Place of birth Albacete, Spain Name Miguel Garcia Years Team Role Footballer | 1998–2001 Albacete B Height 1.78 m 1999–2002 Albacete | |
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Full name Miguel Angel Garcia Tebar Date of birth (1979-09-26) 26 September 1979 (age 36) | ||
Miguel Ángel García Tébar (born 26 September 1979), known as Miguel García, is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
Ten years of his professional career – cut short at 31 due to heart problems – were spent in Segunda División, where he collected 163 appearances for five teams.
Football career
Born in Albacete, Castile-La Mancha, García made his professional debuts with hometown's Albacete Balompié, but could only amass 15 first-team appearances in four seasons, which also included a short spell with Deportivo de La Coruña's reserves in the third division, on loan.
Subsequently, García played a further three years in the third level, with Real Zaragoza B and SD Ponferradina. In 2005, aged 26, he signed with CD Castellón in division two, spending a further two seasons with another team in that tier, Cádiz CF, signing with the Andalusia club as it had just been relegated from La Liga – in 2008, with the player only appearing in 18 league games (out of 42), it would drop down another division.
After two years with UD Las Palmas, still in the second level, 31-year-old García signed for UD Salamanca also in that division. On 24 October 2010, during a home game against Real Betis (0–3 home loss), he suffered a cardiac arrest in the 57th minute and collapsed. He was attended by doctors of both teams, who revived him with cardiac massage and the use of a defibrillator; he left the stadium in a stable condition, subsequently undergoing tests at the Salamanca University Hospital.
After the event, in which his heart reportedly stopped beating for "about 25 seconds", García's club praised the "rapid and efficient intervention" of doctors from both Salamanca and Betis, credited with saving the player's life. Shortly before he left the hospital facilities, it was announced by the medical staff he would have to retire from football with immediate effect.