Luis García (footballer, born 1972)

For other people of the same name, see Luis García (disambiguation).

Luis García

Personal information
Full name	Luis García Plaza
Date of birth	(1972-12-01) 1 December 1972
Place of birth	Madrid, Spain
Height
Position(s)	Centre back
Youth career
	Colegio Amorós
	Atlético Madrid
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1991–1995	Atlético Madrid B	54	(2)
1995	Yeclano	13	(0)
1995–1996	Rayo Vallecano B
1996	→ Talavera (loan)	8	(0)
1996–2000	Benidorm	49	(1)
Managerial career
2001–2003	Altea
2003–2005	Villajoyosa
2005	Altea
2005–2006	Villarreal B
2006–2007	Elche
2007–2008	Benidorm
2008–2011	Levante
2011–2014	Getafe
2014–2016	Baniyas
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is García and the second or maternal family name is Plaza.

Luis García Plaza (born 1 December 1972) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a central defender, and a current manager.

Playing career

In his career, García never played in higher than Segunda División B. Born in Madrid, he finished his formation with Atlético Madrid and, after three seasons with its reserves, moved to Yeclano CF, where he coincided with José Luis Oltra and Paulino.

Still in the Madrid community, García then represented Rayo Vallecano B, completing his sole season with the club on loan at Talavera CF. In 1996 he signed with Benidorm CF, playing with the Alicante side four years.

García was forced to retire due to injury in 2000, at only 27.

Coaching career

García took up coaching in 2001, starting with amateurs UD Altea and moving after two years to another club in the Valencian Community, Villajoyosa CF in the third level, remaining there for a further two seasons.

In 2005–06, after a few weeks in charge of Altea, García led Villarreal CF's reserves to the Tercera División championship, but the team failed to gain promotion in the subsequent playoffs. Afterwards, he signed with Elche CF in Segunda División – and also in the Valencia region – being sacked on 7 January 2007 following a 1–1 home draw against Cádiz CF (the team eventually retained their division status).

After one year with former club Benidorm, García was appointed at Levante UD, helping to a return to La Liga after a three-year absence in his second season. In the following campaign, he led the side to the 14th place, the home highlights being a 2–0 win over Atlético Madrid and 0–0 draws with Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.

On 8 June 2011, García signed for Getafe for three years. He coached the capital outskirts team to the 11th position in his debut season, finishing one better the following year.

García was relieved of his duties on 10 March 2014, after Getafe only collected four draws in 12 games.

External links

• Luis García profile at BDFutbol
• Luis García manager profile at BDFutbol