Dani García (footballer, born 1974)

Daniel 'Dani' García Lara (born 22 December 1974) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is García and the second or maternal family name is Lara.

Dani García
Personal information
Full name Daniel García Lara
Date of birth (1974-12-22) 22 December 1974
Place of birth Cerdanyola, Spain
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1985–1987 Masflorit Cerdanyola
1987–1990 Damm
1990–1993 Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1995 Real Madrid B 71 (20)
1994–1998 Real Madrid 10 (0)
1995–1997 → Zaragoza (loan) 71 (8)
1998–1999 Mallorca 36 (12)
1999–2003 Barcelona 50 (12)
2004 Zaragoza 15 (3)
2004–2005 Espanyol 26 (5)
2005–2007 Olympiacos 19 (2)
2007 Denizlispor 11 (4)
2007–2008 Rayo Majadahonda 31 (8)
Total 340 (74)
International career
1991 Spain U16 4 (2)
1991 Spain U17 5 (2)
1993 Spain U18 7 (2)
1994–1996 Spain U21 14 (6)
1996–1997 Spain U23 7 (0)
1998–2000 Spain 5 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

During his professional career he played for five teams in his country, also having short spells in Greece and Turkey. Having represented both Real Madrid and Barcelona, he amassed La Liga totals of 208 matches and 40 goals over 12 seasons.

Club career

Born in Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Catalonia, García was a graduate of Real Madrid's youth system. He received his first-team debut on 5 February 1994, in a 2–0 home win over Deportivo de La Coruña;[1] he played another match in the 1994–95 campaign, while still registered with the reserves.

García then spent two years on loan at Real Zaragoza, featuring prominently but without scoring much after which he returned to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. After a season with only eight appearances he was sold to fellow La Liga club RCD Mallorca, being the Balearic Islands team's top scorer in 1998–99 as they achieved a first-ever qualification to the UEFA Champions League;[2] he also helped them reach the 1999 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final, where he scored to tie the game at 1–1 in an eventual 2–1 loss to S.S. Lazio.[3]

Subsequently, García signed for FC Barcelona. In his first year he managed to score 11 La Liga goals (third-best in the squad) without being an undisputed starter,[4] but subsequent loss of form and injuries limited him to nine league games between 2001 and 2003;[5][6][7] on 18 April 2000 he scored a crucial goal at the Camp Nou, to help to the Champions League semi-finals: trailing 4–3 on aggregate to Chelsea, he found the net with seven minutes left to send the tie to extra time, where his side scored a further two to progress.[8]

After spending the first months of the 2003–04 season unregistered and training on his own, García returned to Zaragoza in January 2004,[9] helping the Aragonese escape the relegation zone and win the 2004 edition of the Copa del Rey, netting against former club Real Madrid in an extra time victory in Barcelona.[10] During his second stint at La Romareda, he played with David Villa.[11]

After one season with RCD Espanyol, García switched to Greece's Olympiacos F.C. where he teamed up with former Barça teammate Rivaldo[12] and then Turkish side Denizlispor. In July 2007 he returned to Madrid to settle with his family, and played for a few months with amateurs CF Rayo Majadahonda of Tercera División;[13] he retired from football after a handful of games, then rejoined Real Madrid after joining its indoor soccer team.[14]

International career

García made his Spain national team debut against Italy in an 18 November 1998 friendly match in Salerno (2–2),[15] and represented the country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.

Previously, he helped the under-17s win the UEFA European Championship (then under-16) in 1991, and finish runner-up at the FIFA World Cup in the same year.

International goals
Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each García goal.
List of international goals scored by Dani García
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
15 May 1999La Cartuja, Seville, Spain Croatia3–13–1Friendly[16]

Honours

Real Madrid

Mallorca

Barcelona

Zaragoza

Olympiacos

Spain U16

Spain U17

References
  1. Aisa, Josep A. (6 February 1994). "El Depor no pasa su gran reválida" [Depor fail in their big test]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  2. Busquets, Damià (20 May 2009). "Biografía de Dani García Lara" [Dani García Lara biography] (in Spanish). RCDM. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  3. Segurola, Santiago (20 May 1999). "El Mallorca pierde con orgullo" [Mallorca lose proudly]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  4. Carbonell, Rafael (23 August 1999). "Nano debuta en la Liga y Dani se estrena con un gol" [Nano makes League debut and Dani has scoring debut]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  5. "Dani's World Cup hopes dashed". UEFA. 23 January 2002. Retrieved 26 February 2009.
  6. "Barça suffer Dani blow". UEFA. 13 September 2002. Retrieved 26 February 2009.
  7. "Dani adds to Barça injury woe". UEFA. 3 March 2003. Retrieved 26 February 2009.
  8. "Chelsea's European dream shattered". BBC Sport. 18 April 2000. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  9. "Dani allowed to go by Barça". UEFA. 30 January 2004. Retrieved 26 February 2009.
  10. "Beckham misses out on Cup". BBC Sport. 17 March 2004. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  11. Artús, José Luis (17 March 2020). "Se cumplen 16 años del 'Galacticidio'" [16th anniversary of the 'Galacticide']. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  12. "Olimpiacos complete Dani deal". UEFA. 11 August 2005. Retrieved 26 February 2009.
  13. Del Mar, Julia (15 August 2007). "Dani pasa de la Champions al Majadahonda" [Dani goes from Champions to Majadahonda]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 September 2008.
  14. "El poco 'fair play' de Dani García favorece al Madrid" [Dani García's little fair play favours Real Madrid]. Sport (in Spanish). 9 March 2008. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  15. Gascón, Javier (19 November 1998). "Notable alto" [B Plus]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  16. "España vence a Croacia en la inauguración del Estadio Olímpico de Sevilla" [Spain defeat Croatia in opening of Sevilla Olympic Stadium]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 6 May 1999. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
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