# Santiago García (Argentine footballer)

Santiago García (born 8 July 1988) is an Argentine professional footballer who most recently played as a left-back for Club Alianza Lima.

## Club career
### Rosario Central

García started his career at hometown club Rosario Central, playing his first game with the team on a 1–0 defeat to Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata during the 2008 Apertura tournament. He broke into the starting eleven during the 2010 Clausura tournament under the guidance of head coach Ariel Cuffaro Russo, relegating Ecuadorian international Paúl Ambrosi to the bench. García made a total 13 positive appearances which led to interest from a number of European clubs.

### Palermo and loan to Novara

On 12 July 2010, Palermo chairman and owner Maurizio Zamparini confirmed the signing of the Argentine defender from Rosario Central. He debuted with the rosanero on 30 September against Lausanne in the UEFA Europa League.
On 19 July 2011, newly promoted Serie A club Novara confirmed on its website to have signed García on loan from Palermo, with an option to acquire half of the player's rights by the end of the season. He scored his first goal in the Serie A on 13 May 2012 against Milan.
In the 2012–13 season, he returned to Palermo to replace Federico Balzaretti, who moved to Roma. In his second full season at the rosanero, he suffered relegation to Serie B and was often criticized by the team supporters due to the alleged poor quality of his performances.
In July 2013, García did not answer to the pre-season call-up from Palermo, his agent stating his intention not to play for the Sicilians anymore.

### Werder Bremen

On 1 September 2013, Palermo announced to have loaned García to Werder Bremen with an option to sign him permanently. In October 2013, Werder Bremen expressed their interest in turning the loan into a permanent deal.
In May 2017, Werder Bremen announced that García would leave the club at the end of the season after they had failed to agree a contract extension. In his four years at the club, he made a total of 99 appearances across all competitions, scoring 5 goals and contributing 10 assists.

### Toluca

In June 2017, García joined Liga MX club Toluca.

### Alianza Lima

In December 2022 it was announced that García would join Club Alianza Lima for the 2023 season, having trialled with the club in pre-season.

## Personal life

García also holds Spanish citizenship. His twin brother, Manuel, is also a professional footballer.

## Career statistics

    As of match played 28 April 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | Continental | Continental | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Rosario Central | 2008–09 | Primera División | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Rosario Central | 2009–10 | Primera División | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| Rosario Central | Total | Total | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| Palermo | 2010–11 | Serie A | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Palermo | 2012–13 | Serie A | 32 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 1 |
| Palermo | Total | Total | 35 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 41 | 1 |
| Novara | 2011–12 | Serie A | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 1 |
| Werder Bremen (loan) | 2013–14 | Bundesliga | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 3 |
| Werder Bremen | 2014–15 | Bundesliga | 24 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 0 |
| Werder Bremen | 2015–16 | Bundesliga | 29 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 31 | 1 |
| Werder Bremen | 2016–17 | Bundesliga | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 1 |
| Werder Bremen | Total | Total | 72 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 77 | 2 |
| Werder Bremen II | 2015–16 | 3. Liga | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| Toluca | 2017–18 | Liga MX | 35 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 41 | 1 |
| Toluca | 2018–19 | Liga MX | 23 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 1 |
| Toluca | Total | Total | 58 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 2 |
| Unión La Calera | 2020 | Chilean Primera División | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 32 | 0 |
| Unión La Calera | 2021 | Chilean Primera División | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Unión La Calera | Total | Total | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 39 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 257 | 8 | 18 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 285 | 9 |