Dani García (footballer, born 1974)

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

Dani García
Personal information
Full name Daniel García Lara
Date of birth (1974-12-22) 22 December 1974
Place of birth Cerdanyola, Spain
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position Striker
Youth career
1985–1987 Masflorit Cerdanyola
1987–1990 Damm
1990–1993 Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1995 Real Madrid B 71 (20)
1994–1998 Real Madrid 10 (0)
1995–1997 → Zaragoza (loan) 71 (8)
1998–1999 Mallorca 36 (12)
1999–2004 Barcelona 50 (12)
2004 Zaragoza 15 (2)
2004–2005 Espanyol 26 (5)
2005–2007 Olympiacos 19 (2)
2007 Denizlispor 11 (4)
2007–2008 Rayo Majadahonda 31 (8)
Total 340 (73)
International career
1991 Spain U16 4 (2)
1991 Spain U17 5 (2)
1993 Spain U18 7 (2)
1994–1996 Spain U21 14 (6)
1996–1997 Spain U23 7 (0)
1998–2000 Spain 5 (1)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Spain
FIFA U-17 World Cup
Runner-up 1991 Italy
UEFA Euro U-16
Winner 1991 Switzerland
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Daniel 'Dani' García Lara (born 22 December 1974) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker.

During his career, he played for five teams in his country while also having short spells in Greece and Turkey. Having represented both Real Madrid and Barcelona, he achieved La Liga figures of 208 matches and 39 goals over 12 seasons.

Club career

Born in Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Catalonia, García was a graduate of Real Madrid's youth system.[1] He made his first-team debut on 5 February 1994, in a 2–0 home win over Deportivo de La Coruña;[2] he played another match in the 1994–95 campaign while still registered with the reserves.

García then spent two years on loan at Real Zaragoza, featuring prominently to earn him a return to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.[1] Following a season with only eight appearances, and with the player later commenting that "I did not even have a chance to fail at Real Madrid",[1] he was sold to fellow La Liga club RCD Mallorca, being the Balearic Islands team's top scorer in 1998–99 as they achieved a first-ever qualification for the UEFA Champions League;[3] he also helped them to reach the final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, where he scored to tie an eventual 2–1 loss to SS Lazio in Birmingham.[4]

Subsequently, García signed for FC Barcelona. In his first year, he managed to score 11 La Liga goals (third-best in the squad) without being an undisputed starter,[5] but subsequent loss of form and injuries limited him to nine league games between 2001 and 2003.[6][7][8] On 18 April 2000, he scored a crucial goal at the Camp Nou to help to the Champions League semi-finals: trailing 4–3 on aggregate to Chelsea, he found the net with seven minutes left to send the tie to extra time, where his side netted a further two to progress.[9]

García spent the first months of the 2003–04 season unregistered and training on his own, returning to Zaragoza in January 2004[10] and helping the Aragonese to escape relegation and win the 2004 edition of the Copa del Rey, scoring against former employers Real Madrid in an extra-time victory in Barcelona.[11] During his second stint at La Romareda, he played with David Villa.[12]

After one season with RCD Espanyol, agreeing to terminate his two-year contract in July 2005 due to problems with some teammates,[13] García switched to Greece's Olympiacos F.C. where he teamed up with former Barça teammate Rivaldo,[14] and then to Turkish club Denizlispor. In July 2007, he returned to Madrid to settle with his family, and had a short spell with amateurs CF Rayo Majadahonda of Tercera División.[15] he retired shortly after, then went back to Real Madrid in the indoor soccer variety.[16]

International career

García made his Spain national team debut against Italy in an 18 November 1998 friendly in Salerno (2–2).[17] He represented the country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.[18][19][20]

Previously, García helped the under-17s win the UEFA European Championship (then under-16) in 1991[21] and finish runner-up at the FIFA World Cup in the same year.[22]

Career statistics

Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each García goal.
List of international goals scored by Dani García
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 5 May 1999 La Cartuja, Seville, Spain  Croatia 3–1 3–1 Friendly[23]

Honours

Real Madrid

Mallorca

Zaragoza

Olympiacos

Spain U16

Spain U17

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Casado, Edu (23 April 2013). "Qué fue de... Dani García Lara" [What happened to... Dani García Lara]. 20 minutos (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  2. ^ Aisa, Josep A. (6 February 1994). "El Depor no pasa su gran reválida" [Depor fail in their big test]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  3. ^ Busquets, Damià (20 May 2009). "Biografía de Dani García Lara" [Dani García Lara biography] (in Spanish). RCDM. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  4. ^ a b Segurola, Santiago (20 May 1999). "El Mallorca pierde con orgullo" [Mallorca lose proudly]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  5. ^ Carbonell, Rafael (23 August 1999). "Nano debuta en la Liga y Dani se estrena con un gol" [Nano makes League debut and Dani has scoring debut]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  6. ^ "Dani's World Cup hopes dashed". UEFA. 23 January 2002. Retrieved 26 February 2009.
  7. ^ "Barça suffer Dani blow". UEFA. 13 September 2002. Retrieved 26 February 2009.
  8. ^ "Dani adds to Barça injury woe". UEFA. 3 March 2003. Retrieved 26 February 2009.
  9. ^ "Chelsea's European dream shattered". BBC Sport. 18 April 2000. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  10. ^ "Dani allowed to go by Barça". UEFA. 30 January 2004. Retrieved 26 February 2009.
  11. ^ "Beckham misses out on Cup". BBC Sport. 17 March 2004. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  12. ^ a b Artús, José Luis (17 March 2020). "Se cumplen 16 años del 'Galacticidio'" [16th anniversary of the 'Galacticide']. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  13. ^ "Dani abandona el Espanyol por problemas personales con algunos compañeros" [Dani leaves Espanyol due to personal problems with some teammates]. El País (in Spanish). 14 July 2005. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  14. ^ "Olimpiacos complete Dani deal". UEFA. 11 August 2005. Retrieved 26 February 2009.
  15. ^ Del Mar, Julia (15 August 2007). "Dani pasa de la Champions al Majadahonda" [Dani goes from Champions to Majadahonda]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 September 2008.
  16. ^ "El poco 'fair play' de Dani García favorece al Madrid" [Dani García's little fair play favours Real Madrid]. Sport (in Spanish). 9 March 2008. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  17. ^ Gascón, Javier (19 November 1998). "Notable alto" [B Plus]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  18. ^ Cubero, Cristina (23 July 1996). "Óscar, otra vez vital" [Óscar, crucial again]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  19. ^ Cubero, Cristina (26 July 1996). "Argentina, en el camino" [Argentina, in the way]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  20. ^ Cubero, Cristina (29 July 1996). "Cuartos gafes" [Jinxed last-eight]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  21. ^ a b Garin, Erik; Bovi Diogo, Julio. "European U-16 Championship 1991". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  22. ^ a b "El último zaragocista que triunfa con España" [The last Zaragoza man to make it big with Spain]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 26 June 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  23. ^ "España vence a Croacia en la inauguración del Estadio Olímpico de Sevilla" [Spain defeat Croatia in opening of Sevilla Olympic Stadium]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 6 May 1999. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  24. ^ Tejedor Carnicero, José Vicente; Di Maggio, Roberto; Torre, Raúl; Lozano Ferrer, Carles. "Spain – List of Super Cup Finals". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  25. ^ "1997/98: Seventh heaven for Madrid". UEFA. 20 May 1998. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  26. ^ Forteza, Gabriel (22 August 2023). "Se cumplen 25 años del primer título en la historia del RCD mallorca [sic]" [25th anniversary of the first title in RCD Mallorca's history]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 March 2026.
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