Richard Garcia (born 4 September 1981) is an Australian association football manager and former player. He is currently an assistant coach for Australia's U23 team, having previously managed

A-League Men A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football, soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as ...

's side

Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in Perth, Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under Professional sports league organi ...

. As a player, Garcia played for

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

, Melbourne City,

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club, commonly known as Sydney FC, is a professional association football, soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They compete in the top-tier men's league in Australia, the A-League Men. Established in 2004, ...

Minnesota United Minnesota United Football Club, often shortened to MNUFC, is an American professional soccer club based in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Th ...

and internationally for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Club career

West Ham United

Born in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Garcia was a product of the

youth academy, moving from Australia to England to join the Hammers at the age of 15 after being spotted by a scout who had initially gone to watch his brother. He signed a professional contract with West Ham in September 1998. He was a key member of the team that won the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

and FA Premier Youth League double in 1998–99, scoring in every round of West Ham's run to the Youth Cup Final, eight in total. He went out on

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

to local side

in August 2000, making 21 appearances in League and Cup competitions and scoring four goals. Injury to his knee ligaments ended his season and he returned to

West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...

in November 2000. He made his first team debut for

in a League Cup match away at

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

in September 2001, but failed to gain a regular place in the team. After West Ham were relegated to the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

in 2003, Garcia featured a few more times for the first-team, but made only 16 league appearances for the club before moving on to Colchester United in 2004.

Colchester United

Garcia signed for

in September 2004 for an undisclosed fee, and made his debut in the same month against

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

. He went on to make 30 appearances in the 2004–05 season, scoring six goals. The following season Garcia played an important part in helping the club to second place in League One and promotion to the Championship, and to the fifth-round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

where they were beaten by English champions Chelsea, although Colchester were at one point winning the match after Garcia's cross was put into his own net by

Ricardo Carvalho Ricardo Alberto Silveira de Carvalho (; born 18 May 1978) is a Portuguese professional association football, football coach and former player who is currently assistant head coach of the Portugal national football team, Portugal national team ...

. Garcia's season was cut short by a knee injury in March 2006, which later required surgery. Following the end of the season, Garcia signed a new contract with the club. In August 2006, he scored Colchester's first goal of the 2006–07 season in the Championship on the opening game against

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

, going on to make 36 league appearances, scoring seven goals, as Colchester pushed for a place in the end of season promotion playoff positions. At the end of the season, Garcia had made a total of 96 appearances in all competitions for

, scoring 21 goals.

Hull City

Despite the offer of a new deal at Colchester, Garcia signed a three-year contract with

on 2 July 2007, on a free transfer under the

Bosman ruling ''Union Royale Belge des Sociétés de Football Association ASBL v Jean-Marc Bosman'' (1995) C-415/93 (known as the Bosman ruling) is a 1995 European Court of Justice decision concerning freedom of movement for workers, freedom of associati ...

. He made his league debut for Hull against

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

in August 2007 and scored his first goal in the next game in the 3–0 win over

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

. He played a leading role in the club's push for promotion in the 2007–08 season, despite a shoulder injury suffered in April 2008. His goal against Burnley in March 2008, scored from 35-yards out, was voted Hull's goal of the season for 2007–08 Garcia returned to the Premiership after Hull City's promotion play-off victory over

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

in May 2008. Garcia started Hull's first top flight game against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

on 16 August 2008, and performed well in his favoured right wing position. The following weekend at

Ewood Park Ewood Park () is a Association football, football stadium in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, and the home of Blackburn Rovers F.C., founding members of the English Football League, Football League and Premier League, who have played there since ...

in a 1–1 draw against

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

, he scored Hull's equaliser with a header in the 39th minute, two minutes after Jason Roberts had given Blackburn the lead. On 31 July 2009, it was revealed that Garcia had ruptured knee ligaments and would be out for at least three months. On 12 November 2010, he scored his first goal in two seasons, in a 2–0 win against Preston at

Deepdale Deepdale is a football stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England that is the home ground of Preston North End. Built in 1875 and in use since 1878, Deepdale is recognised as being one of the oldest continuously used football stadium ...

