Santiago García (Argentine footballer)


Santiago García is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Unión La Calera. He also holds Spanish citizenship.

Club career

Rosario Central

García started his career at hometown club Rosario Central, playing his first game with the team on a 0–1 defeat to Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata during the 2008 Apertura tournament. He broke into the starting eleven during the 2010 Clausura tournament under the guidance of head coach Ariel Cuffaro Russo, relegating Ecuadorian international Paúl Ambrosi to the bench. García made a total 13 positive appearances which led to interest from a number of European clubs.

Palermo and loan to Novara

On 12 July 2010, Palermo chairman and owner Maurizio Zamparini confirmed the signing of the Argentine defender from Rosario Central. He debuted with the rosanero on 30 September against Lausanne in the UEFA Europa League.
On 19 July 2011, newly promoted Serie A club Novara confirmed on its website to have signed García on loan from Palermo, with an option to acquire half of the player's rights by the end of the season. He scored his first goal in the Serie A on 13 May 2012 against Milan.
In the 2012–13 season, he returned to Palermo to replace Federico Balzaretti, who moved to Roma. In his second full season at the rosanero, he suffered relegation to Serie B and was often criticized by the team supporters due to the alleged poor quality of his performances.
In July 2013, García did not answer to the pre-season call-up from Palermo, his agent stating his intention not to play for the Sicilians anymore.

Werder Bremen

On 1 September 2013, Palermo announced to have loaned García to Werder Bremen with an option to sign him permanently. In October 2013, Werder Bremen expressed their interest in turning the loan into a permanent deal.
In May 2017, Werder Bremen announced that García would leave the club at the end of the season after they had failed to agree a contract extension. In his four years at the club, he made a total of 99 appearances across all competitions, scoring 5 goals and contributing 10 assists.

Toluca

In June 2017, García joined Liga MX club Toluca.

Personal life

Garcia's twin brother, Manuel, is also a professional footballer.

Career statistics