Luis García (footballer, born 1978)

He scored his first goal for La Franja on the 24th, through a penalty kick away to Atlas FC (1–0).

Luis Javier García Sanz (born 24 June 1978) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a winger.

He finished the campaign at Segunda División's CD Toledo also on loan, his four goals not being enough to prevent relegation for the Castilla–La Mancha side; on 18 August 1998, he had made his first competitive appearance for the Blaugrana, coming on as 78th-minute substitute for Boudewijn Zenden in a 2–1 defeat at RCD Mallorca in the Supercopa de España.

Subsequently, García played another year in the second tier, being instrumental in CD Tenerife's promotion by scoring 16 league goals under the guidance of manager Rafael Benítez.

After two successful seasons with their reserves, he left on loan for Real Valladolid, where he made his La Liga debut on 22 August 1999 in a 1–0 away loss against CD Numancia.

Loaned for the fourth time by Barcelona, he returned to Valladolid for 2001–02, netting seven top-division goals in 25 matches, including two in a 5–1 away victory over Tenerife.

In the 2002–03 season, García was sold to Atlético Madrid for €3.6 million but, after a highly successful individual campaign (nine league goals), Barcelona activated a clause which allowed the player's return for an additional €1.4 million.

He had another good year at the Camp Nou, helping the team to the second place in the league, five points behind champions Valencia CF.

García was signed by former Tenerife coach Benítez for Liverpool on 20 August 2004, on a five-year contract for a fee of £6 million.

He was the fourth Spaniard the club acquired that summer and, nine days after arriving, made his Premier League debut in a 1–0 away loss to Bolton Wanderers, where he had an apparently legitimate goal ruled out for offside.

He played professionally for Barcelona and Atlético Madrid in his homeland, amongst others – being brought up in the former's youth ranks – appearing abroad for Liverpool, with whom he won the 2005 Champions League and the 2006 FA Cup.

Over the course of eight seasons, he amassed La Liga totals of 150 games and 22 goals.

His first goal with his new club concluded a 3–0 victory over West Bromwich Albion at Anfield on 11 September, and he went on to net seven more times in the league that season, including the headed winner in the Merseyside derby against Everton on 20 March 2005.

García was also a key player in Liverpool's successful campaign in the UEFA Champions League, scoring winning goals against Juventus F.C. and Chelsea (a controversial one in the fourth minute, dubbed a "ghost goal" by Chelsea manager José Mourinho), in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively.

Having appeared in the final against A.C. Milan, he finished his first season in English football with 13 goals in all competitions.

García did not make so much of an impact in the 2005–06 campaign, although he weighed in with some vital goals, including one against Chelsea to put them out of the FA Cup in the semi-finals.

He was suspended for the final victory over West Ham United, having been sent off in a league game just days after his semi-final winner, against the same opposition.

Early into the season, he also scored the third goal in the Reds' 2005 UEFA Super Cup 3–1 final defeat of PFC CSKA Moscow.

He totalled 30 goals in 122 competitive appearances during his tenure, with ten coming in the Champions League, five in the knockout stages of the 2005 triumph.

A Spain international for three years, García earned 18 caps and represented the nation at the 2006 World Cup.

Born in Badalona, Barcelona, Catalonia, García began playing football with local CF Badalona at the age of 6, arriving at FC Barcelona's academy six years later from neighbours CE Sant Gabriel.

On 10 January 2007, following the 6–3 defeat to Arsenal in the League Cup which was his final game for Liverpool, it was announced that García had ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the game.

He would be out for at least six months.

His positive relationship with the fans was in great measure due to his decisive goals against Chelsea.

In early July 2007, García joined his former team Atlético Madrid for around £4 million, with his transfer being negotiated between the two clubs around the same time that they were arranging a deal for Fernando Torres in the opposite direction.

Nonetheless, these deals were conducted separately.

García managed 30 appearances in his first season, acting mainly as backup to Portugal's Simão Sabrosa.

He played both matches against his former side Liverpool in the following campaign's Champions League group stage; on 4 November 2008, he came on as a late substitute at Anfield to appreciative applause.

During the league, however, he fell out of favour, sometimes not even making the list of 18.

On 11 August 2009, García reached an agreement with Racing de Santander.

His season was quite unassuming, as he took part in just 18 games without scoring and the Cantabrians narrowly avoided relegation.

García signed a one-year contract with Greek club Panathinaikos F.C. on 28 August 2010.

On 4 September, he flew back to Anfield to take part in Carragher's testimonial match, scoring a goal in the second minute.

He returned to the Camp Nou ten days later, playing the last 20 minutes of a 5–1 loss in the Champions League group phase.

On 1 July 2011, the 33-year-old García moved to Mexican team Puebla FC.

In early June 2012, García signed for another side in the Liga MX, Club Universidad Nacional, joining alongside Martín Romagnoli for an undisclosed fee.

He made his official debut against Atlas, playing 34 minutes from the bench.

It was further underlined by the song frequently sung in his honour, to the tune of "You Are My Sunshine": "Luis García, he drinks Sangria/he came from Barça to bring us joy!/He's five-foot seven, he's football heaven/So please don't take our Luis away!" In the 2013 poll of the 100 Players Who Shook the Kop, García ranked 34th.

García announced his retirement from football on 14 January 2014, aged 35.

He made the announcement on his official website, saying, "Today I've decided to retire as a professional footballer, thanks for the interest from the teams that spoke with me in recent weeks, but I think the time has come to end this important chapter in my life and move to the next page."