Juan Carlos Garcia Defender Juan Carlos Garcia is the fifth player from his nation Honduras to embody Wigan Athletic after amalgamating with the Championship club on a liberated transfer. Garcia who started his career at the tender age of 19 was condemned by many but as time conceded his skills sharpened and the world saw him giving startling headers and majestic kicks. Born on March 8 1988 in Atlántida, Honduras, Garcia was very much interested in playing football and thus started to advance on his athletic traits long before commencing his youth career and entering into a Honduran football club named Club Deportivo Marathon (also called Marathon Club ) , based in San Pedro Sula. He did not make much of an impact there .Later on July 12 2010 it was publicized that Juan would be moving on a free transfer to yet another Honduran football club named Club Deportivo Olimpia (also known as Olimpia) based in Tegucigalpa, Francisco Morazán where his senior career started .
Juan made his first appearance for Honduras in the July 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup match against Grenada National Football Team. Honduras was up to the semi finals but was beaten by the United States and thus Honduras came third. However this cup undeniably gave Juan Carlos some recognition. For the club Olimpia, he made his debut in the league Liga Nacional de Honduras against Hispano. The victory was of Olimpia with a 2-0. In the Clausura tournament, the second leg final against Olimpia, on May 15 2010, Amado Guevara of Motagua shot through goal from outside the area but the ball was luckily averted by Juan Carlos with an amazing header that finished straight to the net. Although Motagua won the league, Juan was very much appreciated for his performance. On 11 December 2010 in the second leg final against Real Espana in the Apertura tournament however, Garcia was sent off in the 78th minute of the game after head butting Mario Martinez in the front. The tournament was won by Real Espana with a 2-1 in extra time. Garcia was appointed by Luis Fernando Suarez in Honduras 23 man squad on 3 June 2011 for the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup as one of the defender, Emilio Izaguirre was injured. Juan has made 18 appearances for his national team Honduras since 2009. While in Marathon and Olimpia altogether Juan appeared in 53 matches and made a single goal. This impressive and single goal was made by Garcia on February 6 2013 (while he was still in club Olimpia) at the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification in San Pedro, Sula, Honduras. The opponents were the United States and after Garcia’s stunning bicycle kick the game was at a tie for a brief moment then after which the US won with a 2-1 .
Garcia has an athletic body with height of 6 ft 2 inches (188 m) however his weight and salary is unknown. His market value is approximately 500 thousand Euros. Garcia’s current team is Wigan Athletic. He position in the field is Defence-Left-Back. The Wigan manager Owen Coyle had his eyes glued to Juan’s most recent performance and thus decided to call in Garcia. Thus on 26 July 2013, Garcia signed a 3 year contract with Wigan Athletic. Juan Garcia is no.23 in the current squad of Wigan. According to the manager Juan is a talented player and is someone that they are “happy in bringing to the squad”. He has succeeded in representing his nation in 4 FIFA World Cup qualification matches and has played at the 2011 UNCAF National Cup as well as at the 2009 and 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cups. The world hopes to see more of him with his current team; Wigan. No.3.
by monika, 12 Jun, 2014
