Richard Garcia

Personal Details Date of Birth: 4 September, 1981 Place of Birth: Perth, Western Australia Height: 180cm (5' 11") Position: Midfield / Winger Club Summary Club Games Goals Kingsway Olympic (juniors) West Ham United (1999-2004) 22 0 Leyton Orient (2000, on loan) 21 4 Colchester United (2004-2007) 99 21 Hull City (2007-2012) 128 10 Melbourne Heart (2012/13) Total (as of start June 2012) 270 35 International Summary Games Goals Australia 'A' (2008-) 18 2 Australia Under-23 (2003) 2 0

Career Brief

Garcia, a Kingsway Olympic junior, moved to England at the age of 15 after being spotted by a scout from West Ham United who had initially gone to watch his brother. A key member of the Hammers side that won the FA Youth Cup and FA Premier Youth League double of 1998/99, he signed professional papers with the London club in August 1999. A knee ligament injury cut short a promising loan spell with Leyton Orient and ended his hopes of representing Australia at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. His West Ham debut came at Reading in September 2001 but, unable to hold down a regular spot in the team, Garcia decided it was time to move on.

In September 2004 Garcia signed with Colchester United for an undisclosed fee, making his debut the same month against Swindon Town. He played an important part in helping the club gain promotion from League One, and to the Fifth Round of the FA Cup in 2005/06, when another knee injury ended his season prematurely. Armed with a new contract, Garcia scored Colchester's first goal as a Championship side on the opening day of the 2006/07 season, and again featured prominently in their push for the promotion play-offs.

Despite the offer of a new deal at Colchester, Garcia signed a three-year contract with Hull City in July 2007 on a free transfer. His Hull debut came against Plymouth Argyle with Garcia going on to play a leading role in the Tigers' push for promotion to England's top flight via the end of season play-offs. In August 2008 Garcia was awarded his first senior cap for Australia when he came on as a second half substitute in the friendly against South Africa, and a second appearance followed soon after with another run off the bench against the Netherlands.

Garcia was part of Hull's starting line-up for their first ever Premier League game against Fulham in August 2008, and a week later against Blackburn Rovers scored his first goal at that level. He took his international tally to five appearances by turning out against Japan, Uzbekistan and Qatar in the first half of 2009. Despite a series of knee problems across the 2009/10 season, Garcia landed a place in the Socceroos squad for the 2010 World Up in South Africa, where he featured in pre-tournament friendlies against Denmark and the United States of America.

Garcia became the first West Australian to play in the World Cup when he started against Germany, and ten days later featured in the gritty win over Serbia. Post-tournament, he played full games in friendly competition with Slovenia, Switzerland, Poland and Paraguay, as well as a substitute outing against Egypt. Garcia was all set to be part of Australia's 2011 Asian Cup side when he suffered a cruciate ligament injury while playing for Hull against Reading. After another lengthy lay-off, and on a month-by-month contract, he made scattered appearance for Hull over in the second half of 2011/12.

After 15-years abroad, Garcia returned to Australia in August 2012 by signing a one-year contract with Melbourne Heart.

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This page was last updated on the 10th December 2012.