Dani García (footballer, born 1974)

2.1. Birth and early years

Dani García Lara was born on 22 December 1974, in Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. He weighed 183 lb ^{(83 kg)} and stood 72 in ^{(183 cm)} tall during his playing career.

2.2. Youth career

García's early football education and development primarily took place within the renowned Real Madrid youth system. He played for Real Madrid B from 1992 to 1995, making 71 appearances and scoring 20 goals.

3.1. Early years and Real Madrid

García received his first-team debut for Real Madrid on 5 February 1994, in a 2-0 home victory against Deportivo de La Coruña. He made one additional appearance for the senior team during the 1994-95 La Liga season, while still primarily registered with the reserves. From 1994 to 1998, he made a total of 10 appearances for Real Madrid's first team, without scoring a goal.

Following his initial period with Real Madrid, García spent two years on loan at Real Zaragoza from 1995 to 1997. During this time, he featured prominently, making 71 appearances and scoring 8 goals across his two seasons, but did not achieve significant goal-scoring numbers. He then returned to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium for the 1997-98 La Liga season. However, his opportunities were limited, as he made only eight appearances before being sold at the end of the season.

3.2. RCD Mallorca

In 1998, García transferred to fellow La Liga club RCD Mallorca. This move proved to be a significant turning point in his career. In the 1998-99 La Liga season, he emerged as the Balearic Islands team's top scorer, netting 12 goals in 36 appearances. His crucial contributions helped Mallorca achieve their first-ever UEFA Champions League qualification. Furthermore, he played a vital role in Mallorca's journey to the 1998-99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final. In the final match against S.S. Lazio, García scored a crucial goal to level the score at 1-1, though Mallorca ultimately suffered a narrow 2-1 loss.

3.3. FC Barcelona

Following his impressive spell at Mallorca, García signed with FC Barcelona in the summer of 1999, joining Real Madrid's fierce rivals. In his debut season, 1999-2000 La Liga, he managed to score 11 La Liga goals in 27 appearances, making him the third-highest scorer in the squad despite not being an undisputed starter. However, his time at Barcelona was subsequently hampered by a loss of form and recurring injuries, which severely limited his playing time to just nine league games between 2001 and 2003 (14 appearances and 1 goal in 2000-01, 1 appearance and 0 goals in 2001-02, 8 appearances and 0 goals in 2002-03).

Despite these challenges, he scored a crucial goal on 18 April 2000, at the Camp Nou during the 1999-2000 UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Chelsea. Trailing 4-3 on aggregate, García found the back of the net with seven minutes remaining in regular time, sending the tie into extra time. Barcelona then scored two more goals to secure their progression to the semi-finals.

3.4. Later career

After spending the initial months of the 2003-04 La Liga season unregistered and training independently, García returned to Real Zaragoza in January 2004 for his second stint with the club. He made 15 appearances and scored 3 goals during this period. He played alongside young talent David Villa and was instrumental in helping the Aragonese club avoid the relegation zone and win the 2003-04 Copa del Rey. In the final against his former club, Real Madrid, played in Barcelona, García scored the decisive goal in extra time, leading Zaragoza to victory.

After one season with RCD Espanyol in 2004-05 La Liga, where he made 26 appearances and scored 5 goals, García moved to Greece to join Olympiacos F.C. in 2005. There, he reunited with his former Barcelona teammate Rivaldo. He played 19 matches and scored 2 goals for Olympiacos. In 2006, he had a brief spell with Turkish side Denizlispor, making 11 appearances and scoring 4 goals.

In July 2007, García returned to Madrid to settle with his family. He played for a few months with the amateur club CF Rayo Majadahonda in the Tercera División, making 31 appearances and scoring 8 goals, before retiring from professional football. Following his retirement, he rejoined Real Madrid as part of their indoor soccer team.

4.1. Youth national teams

García had a successful youth international career. In 1991, he was part of the Spain U-16 squad that won the UEFA European Championship (then an under-16 competition), appearing in 4 matches and scoring 2 goals. In the same year, he played for the Spain U-17 team, finishing as runner-up at the FIFA U-17 World Cup, making 5 appearances and scoring 2 goals. He also played for the Spain U-18 team (7 appearances, 2 goals) in 1993 and the Spain U-21 team (14 appearances, 6 goals) from 1994-1996. Furthermore, he represented Spain at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, as part of the U-23 squad, where he made 7 appearances without scoring, reaching the quarter-finals.

4.2. Senior national team

García made his debut for the Spain national team on 18 November 1998, in a friendly match against Italy in Salerno, which ended in a 2-2 draw. He earned a total of five caps for the senior national team between 1998 and 2000.

4.3. International goals

Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each García goal.

5.1. Club

• Real Madrid
  • La Liga: 1994-95
  • Supercopa de España: 1993, 1997
  • UEFA Champions League: 1997-98
• Mallorca
  • Supercopa de España: 1998
  • UEFA Cup Winners' Cup runner-up: 1998-99
• Barcelona
  • Supercopa de España runner-up: 1999
• Zaragoza
  • Copa del Rey: 2003-04
• Olympiacos
  • Superleague Greece: 2005-06
  • Greek Cup: 2005-06

5.2. International

• Spain U16
  • UEFA European Under-16 Championship: 1991
• Spain U17
  • FIFA U-17 World Cup runner-up: 1991