Luis García Fernández

Real Madrid

García was born in Oviedo, Asturias. After representing three clubs as a youth he began his senior career with his last one, Real Madrid, first appearing with its C team then progressing in 2001 to Castilla in the Segunda División B. On 8 January 2003, García played his only official game for the main squad, as a late substitute for Esteban Cambiasso in the 3–3 draw away to Terrassa in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey.

Murcia

Released by Madrid in 2003, García joined Real Murcia, making his La Liga debut on 31 August and scoring a penalty in a 1–1 away draw against Celta de Vigo. He finished his first season with 11 goals and appeared in all the matches, although the side would be relegated; on 16 May 2004, he netted twice in a 2–1 fruitless home win over his former employers.

Espanyol

The following season, García produced similar numbers at Mallorca, who barely avoided relegation after ranking 17th and, in summer 2005, signed a five-year contract with Espanyol, playing competitive 48 games in his debut campaign and adding 15 goals, including a brace in the 2006 Spanish Cup final, a 4–1 defeat of Real Zaragoza. In the ensuing summer, he extended his link until 2012.

García, forming a formidable attacking partnership at the Catalans with youth graduate Raúl Tamudo (the pair combined for 68 league goals from 2005 to 2008), contributed five goals during their 2006–07 runner-up run in the UEFA Cup, including a hat-trick in a 23…

After a remarkable 2006–07 with Espanyol, García got his first callup for Spain, under manager Luis Aragonés, appearing in an UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Latvia in Riga on 2 June 2007.

Immediately after retiring, García began working as a coach, being in charge of Damm's youths. In August 2022, after Real Madrid acquired RSC Internacional who became their third team, he was appointed manager. García moved straight to the top tier on 3 April 2023, taking over another club he represented as a player, Espanyol. On his debut five days later, the team lost 2–1 at home to Athletic Bilbao. They were relegated as 19th, thus returning to Segunda División after two years. They started the following season strongly, winning four of their first five matches; however, after just three wins in the following nine fixtures, he was dismissed. In December 2023, García joined the Qatar national side as Márquez's assistant. One year later, after a series of poor performances during the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, mainly a 5–0 away loss against the United Arab Emirates, he took over from the latter. García himself was sacked on 30 April 2025, following a disappointing campaign in the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup and the World Cup qualifiers, finishing bottom of the group in the former tournament. He was replaced by another Spaniard, Julen Lopetegui. On 7 June 2025, García agreed to a one-year contract at Las Palmas. He left in June 2026 after missing out on promotion in the play-offs, and took over at fellow second-tier Mallorca on the same day.

Club

International