arabian Gulf Cup, known as Khaleeji Zain 26 for sponsorship reasons, was the 26th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup for the eight members of the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation. The tournament was held in Kuwait from 21 December 2024 to 4 ...

and the World Cup qualifiers, finishing bottom of the group in the former tournament. He was replaced by another Spaniard,

Julen Lopetegui Julen Lopetegui Argote (; born 28 August 1966) is a Spanish professional football manager and former footballer. He is the current manager of the Qatar national team. A goalkeeper, he played 149 La Liga matches over nine seasons, representing ...

. On 7 June 2025, García agreed to a one-year contract at

UD Las Palmas Unión Deportiva Las Palmas S.A.D. is a professional association football, football club based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. The club will compete in Segunda División, the 2nd division in the Spanish football league syst ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

Espanyol *

: 2005–06 *

runner-up: 2006–07

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Luis 1981 births Living people 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Oviedo Men's association football forwards La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Real Madrid C footballers Real Madrid Castilla footballers Real Madrid CF players Real Murcia CF players RCD Mallorca players RCD Espanyol footballers Real Zaragoza players Liga MX players Tigres UANL footballers Belgian Pro League players Challenger Pro League players K.A.S. Eupen players Spain men's international footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Spanish football managers La Liga managers Segunda División managers Tercera Federación managers RCD Espanyol managers UD Las Palmas managers Qatar national football team managers Spanish expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Qatar Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Qatar