Full name Raul Garcia Escudero Years Team Weight 81 kg Number 22 Height 1.84 m | Playing position Role Footballer Place of birth Pamplona, Spain Name Raul Garcia Career start 2004 | |
 | ||
Date of birth (1986-07-11) 11 July 1986 (age 29) Current teams Athletic Bilbao (#22 / Midfielder), Spain national football team (Midfielder) Similar People Koke, Juanfran, Gabi, Diego Godin, Diego Simeone Profiles | ||
Raúl García Escudero (born 11 July 1986) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Athletic Bilbao mainly as an attacking midfielder but also as a central midfielder, known for scoring from the bench and having good aerial ability.
Contents
Formed at Osasuna, he spent most of his career at Atlético Madrid, scoring 45 goals in 326 games across all competitions in eight seasons and winning six major titles, including the 2014 national championship and the 2010 Europa League.
Osasuna
Born in Pamplona, García played for hometown's CA Osasuna during his first years as a professional. On 24 October 2004 he made his debut for the first team in a 0–3 away defeat against FC Barcelona, with his first chance being offered by Mexican coach Javier Aguirre.
García scored five league goals (the first on 26 October 2005 in a 3–2 home win over Athletic Bilbao) in his first full season as the Navarrese finished in fourth place in La Liga, starting in 28 of his 33 appearances at the age of just 19.
Atlético Madrid
In July 2007, after helping Osasuna to the semifinals of the UEFA Cup, with one goal in 12 games, García signed a five-year contract with Atlético Madrid, reuniting with former boss Aguirre upon the €13 million deal.
In January 2010, García lost his starting position to newly signed Tiago Mendes, arrived on loan from Juventus FC. However, he started the UEFA Europa League final against Fulham, as the Portuguese was cup-tied, playing the full 90 minutes and extra time in the 2–1 win for the first honour of his career; additionally, he appeared in the second half of the season's Copa del Rey decisive game against Sevilla FC, in a 0–2 loss.
On 27 August 2010, García featured the entire match in the UEFA Super Cup against Inter Milan, giving away a penalty kick in the last minute for a foul on Goran Pandev; the shot was however saved by David de Gea, and the Colchoneros won it 2–0. Again, he played in significantly less minutes than Tiago, but still managed to collect 29 league appearances as Atlético finally qualified to the Europa League, and netted his only goal of the season in a 1–2 home loss against eventual champions Barcelona, heading in from a corner kick.
After renewing his contract with Atlético for a further three years, García was loaned to former club Osasuna for 2011–12, where he began to appear more prominently as an attacking midfielder. He scored a career-best eleven goals during the campaign, including twice against RCD Mallorca – both through headers from corners by Álvaro Cejudo (2–2) – and one in a triumph over Barcelona (3–2), finishing the campaign as team top scorer, with four more goals than Ibrahima Baldé.
On 9 April 2014, after playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 UEFA Champions League home win against Barcelona that qualified Atlético Madrid to the semi-finals for the first time in 40 years, García became the club's most capped player in the competition with 22 appearances, surpassing Luis Aragonés. On 19 August he scored a 88th-minute 1–1 equalizer against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu for the Supercopa de España, as his team went on to win the trophy 2–1 on aggregate and conquer it for the second time in their history.
Athletic Bilbao
On 31 August 2015, after a transfer request, García signed a four-year contract with Athletic Bilbao which included a release clause of €40 million. He scored in his first appearance, helping to a 3–1 home win over Getafe CF where he featured 79 minutes.
International career
From 2006 to 2009, García played with Spain under-21s, earning a total of 20 caps in the category and representing the nation at the 2009 UEFA European Championship, in a group stage exit. He also appeared for the under-19 team.
On 29 August 2014, aged 28, García was named by full side manager Vicente del Bosque in a 23-man squad for matches against France and Macedonia in September. He made his debut on 4 September, starting and playing 58 minutes in a 0–1 friendly loss to the former.