Óscar García Junyent

Óscar

Óscar as manager of Red Bull Salzburg in 2016
Personal information
Full name Óscar García Junyent
Date of birth (1973-04-26) 26 April 1973
Place of birth Sabadell, Spain
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Saint-Étienne (manager)
Youth career
1980–1984 Mercantil
1984–1991 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1994 Barcelona B 82 (23)
1993–1999 Barcelona 69 (21)
1994–1995 → Albacete (loan) 29 (2)
1999–2000 Valencia 20 (4)
2000–2004 Espanyol 51 (4)
2004–2005 Lleida 23 (3)
Total 274 (57)
National team
1989 Spain U16 1 (1)
1991 Spain U18 4 (1)
1991 Spain U19 1 (0)
1991 Spain U20 3 (0)
1992–1996 Spain U21 24 (12)
1996 Spain U23 4 (2)
Teams managed
2009–2010 Catalonia (assistant)
2010–2012 Barcelona (youth)
2012–2013 Maccabi Tel Aviv
2013–2014 Brighton & Hove Albion
2014 Maccabi Tel Aviv
2014 Watford
2015–2017 Red Bull Salzburg
2017– Saint-Étienne
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Óscar García Junyent (born 26 April 1973), known simply as Óscar as a player, is a Spanish retired footballer, and the current manager of French club AS Saint-Étienne.

As a player, he was a versatile offensive option, able to play as an attacking midfielder or a second striker. He played most of his 14-year professional career with Barcelona, with relative impact, appearing for four other clubs.

In La Liga Óscar amassed totals of 169 games and 31 goals over the course of 12 seasons, also representing Espanyol (four seasons), Albacete, Lleida and Valencia (one apiece). In 2009, he started working as a manager, winning league titles in Israel and Austria.

Playing career

Born in Sabadell, Barcelona, Catalonia, Óscar made his professional debut with FC Barcelona, his local team. Between 1992 and 1994 he played in five La Liga matches for Barça who were champions each year and, after a loan at fellow top division club Albacete Balompié, he returned and was often used (with good results) in a variety of offensive roles: during the 1995–96 season he scored ten league goals, the most in the squad, even though he only started 11 of his 28 appearances;[1] the team came out empty in silverware, however.

With his role gradually diminishing, Óscar joined Valencia CF for one season, finishing off with Barcelona neighbours RCD Espanyol (teaming up again with brother Roger, for three seasons) and UE Lleida and retiring in June 2005 at the age of 32. On 7 January 2001, whilst playing for the second club against CD Numancia, he was taken to hospital after swallowing his tongue;[2] in the following summer, he nearly signed for West Ham United, but an eventual deal fell through after a one week's trial and he returned to Espanyol,[3] with whom he never scored more than one goal per season, during four years.

For Spain, Óscar appeared for the nation at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, netting twice for the eventual quarter-finalists.

Coaching career

In late 2009, Óscar joined former Barcelona coach Johan Cruyff's coaching staff in the Catalonia national team, as the Dutchman had just been appointed.[4] On 22 May 2012 he had his first head coach appointment, signing a two-year contract with Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv FC.[5] Exactly one year later, after leading the club to the national championship after a ten-year drought,[6] he resigned from his post, citing personal reasons.[7]

On 26 June 2013, Óscar was unveiled as the new head coach of Football League Championship club Brighton & Hove Albion.[8] His first win came on 17 August, 1–0 at Birmingham City.[9] On 12 May 2014, following Brighton's play off semi-final defeat to Derby County, his offer of resignation was accepted by the board.[10]

On 2 June 2014, Óscar returned to Maccabi by signing a two-year contract, but left the club on 26 August due to political tensions.[11] Three months later he was appointed at Watford, replacing Giuseppe Sannino.[12]

On 15 September 2014, Óscar was admitted to hospital with minor chest pains, forcing him to miss Watford's upcoming match with Blackpool.[13][14] These health problems eventually led to him stepping down, two weeks later.[15]

On 28 December 2015, Austrian double holders FC Red Bull Salzburg hired Óscar following the dismissal of Peter Zeidler.[16] His team, for which fellow Spaniard Jonathan Soriano was the main striker, ended the season as national champions;[17] on 19 May the latter scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 cup final win over FC Admira Wacker Mödling to seal a double.[18]

