Saúl García (footballer, born 1994)

Saúl García Cabrero (born 9 November 1994), simply known as Saúl, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Racing de Santander.

Saúl
Saúl with Deportivo La Coruña in 2015
Personal information
Full name Saúl García Cabrero
Date of birth (1994-11-09) 9 November 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth Vioño de Piélagos, Spain
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Left-back
Team information
Current team
Racing Santander
Number 3
Youth career
2004–2012 Racing Santander
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Racing B 25 (0)
2013–2015 Racing Santander 66 (1)
2015–2019 Deportivo La Coruña 20 (0)
2016Tenerife (loan) 20 (0)
2016Girona (loan) 6 (0)
2017Mallorca (loan) 11 (0)
2018Numancia (loan) 18 (0)
2019–2022 Alavés 1 (0)
2019–2020Rayo Vallecano (loan) 17 (0)
2020–2021Sporting Gijón (loan) 36 (0)
2022– Racing Santander 68 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 November 2024

Football career

Born in Vioño de Piélagos, a town in the municipality of Piélagos, Cantabria. Saúl joined Racing de Santander's youth setup in 2004, aged nine,[1] and made his senior debuts with the reserves in the 2012–13 campaign, in Segunda División B. In the 2013 summer, after both first and reserve squads' relegation, he was definitely promoted to the main squad, now in the third level.[2]

Saúl appeared in 34 matches during the 2013–14 season, as the Cantabrian side were promoted to Segunda División at first attempt. On 24 August he played his first match as a professional, starting in a 0–1 away loss against Girona FC.[3]

On 29 December 2014, Saúl signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with La Liga side Deportivo de La Coruña, being loaned to Racing until the end of the campaign.[4] Roughly a year later, after being limited to only two cup matches, he was loaned to CD Tenerife until June.[5]

On 13 August 2016, Saúl signed for Girona FC still in the second level, also in a temporary one-year deal.[6] The following 2 January, after appearing rarely, he moved to RCD Mallorca on loan until June.[7]

On 7 January 2018, after only one first team appearance during the first half of the 2017–18 campaign, Saúl was loaned to second tier club CD Numancia until June.[8] He made his debut for the club three days later at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in the Copa del Rey against Real Madrid, providing an assist on a cross for Guillermo's second goal as Numancia drew 2–2, but were eliminated 5–2 on aggregate.

Saúl returned to Dépor for the 2018–19 campaign, being a first-choice ahead of Diego Caballo. On 27 June 2019, he agreed to a four-year contract with Deportivo Alavés in the top tier,[9] but was loaned to second division side Rayo Vallecano on 2 September.[10]

On 28 September 2020, Saúl joined Sporting de Gijón still in division two, on loan for one year.[11] Upon returning to Alavés, he was assigned in the first team squad, and made his top tier debut on 25 September 2021, replacing Luis Rioja late into a 1–0 home win over Atlético Madrid.

On 29 July 2022, Saúl terminated his contract with Alavés,[12] and returned to his first club Racing the following day, on a two-year deal.[13]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 7 March 2021[14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Racing B 2012–13 Segunda División B 25 0 25 0
Racing Santander 2013–14 Segunda División B 30 1 8 0 4[a] 0 42 1
2014–15 Segunda División 36 0 0 0 36 0
Total 66 1 8 0 4 0 78 1
Deportivo La Coruña 2015–16 La Liga 0 0 2 0 2 0
2017–18 0 0 1 0 1 0
2018–19 Segunda División 20 0 0 0 4[a] 0 24 0
Total 20 0 3 0 4 0 27 0
Tenerife (loan) 2015–16 Segunda División 20 0 0 0 20 0
Girona (loan) 2016–17 Segunda División 6 0 1 0 7 0
Mallorca (loan) 2016–17 Segunda División 11 0 0 0 11 0
Numancia (loan) 2017–18 Segunda División 18 0 1 0 3[a] 0 22 0
Alavés 2019–20 La Liga 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rayo Vallecano (loan) 2019–20 Segunda División 17 0 4 0 21 0
Sporting Gijón (loan) 2020–21 Segunda División 24 0 3 0 27 0
Career total 207 1 20 0 11 0 238 1
  1. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in Promotion Playoffs

References

  1. ^ Racing de Santander 2013/2014: Saúl García, la sorpresa (Racing de Santander 2013/2014: Saúl García, the surprise); Vavel, 16 June 2014 (in Spanish)
  2. ^ «Esta temporada espero estar en el primer equipo», dice Saúl García ("This season I hope to be in the first team", says Saúl García); El Diario Montañés, 21 July 2013 (in Spanish)
  3. ^ Un gol de Felipe Sanchón le basta al Girona (A goal from Felipe Sanchón is enough for Girona); Marca, 25 August 2014 (in Spanish)
  4. ^ Saúl, primer fichaje del Dépor 2015–2016 (Saúl, first signing of Dépor 2015–2016); Deportivo La Coruña, 29 December 2014 (in Spanish)
  5. ^ Saúl García, cedido hasta final de temporada (Saúl García, loaned until the end of the campaign) Archived 2015-12-25 at the Wayback Machine; CD Tenerife, 24 December 2015 (in Spanish)
  6. ^ El lateral esquerre Saúl s'incorpora al Girona (Left back Saúl joins Girona); Girona FC, 13 August 2016 (in Catalan)
  7. ^ Saúl García se incorpora al RCD Mallorca (Saúl García joins RCD Mallorca) Archived 2017-01-07 at the Wayback Machine; RCD Mallorca, 2 January 2017 (in Spanish)
  8. ^ Saúl García llega al Numancia cedido por el Dépor (Saúl García arrives at Numancia on loan from Dépor); Marca, 7 January 2018 (in Spanish)
  9. ^ "Saúl García reforzará el lateral zurdo del Deportivo Alavés" [Saúl García will bolster the left back of Deportivo Alavés] (in Spanish). Deportivo Alavés. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  10. ^ "Saúl García sale cedido al Rayo Vallecano" [Saúl García leaves on loan at Rayo Vallecano] (in Spanish). Deportivo Alavés. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  11. ^ "Saúl García, cedido al Sporting de Gijón" [Saúl García, loaned to Sporting de Gijón] (in Spanish). Deportivo Alavés. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  12. ^ "El Deportivo Alavés y Saúl García separan sus caminos" [Deportivo Alavés and Saúl García split their ways] (in Spanish). Deportivo Alavés. 29 July 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  13. ^ "Saúl García vuelve al Racing para reforzar la banda izquierda del curso 2022/23" [Saúl García returns to Racing to bolster the left flank of the 2022/23 campaign] (in Spanish). Racing Santander. 29 July 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  14. ^ Saúl García at BDFutbol