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Kop Legends

Fairwell, Luis Garcia

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UEFA Champions League Semi Final - Liverpool v ChelseaMark the day: 14/01/2014 – the day a true Liverpool legend retired.

Luis Garcia was many things, frustrating, brilliant, elusive and liked a good dive but nobody can deny him his place in Liverpool history.

When Garcia was first signed by Rafa Benitez, not many had heard of the midfielder. Then again, in those days you’d be hard-pressed to find anybody that knew much about Spanish football outside of Barca and Real but it was players like Garcia (and Alonso) that led to the huge influx, and interest, in the wider scope of La Liga.

It took a while for many of us to get on board the Garcia train, as his style was often frustrating and if the circumstances were not right he could often drift in and out of games. Such was the little Spaniard’s brilliance though, that when he did choose to grace a game with his skill it usually led to something memorable.

Despite only a short spell with the Reds, Garcia managed to make a huge impact with vital goals, assists and just a captivating tenacious style and technique that belied his roots.

With 33 goals over 3 seasons in Liverpool, his impact for such a pitiful (by today’s standards) £6 million cannot be overstated but without a doubt his most memorable moment for Liverpool came in his contributions to the 2005 Champions League victory, most notably his ‘ghost’ goal that knocked Jose Mourinho’s invincible Chelsea, a goal which has long given us all many reasons to laugh and poke fun at our Chelsea’s counterparts over the years.

Recently ranked in the top 50 of LFC.tv’s 100 Players Who Shook the Kop, there is not doubting Garcia’s stature amongst Liverpool fans and the feelings have always been mutual, with Garcia being one of a number of foreign imports seemingly dumbfounded by the level of affection he still receives from the fans of his former club.

The former Spanish international paid special tribute to Liverpool fans, saying [Thanks] to Liverpool FC, for making me pass through the history of international football and be part of the Red family, forever. “  While the current transfer window is still open, I’m sure none of us would mind too much if Brendan decided to bring in a player with similar qualities to the little man.

Thanks for everything Luis, particularly the memories, and here’s to a long, successful career off the pitch as well.

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I'm a 32 year old Liverpool fan, living in the heart of the City Centre. I've supported the club since the day I was born and have been writing articles for L4L for over 3 years, writing close over 350 articles in that time. My favorite player of the past generation is Sami Hyypia.

I am the current editor for L4L, with my day job being in R&D for the NHS.

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