. On 13 May 2011, Garcia had his one-year contract extension offer withdrawn because he was told he would be out for up to nine months with an injured cruciate ligament. He made his return from injury in a 1–0 win over

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

on 10 December 2011

Melbourne Heart

Garcia signed a one-year contract with

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

outfit

Melbourne Heart FC Melbourne City Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in the South-Eastern region of Melbourne, Victoria. They compete in the A-League Men, the highest division of soccer in Australia, under licence from the Australi ...

on 23 August 2012.

Sydney FC

On 16 August 2013, it was announced that Garcia had signed a 1-year deal with

. . Garcia made his official debut for Sydney FC in the first game of the 2013–14 season at home to the

Newcastle Jets Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from the Australi ...

. Sydney won the game 2–0, with Garcia having a late goal disallowed for offside. Garcia scored his first goal for Sydney FC in the Round 5 Big Blue clash against

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory ...

, just 2 minutes into the match, after a howler from Victory goalkeeper Nathan Coe.

Minnesota United FC

Garcia signed a deal with

Minnesota United FC Minnesota United Football Club, often shortened to MNUFC, is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the W ...

on 5 May 2014 for the 2014 Spring Season with an option for the Fall Season. Due to difficulties in obtaining a work visa, Garcia only played two games for Minnesota. He made his debut for the team on 31 May 2014 when he was substituted into the game against

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home game ...

in the 67th minute.

Perth Glory

It was announced on 8 July 2014 that Garcia signed a 2-year contract with

. On 12 October, Garcia made his debut for Perth Glory in a 2–1 win against Wellington Phoenix. He was deployed as a left-sided midfielder in a 4–4–2 diamond formation. For the 2015–16 season, it was announced that Richard would take over as captain from

Michael Thwaite Michael Errol Thwaite (born 2 May 1983) is an Australian former professional soccer player. Education He has a Bachelor of Human Movement Science degree from CQUniversity Australia. Michael also is a certified AFC B-Licence coach. Club career ...

after making controversial comments about the team's situation from the season before. On 14 May 2017, Garcia was released by the Glory, and he announced his retirement from professional football. In 2018, Garcia took on a position of Perth Glory Assistant Coach for the senior team and head coach for the youth team. Garcia was appointed Head Coach of Perth Glory in September 2020.

International career

In an interview with Australia's Sun-Herald newspaper in April 2008, Garcia said he had ambitions to play for the Socceroos, Australia's national team, and hoped that his good form for Hull in their push for promotion to the Premier League would help him to achieve this. On 19 August 2008 he received his first senior international cap when he came on as a second-half substitute in the friendly against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Loftus Road Loftus Road, currently known as MATRADE Loftus Road Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, West London, Greater London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers F.C., Queens Park Rangers Football Club, w ...

in London. That match ended in a 2–2 draw. His second cap came in a friendly match against the Netherlands, again as a substitute, where the match was won by the Socceroos 2–1. On 13 June 2010, Garcia became the first Hull City player ever to play in the World Cup, by starting as a forward in Australia's 0–4 defeat to Germany in the group stage. On 7 December 2012, he scored his first ever goal for Australia as they defeated Guam 9–0 in a

2013 EAFF East Asian Cup The 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup was the 5th edition of this regional competition, the football championship of East Asia. Two preliminary competitions were held during 2012. Mongolia were suspended from the EAFF and could not compete in any EAFF c ...

game.

Personal life

García speaks fluent Spanish since his parents are from

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, and he supports

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

. He became close friends with

Michael Carrick Michael Carrick (born 28 July 1981) is an English professional Association football, football coach and former player who was most recently the head coach of club Middlesbrough F.C., Middlesbrough. He is considered as one of the best midfield ...

during their time at West Ham, and they were ushers at each other's weddings.

Career statistics

''Cup'' includes domestic cups and promotion/relegation playoffs

Managerial statistics

Honours

Club

;

Football League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

Runner-up: 2005–06 ;

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

Playoff Winner: 2007–08 ;

* NASL Spring Season Champions: 2014

References

External links

Richard Garcia profile
at the Hull City website

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Richard 1981 births Australian men's soccer players Australian people of Spanish descent Sportspeople of Spanish descent Australia men's international soccer players West Ham United F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players 2010 FIFA World Cup players Melbourne City FC players A-League Men players Sydney FC players Minnesota United FC (2010–2016) players Perth Glory FC players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Men's association football wingers Australian expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Australian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Soccer players from Perth, Western Australia Living people Association football coaches Australian soccer managers Perth Glory FC managers 21st-century Australian sportsmen