Toñito
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Antonio Jesús García González | ||
| Date of birth | 24 February 1977 | ||
| Place of birth | La Orotava, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1995–1996 | Tenerife B | ||
| 1996–1997 | Tenerife | ||
| 1997–1999 | Vitória Setúbal | 43 | (6) |
| 1999–2001 | Sporting CP | 45 | (1) |
| 2001–2002 | Santa Clara | 30 | (7) |
| 2002–2004 | Sporting CP | 41 | (8) |
| 2004–2005 | Boavista | 24 | (1) |
| 2005–2006 | Tenerife | 35 | (7) |
| 2006–2007 | Rijeka | 20 | (4) |
| 2007–2008 | União de Leiria | 23 | (1) |
| 2008–2009 | Ionikos | ||
| 2009 | AEK Larnaca | 4 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 February 2013, 17:37 UTC. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Antonio Jesús García González, aka Toñito (born 24 February 1977 in La Orotava, Tenerife), is a Spanish retired footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder.
He played most of his professional career in Portugal where he represented five different clubs (namely Sporting), amassing Primeira Liga totals of 206 games and 24 goals.
Football career
A player with skill and teamwork approach alike, Toñito started playing professionally with hometown's CD Tenerife. After having made no appearances for the first team, he moved to Portugal for the 1997–98 season and joined Vitória de Setúbal, going on to represent in the country Sporting Clube de Portugal, C.D. Santa Clara (loaned, where he joined compatriot Mauricio Hanuch, in the same predicament) and Boavista FC; he played an important part in Sporting's conquest of the 2000 national championship, the club's first in 18 years – playing 27 games, although 24 of those were as a substitute.
In the 2005–06 campaign Toñito returned to Spain and Tenerife (with the team now in the second division), where he scored seven league goals, including two in a 3–2 away win against Racing de Ferrol on 27 May 2006 before he was stretchered off.[1]
After a quick spell in Croatia with NK Rijeka he returned to Portugal, netting a late equalizer for União de Leiria at former team Sporting (1–1 in Lisbon), although Leiria would eventually drop down a level.
For 2008–09, Toñito moved to Greece's Ionikos FC. However, in January 2009, he switched to Cyprus and AEK Larnaca FC, reuniting with former Sporting teammate Elpídio Silva; he retired from the game at the end of the season, aged 32.