Getty Eric Garcia in action for Barcelona.
Barcelona defender Eric Garcia has endured a mixed time since returning to the club in the summer of 2021 on a free transfer from Premier League champions Manchester City.
Garcia began his football career at Barca, and came through the club’s famed La Masia academy, but has still yet to nail down a permanent place in Xavi’s starting XI at the Camp Nou.
The 21-year-old was also called into Spain’s World Cup 2022 squad by coach Luis Enrique but did not play a single minute in Qatar. La Roja made a surprise exit at the last 16 stage and Luis Enrique has now been replaced by Luis de la Fuente.
The new Spain coach has given his backing to Garcia after being unveiled at a press conference on Monday, December 12. De la Fuente made it clear just how highly he rates Garcia and explained why he thinks he has struggled to impress recently.
“I think he’s a fantastic footballer who fits perfectly into our model,” he told reporters. “Perhaps, at some point, he was put under too much pressure, but he is a footballer who, with peace of mind and maturity, will perform much better.”
Garcia will hope he can play regularly when La Liga resumes at the end of the month. Yet the defender faces intense competition for his place with Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, and Jules Kounde around.
Xavi is not expected to have his whole squad back and working together until December 26, giving the boss precious little time to work with all of his players before the game against Espanyol.
Garcia Talks Dealing With Criticism
The Barcelona defender has come in for plenty of criticism since returning to Barcelona and spoke during the World Cup about how he handles the negative press he sometimes attracts.
“First of all in my family. I talk a lot with my father and I have a psychologist, but the strategy is not to comment too much about criticism and to avoid it,” he explained in an interview with Radio Marca.
Garcia also attempted to explain why he had found it difficult to impress at Barca after returning from a spell with Premier League champions Manchester City.
“I think I’m in much better physical shape than I was last year,”he added. “I came from a difficult year at City because I didn’t play, I was out of rhythm and now I feel good.”
Point To Prove?
Garcia may well feel he has a point to prove when La Liga resumes after being forced to watch the World Cup from the Spain bench.
Barca return to action on top of the table in La Liga and with the best defense in the Spanish top flight. Xavi’s side have conceded just five goals in 14 games, but Garcia has only started eight times.
The defender will hope he can become a regular but will know the return from injury of Araujo will also increase competition for places. The Uruguay international has been out since September but is generally one of the first names on Xavi’s teamsheet.
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