By Jinseong Kim
AFC Ann Arbor are delighted to confirm the signing of David Garcia ahead of the inaugural USL League Two season for the men’s team. Garcia was born in Mallorca, Spain, and he is coming out of his junior season at Florida International University.
Garcia spent his youth at the academy of RCD Mallorca, a club competing in Spanish LaLiga alongside some of the biggest clubs in the world in FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. The RCD Mallorca Academy is where current Spanish international and Real Madrid attacker Marco Asensio grew up and trained. Garcia captained the U19 squad for three seasons, and showcased his talent in the Spanish youth league.
Going into his senior career, Garcia decided to take on a new challenge by committing to the NCAA Division I side FIU in 2019. He quickly became an essential component of FIU’s defensive performances, appearing in all 18 games, and also recording two goals and one assist. Garcia’s first-year performance was enough to name him in the All-Conference USA Third Team.
Garcia remained as a key player in the following two seasons. During the shortened 2020-21 season due to pandemic, Garcia missed only two out of ten total matches, scoring two in total. In his junior year, the Spanish recorded a total playing time of 1206 minutes, leading the team to the NCAA Division I Championship Tournament.
“I'm very excited to get started and meet my new teammates and coaching staff. I know for a fact that we will have a very competitive team and will do our best to achieve the club's goals. I'm also very enthusiastic about watching the fans cheering for us from the stands,” Garcia stated, in expressing his delight of joining the Mighty Oak Family. He was already determined to make fans and the entire community satisfied. “I chose to join AFCAA because the goals and ambitions of the club match perfectly with mine. We will work as hard as we can to make the fans and the city happy!”
Garcia joins his FIU teammate Yushi Nagao, who was confirmed to play for AFCAA on April 15. The reunion came as a huge excitement to Garcia. “Yushi is a great kid. I won't even say much about how good he is on the field because you all will see that as soon as we start competing. He is very technical and has so much quality on the ball, but he is also a monster when the team is defending. Just sit, watch and enjoy seeing him play!”
He continued, “As a person, he is one of those that you always want to be around. Always supportive and with a big smile on his face. I'm glad I get to keep playing with him throughout the summer, he is an extraordinary guy on and off the field.”
When asked about his own playstyle, Garcia has left it for fans’ job to figure out on the field. He expressed his determination and dedication for the team as well. “That [playstyle] is something I would like to leave for people to determine. All I can promise is that I will work hard and give all that I have on the field for this club. My expectations are high, and they require both hard work and discipline.” Garcia added, “Both on and off the field, I will help my teammates as much as I can, and I am expecting to find a great group of guys that want to fight together to achieve big things.”
Club Sporting Director Eric Rudland rated Garcia as a highly talented defender. He also expressed that Garcia would be a perfect fit for AFCAA’s game plan. “David is a first class center back. I think he fits our game model extremely well. He has fantastic feet to play out of the back and will also be an imposing presence in our team defense. We really like his previous playing experience and believe that he’ll be a fantastic addition to our back line.”
On discussing season goals, Garcia insisted that he is eager to learn new things in a new environment. “My goal for this season, as well as in life, is to learn, improve, and win. Individually, this is a great opportunity for me to improve, learn new things from the coaching staff, and get exposure as well as show how I can perform to people that haven't heard my name yet.”
He continued by emphasizing the importance of unity. Bonding as a team, as per Garcia, is essential to get to a common goal. “However, none of this will be possible without my teammates. As a team, the goals are as high as we want them to be. I believe that if we all work together, we can achieve huge things. Without forgetting that hard work on a daily basis is the only way to be successful, I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say that the goal is to win the championship!”
We would like to bid a warm welcome to David to the Mighty Oak family and look forward to a positive summer with him.
About AFC Ann Arbor
Association Football Club Ann Arbor (AFC Ann Arbor) was founded in 2014 and competes in USL2 (men’s) and USLW (women’s) national amateur leagues. We are a community-based club, focused on equity, justice, and anti-racism. We consider all of our stakeholders, including supporters, players, staff, and ownership to be part of the #AFCAAFamily. Come On You Mighty Oak!