Erlys García

Erlys García
Personal information
Full name Erlys García Baró
Date of birth (1985-07-28) July 28, 1985 (age 39)
Place of birth Havana, Cuba
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 San Nicolas
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2009 Ciudad de La Habana
2010 Los Angeles Azul Legends 6 (0)
2011–2013 Los Angeles Blues 53 (0)
2014 Los Angeles Misioneros 1 (0)
2014 Orange County Blues 7 (0)
2015 LA Laguna
2016 San Nicolas
2017 Golden State Force 1 (0)
International career‡
2008 Cuba 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of May 7, 2020
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of February 6, 2011
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is García and the second or maternal family name is Baró.

Erlys García Baró (born July 28, 1985, in Havana) is a Cuban footballer who plays as a defender.

Career

Cuba

García began his career in his native Cuba, playing with Ciudad de La Habana in the Campeonato Nacional de Fútbol de Cuba.

While playing for the Cuba U-23 national team in the Olympic qualifying tournament in Tampa, Florida, in March 2008, García—along with several other members of the team—defected to the United States under the wet foot dry foot scheme that allows Cubans who reach U.S. soil to obtain asylum.[1][2]

United States

Following several unsuccessful trials with clubs such as FC Tampa Bay,[3] García found his way to Los Angeles, and played in various LA-area amateur leagues before signing with the Los Angeles Azul Legends of the USL Premier Development League in early 2010. He made six appearances for Azul during the regular season.[4]

In February 2011, García signed with the expansion Los Angeles Blues of the new USL Professional Division. The club announced on November 10, 2011, that Garcia would return for the 2012 season.[5]

International

In addition to playing with the Cuba U-23 national team, García also obtained two caps with the full Cuba national team prior to his defection, in two friendlies against Guyana in February 2008.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Seven members of Cuban U-23 team missing from hotel". Archived from the original on 2011-05-25. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  2. ^ "Two more players defect from Cuban soccer team". Archived from the original on 2012-10-14. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  3. ^ "TAMPA BAY ROWDIES APPRECIATION BLOG (1975 to 1993): Rowdies Press Photos - Erlys Garcia Baro". 11 June 2010.
  4. ^ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". Archived from the original on 2010-05-27. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  5. ^ "LA blues Pro Soccer | Klub Sepak Bola di Los Angeles".
  6. ^ "Erlys Garcia - Cuba - Caribbean Football". Archived from the original on 2011-07-08.


Flag of CubaSoccer icon

This biographical article related to Cuban association football is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.