Pablo García (footballer, Born 1977)
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Pablo Gabriel García Pérez (; born 11 May 1977) is a
Uruguayan Uruguayans () are people identified with the country of Uruguay, through citizenship or descent. Uruguay is home to people of different ethnic origins. As a result, many Uruguayans do not equate their nationality with ethnicity, but with citizen ...
professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
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 ...
and former player who played as a
defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...
. He is the manager of
Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...
club APOEL. A player of physical approach to the game (which earned him a reputation for being a dirty player), his nickname is ''Canario'' ( canary), referring to his birthplace. He spent most of his professional career in
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 ...
, making 135 appearances in six years in representation of four teams, but also played several seasons in Greece with
PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...
. A Uruguayan international over one decade, García appeared for the nation at the
2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
and two
Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...
tournaments.


Club career


Early career

Born in Pando,
Canelones Department The Departamento de Canelones (; ) is one of the 19 Uruguayan departments. With an area of and 608,956 inhabitants at the 2023 Census, it is located in the south of Uruguay. Its capital is Canelones. Ciudad de la Costa is the largest city by ...
, García started his career in
Montevideo Wanderers Montevideo Wanderers Fútbol Club, usually known simply as Wanderers, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club are currently members of the Primera División and play at the Estadio Viera. Beside football, the cl ...
. After a six-month spell at
Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (), more commonly referred to as Peñarol, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club currently competes in the Uruguayan Primera División, the highest tier in Uruguayan football. The nam ...
, he signed for
Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...
, but would never make it past their reserves, being transferred to Italian giants
AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...
two years later. After just five
Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
appearances during the 2000–01 season, García was loaned to fellow top-division club
Venezia Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
in January 2002. In spite of their relegation, he had overall good performances.


Spain

Moving to
Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Pamplona, Navarre. It was founded on 24 October 1920 and plays in La Liga, the top division of Spanish ...
for the 2002–03 campaign, García played intense football throughout three seasons in
Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...
. In his first match, a 2–2
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 ...
draw at
Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...
on 1 September 2002, he collected a
booking Booking may refer to: * Making an appointment for a meeting or gathering, as part of event planning/ scheduling * The intake or admission process into a prison or psychiatric facility. * ''Booking'' (manhwa), a Korean comics anthology magazine ...
and scored the match's final goal. In the final of the 2005
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 ...
, García, already an essential midfield element for Osasuna, received a straight
red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or di ...
after a dangerous challenge on
Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...
'
Joaquín Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish version of Joachim. Given name * Joaquín (footballer, born 1956) (Joaquín Alonso González), Spanish football midfielder * Joaquín (footballer, born 1981) (Joaquín Sánchez Rodríguez) ...
, in an eventual 2–1
extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...
loss. However, he had already caught the eye of
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 ...
which signed the player to a three-year contract, with compatriot Carlos Diogo also being purchased. Having totalled 17 yellow (season-most) and one red cards during 2004–05 (the Cup final notwithstanding), García made his Real Madrid official debut on 10 September 2005, playing 11 minutes in a 2–3 home defeat to
Celta CELTA is an initial teacher training qualification for teaching English as a second or foreign language (ESL and EFL). It is provided by Cambridge Assessment English through authorised Cambridge English Teaching Qualification centres and can be ...
. Eventually, he won the battle for the team's first-choice holding midfielder over
Thomas Gravesen Thomas Gravesen (; born 11 March 1976) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Gravesen played as a professional in Denmark, Germany, England, Spain and Scotland for Vejle Boldklub, Hamburger SV, Everton, Real Mad ...
, although none were an undisputed starter. García helped Madrid to a runner-up place in the 2005–06 season, but was deemed surplus to requirements by new manager
Fabio Capello Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional association football, football manager (association football), manager and player. As a player, Capello represented SPAL, AS Roma, Roma, AC Milan and Juventus FC, Juventus. H ...
and, on 29 August 2006, he agreed to a one-year loan at Celta. After an uneventful personal campaign where he was injured for most of the year and was also relegated, he returned to the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (, ) is a retractable roof association football, football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a seating capacity of around 83,000 following its extensive renovation completed in late 2024, the stadium has the second-largest ...
in July 2007 to be loaned immediately again, this time to newly promoted
Real Murcia 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 ...
.


