Jesús García Sanjuán

Jesús García Sanjuán (born 22 August 1971) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played mostly as a central midfielder.

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

Jesús García Sanjuán
Personal information
Full name Jesús García Sanjuán
Date of birth (1971-08-22) 22 August 1971
Place of birth Zaragoza, Spain
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Zaragoza
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1991 Zaragoza B 31 (1)
1991–1998 Zaragoza 180 (5)
1997 → Wolves (loan) 4 (0)
1998–1999 Villarreal 22 (0)
1999–2000 Córdoba 26 (0)
2000–2001 Airdrieonians 22 (5)
2001–2003 Kilmarnock 31 (0)
Total 316 (11)
International career
1989 Spain U18 5 (0)
1991 Spain U19 3 (0)
1992–1994 Spain U21 13 (0)
1991–1992 Spain U23 7 (1)
1998–2002 Aragon 2 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Best known for his spell with Real Zaragoza, he helped it win the 1995 Cup Winners' Cup, then finished his professional career in Scotland where he represented two clubs.

Club career

Zaragoza

A youth product of Real Zaragoza, Sanjuán was born in Zaragoza, and made his debut for the first team on 24 April 1991 in a 0–1 away loss against Sporting de Gijón. Almost never an undisputed starter for the Aragonese, he featured heavily during his seven-and-a-half professional seasons with the club, most notably amassing totals of 93 games and four goals in La Liga from 1991 to 1994.

The peak of Sanjuán's time with Zaragoza was winning the 1995 Cup Winners' Cup, in a 2–1 extra time win over Arsenal in Paris – he played 36 minutes in the final, as a substitute.[1][2] The previous campaign, he had won the Copa del Rey with the side, beating Celta de Vigo on penalties and also featuring from the bench.[3]

Sanjuán had a brief loan spell at English First Division team Wolverhampton Wanderers during autumn 1997, making four league appearances. He also featured three times in that season's Football League Cup, scoring the winning goal at Fulham.

Being definitely released by Zaragoza in June 1998, Sanjuán also played in Spain with Villarreal CF and Córdoba CF. With the former, he faced top level relegation after losing the play-offs to Sevilla FC.

Scotland

Sanjuán returned to the United Kingdom in 2000, with Scotland's Airdrieonians, as one of a series of Spanish players recruited by manager Steve Archibald. After eight months, amid spiralling financial problems, the club sold him to Kilmarnock[4] where he played two Scottish Premier League seasons, now mostly in a sweeper position, before retiring in 2003; he scored his only goal for the latter in a 3–0 win over the former for the Scottish Cup, on 5 January 2002.[5]

Honours

Zaragoza

Airdrieonians

Spain U21

References
  1. "1994/95: Nayim's bolt from the blue sinks Arsenal". UEFA.com. 1 June 1995. Archived from the original on 22 August 2010. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  2. "¿Qué fue de 'los héroes de París'?" [What happened to the 'heroes of Paris'?]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). 4 May 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  3. "Aquel 20 de abril para el Real Zaragoza..." [That 20 April to Real Zaragoza...]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). 20 April 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  4. Killie swoop for Spanish duo; BBC Sport, 28 March 2001
  5. "Killie's Latins dance past Airdrie". BBC Sport. 5 January 2002. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  6. "Airdrie lift Challenge Cup". BBC Sport. 19 November 2000. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
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