Richard Garcia
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60%Born
1981 (42 years old)
Birth Place
Perth, Western Australia, AustraliaPosition
Forward
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Height
1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight
71.2
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4001350
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SoccerTeam
_Retired Soccer
2nd Team
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Richard Garcia (born 4 September 1981) is an Australian former football (soccer) player. He played for West Ham United, Leyton Orient, Colchester United, Hull City, Melbourne Heart, Sydney FC, Minnesota United FC, Perth Glory and internationally for Australia. Currently, Garcia is the assistant coach of Perth Glory and Head Coach of its youth team.
Club career
West Ham United
Born in Perth, Garcia was a product of the West Ham United 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 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 to local side Leyton Orient 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 in November 2000. He made his first team debut for West Ham in a League Cup match away at Reading in September 2001, but failed to gain a regular place in the team. After West Ham were relegated to the First Division 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 Colchester United in September 2004 for an undisclosed fee, and made his debut in the same month against Swindon Town. 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 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. 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, 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 Colchester United, scoring 21 goals.
Hull City
Despite the offer of a new deal at Colchester, Garcia signed a three-year contract with Hull City on 2 July 2007, on a free transfer under the Bosman ruling. He made his league debut for Hull against Plymouth Argyle in August 2007 and scored his first goal in the next game in the 3–0 win over Crewe Alexandra. 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 in May 2008. Garcia started Hull's first top flight game against Fulham on 16 August 2008, and performed well in his favoured right wing position. The following weekend at Ewood Park in a 1–1 draw against Blackburn Rovers, 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.
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 on 10 December 2011
Melbourne Heart
Garcia signed a one-year contract with A-League outfit Melbourne Heart FC on 23 August 2012.
Sydney FC
On 16 August 2013, it was announced that Garcia had signed a 1-year deal with Sydney FC. . Garcia made his official debut for Sydney FC in the first game of the 2013–14 season at home to the Newcastle Jets. 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, 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 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 in the 67th minute.
Perth Glory
It was announced on 8 July 2014 that Garcia signed a 2-year contract with Perth Glory.
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 after making controversial comments about the teams 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.
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Former Youth Teams
Former Senior Teams
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