On 15 June 2017, after being snubbed by Patrick Vieira who preferred to stay at New York City FC, AS Saint-Étienne signed Óscar to a two-year contract.[19][20]

Personal life

Óscar's brothers, Roger and Genís, were also footballers. All youth products of Barcelona, they had however different fates as professionals (especially the latter).[21]

On 17 June 1997, during the final of the Copa Catalunya, all three appeared with the first team in a 1–3 loss to CE Europa.[22]

Managerial statistics

As of 1 June 2017[23][24]
Team Nat From To Record
PWDLWin %
Maccabi Tel Aviv Israel 22 May 2012 22 May 2013 36 25 5 6 069.44
Brighton & Hove Albion England 26 June 2013 12 May 2014 53 21 16 16 039.62
Maccabi Tel Aviv Israel 2 June 2014 26 August 2014 2 1 1 0 050.00
Watford England 2 September 2014 29 September 2014 4 1 2 1 025.00
Red Bull Salzburg Austria 28 December 2015 15 June 2017 73 51 12 10 069.86
Total 168 99 36 33 058.93

Honours

Player

Club

Barcelona
Valencia

International

Spain U-21

Manager

Maccabi Tel Aviv
Red Bull Salzburg

References

  1. ↑ "Cruyff me decía: 'Sal y liquida'" ("Cruyff used to tell me: 'Get out there and finish them off'"); El País, 6 April 2009 (in Spanish)
  2. ↑ Roma continue record start; BBC Sport, 8 January 2001
  3. ↑ Óscar García no ficha por el West Ham (Óscar García does not sign with West Ham); El Mundo, 21 July 2002 (in Spanish)
  4. ↑ Òscar García será el segundo entrenador de la selección catalana de fútbol (Òscar García will be assistant coach in Catalan national team); La Vanguardia, 16 November 2009 (in Spanish)
  5. ↑ גארסיה חתם לשנתיים במכבי: הגעתי למועדון פאר [Óscar García signed a two-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv] (in Hebrew). One. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  6. ↑ "Òscar Garcia: debut y campeón" [Òscar Garcia: debut and champion] (in Spanish). Sport. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  7. ↑ "Oscar Garcia steps down as MTA head coach". Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  8. ↑ "García appointed head coach". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. 26 June 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  9. ↑ "Birmingham 0–1 Brighton". BBC Sport. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  10. ↑ "Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Oscar Garcia resigns". BBC Sport. 12 May 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  11. ↑ "[News flash] Former Rafa Benitez protégé, Pako Ayestaran, will replace Oscar Garcia as Maccabi Tel Aviv’s head coach". Potential Ability. 26 August 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  12. ↑ "Ex-Brighton & Hove Albion boss Oscar Garcia appointed as Watford's new head coach". Watford Observer. 2 September 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  13. ↑ "Oscar Garcia: Watford boss in hospital with minor chest pains". BBC Sport. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  14. ↑ "Watford manager Oscar García taken to hospital with minor chest pains". The Guardian. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  15. ↑ "Official: Hornets confirm head coach change". Watford F.C. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  16. ↑ "Former Barca player Oscar Garcia appointed Salzburg coach". Daily Mail. 28 December 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  17. ↑ "El Red Bull Salzburgo gana su tercera liga austriaca seguida" [Red Bull Salzburg win their third consecutive Austrian title] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  18. ↑ "El Salzburgo de Òscar y Soriano logra el doblete" [Óscar and Soriano's Salzburg achieve the double] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  19. 1 2 3 "Oscar Garcia named St Etienne coach on two-year contract". ESPN FC. 15 June 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  20. ↑ "Ligue 1. Oscar Garcia (Saint-Étienne) : «J'aime quand il y a de la passion»" [Ligue 1. Oscar Garcia (Saint-Étienne): «I love it when passion is involved»] (in French). Ouest-France. 23 June 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  21. ↑ Barça brothers; FC Barcelona, 29 October 2009
  22. ↑ "El Europa completa su gesta ganando al Barça" [Europa complete their exploit by defeating Barça] (PDF) (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 18 June 1997. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  23. ↑ Óscar García management career statistics at Soccerbase
  24. ↑ Óscar García Junyent coach profile at Soccerway
  25. ↑ "Italia ya ganó un Europeo a España en el 1996" [Italy has already won European Championships against Spain in 1996] (in Spanish). Orgullo Bianconero. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
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