Spanish football legend Luis García: ‘Liverpool was the highlight of my career’
The former professional footballer, who will play for Liverpool FC Legends against Borussia Dortmund in Hong Kong on June 8, recalls his memorable days at the British club
Hands off I was born in Barcelona in 1978. My father was an industrial engineer and my mother had a clothing store. When I was six years old, my mother put me in a basketball team. After two days, the coach told my mum I’d be better suited to football because I kept kicking the ball.
My dad played on an amateur football team and I used to go with him to the club where he played. Life was all about football – not so much watching as playing – all the time. Many kids dream of becoming professional football players and I wanted that, too, but that wasn’t why I was practising. I was playing because I loved it. I have so much passion for football.
Barca boy When I was 17, I was playing for a team near my home when Barcelona asked if I wanted to go for a trial. I played for almost four years in the academy of Barcelona – I lived at home and went training every day – and then I signed a professional contract. After that, I moved around for a few years, then went to play for Madrid, and then back to Barcelona.
I had known Spanish coach Rafael Benítez for several years before he was made the Liverpool manager, in 2004. We had a very good relationship and when he signed, he called and asked me to join. He said, “It’s a very good team. I think we can do something very important here.”
Bounce back I met Katherine when I was 17. She was a cheerleader for an NFL team in Barcelona. We got married when I was 25. Our first child was almost two months old when we moved to Britain in 2004. It was the start of my time playing for Liverpool and tough at first. It took some time to settle in and adjust to the weather and food.