PAOK

Following another relegation, García was released by Real Madrid on 10 July 2008, and joined
PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...
later that month. He quickly became a fan favorite for his tenacity, being shown three red cards in his first six games and also starring in an incident with
Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...
player Diogo; after being hit in the face by Diogo's elbow in a confrontation during a set piece, García retaliated with a punch to the Brazilian's abdomen; both actions, surprisingly, eluded the referee's attention, but the Uruguayan eventually received a three-match ban. García's second season was much better overall, as PAOK only conceded 16 goals in 30 matches, finishing second in the table, with him forming a stable midfield partnership with Spaniard Vitolo. On 21 February 2010, he scored in a 2–1 home win over against Panathinaikos, shortening the gap to that opposition to two points. Additionally, he renewed his link until 2012, even agreeing to a reduction in his salary in line with the club's stagnant finances. On 23 May 2012, it was announced that the 35-year-old García renewed his contract for one more year. On 20 March of the following year, he was released by mutual consent after falling out with coach Giorgos Donis. García returned to PAOK on 4 June 2013 at the request of major shareholder Ivan Savvidis, on a one-year deal. In the following winter
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 ...
, however, he left for fellow
Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...
side
Skoda Xanthi Xanthi Football Club () is a Greek Association football, football club based in Xanthi, Western Thrace. They play their home matches at Skoda Xanthi Arena Founded in 1967, Xanthi is well set up in terms of their financial support and youth set ...
, retiring after a couple of months at the age of 37 and settling in
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
.


International career

A full Uruguayan international since 13 December 1997, in a King Fahd Cup match against
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 ...
, García quickly developed into a mainstay for the national team, going on to earn a total of 66
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 ...
. He played all 270 minutes in the country's participation in the
2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
, but was not able to help
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for the 2006 edition after losing a
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 ...
to
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
on 16 November 2005. García scored a powerful finesse shot from outside the box 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 ...
in the
2007 Copa América The 2007 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, known simply as the 2007 Copa América or 2007 Copa América Venezuela, was the 42nd edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The c ...
quarter-finals, but also missed a decisive penalty against
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
in the next round.


Coaching career

On 24 May 2015, García returned to PAOK in an unspecified position. The following month, the club's sporting director
Frank Arnesen Frank Arnesen (born 30 September 1956) is a former Danish footballer and sporting director at Dutch football club Feyenoord. Arnesen was the director of football at English football clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, and was sporting directo ...
announced that the former would start his managerial career as an
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in the under-17 team. García was undefeated for 78 matches during his spell at the helm of the under-19 side, winning three national championships in the process. On 30 October 2020, he was appointed coach of the main squad following the dismissal of Abel Ferreira, taking them from sixth place to a final runner-up position 26 points behind champions Olympiacos. The following 22 May, he won the domestic cup with a 2–1 victory against the same opposition in the final; he was fired shortly after, however, being offered a position at the reserves. In summer 2023, García was appointed at
Panserraikos Panserraikos Football Club (), the ''All-Serres Football Club'', is a Greece, Greek Association football, football club based in Serres in Central Macedonia, Greece. Panserraikos is one of the most important and well-supported clubs in northern G ...
also from the Greek top tier. In the cup quarter-finals, they were eliminated by PAOK 9–0 on aggregate. On 11 May 2024, García announced he was leaving the club. Later that month, he became the manager of Atromitos in the same league after signing a one-year contract.


Managerial statistics


Honours


Player

Osasuna *
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 ...
runner-up: 2004–05 International *
FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...
runner-up:
1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...
*
Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...
runner-up:
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
Individual * PAOK MVP of the Season: 2011–12


Manager

PAOK *
Greek Football Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...
:
2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...


Notes


References


External links

*
Stats at Lega Serie A

Stats at Superleague GreeceNational team data
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Pablo 1977 births Living people People from Pando, Uruguay Uruguayan people of Spanish descent Uruguayan men's footballers Footballers from Canelones Department Men's association football midfielders Uruguayan Primera División players Montevideo Wanderers F.C. players Peñarol players La Liga players Segunda División players Atlético Madrid B players Real Valladolid players Atlético Madrid footballers CA Osasuna players Real Madrid CF players RC Celta de Vigo players Real Murcia CF players Serie A players AC Milan players Venezia FC players Super League Greece players PAOK FC players Xanthi F.C. players Uruguay men's under-20 international footballers Uruguay men's international footballers 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup players 1999 Copa América players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2007 Copa América players Uruguayan expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Spain Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Italy Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Greece Uruguayan football managers Super League Greece managers PAOK FC managers Panserraikos F.C. managers Atromitos F.C. managers Uruguayan expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Greece PAOK FC non-playing staff