By Daniel Ragusa
Over the years we’ve seen many stars make the journey across Europe, swapping Spanish beaches for the Eston Hills (the Costa del Sol for the Costa del Teesside).
Gaizka Mendieta, Victor Valdes, Alvaro Negredo are
just a few of our most notable Spaniards.
But amongst all of these great figures, up stepped
an unassuming, unlikely striker who cemented eternal love between himself and
the Boro fans.
Kike García.
Here’s a look at his Riverside legacy, a throwback
to his most memorable goals and an explanation as to why Boro will be forever
in his heart and he will be forever in Boro’s heart.
Friends Reunited
Four years ago, on the 11th of July
2014, Middlesbrough announced the signing of Kike for an estimated £2.7m fee.
Having been appointed as manager in November 2013, Aitor
Karanka was heading into his first full season at the club. Aware of the
lacklustre forward line of Lukas Jutkiewicz, Marvin Emnes, Curtis Main and Kei
Kamara, Karanka called upon a striker who he knew well from his time in the
Spanish youth set-up.
The Boro Head Coach will have known all about
Kike’s finishing abilities which had proven crucial in his final season with
Spanish Second Division side Murcia; his 23 goals helped the club to the Play-Off
positions.
Kike had been at ‘The Pimentoneros’ since 2008, and
scored a total of 56 goals in 178 league appearances for the A and B sides.
Instant Impact
The 24-year old enjoyed a decent pre-season with
Boro, netting three times in the process and showing signs of a player who
could adapt to the rough and tumble of English football.
Boro hadn’t had a reliable goalscorer for some time
before Kike due to the weakness of our aforementioned strikeforce.
Because of this, many were hopeful that Kike could
continue his pre-season form into the Championship campaign and help Boro get
off to the good start vital for most promotion winning seasons.
The Spaniard did just that, scoring on his debut
against Birmingham, and netting five times before the end of September.
Boro knew they finally had a no.9 who would work
tirelessly for possession, hold the ball up, link up with the midfield and be
in the right place at the right time to finish the chances that would come his
way.
That Chant
With an exotic, foreign name such as Kike Garcia,
it’s no surprise that the Boro faithful created an iconic song for their new
forward.
After his debut goal against Birmingham, ‘Ole, Ole,
Ole, Ole, Kike, Kike’ rang out around the Riverside
I can’t remember a fixture where the infamous chant
wasn’t sung out for the 6”1’ striker, and the originality of it would only help
to solidify his place as a fans’ favourite.
To this very day, almost four years on, we still
haven’t had anyone replace Kike’s name in that song and I can’t see anyone
taking it anytime soon.
Manchester Memories
The date was the 24th of January 2015
and Boro were handed the seemingly impossible task of facing Manchester City
away from home in the FA Cup.
Although Boro were flying in the league and
unbeaten in over a month, no one expected the events that were to unfold in
Manchester that afternoon.
City fielded a strong side but thanks to a Tomas
Mejias masterclass, Boro had held the Mancunians at bay and went in at
half-time with a 0-0 scoreline.
Once play resumed for the second half, Boro began
to have some chances of their own with the ‘Tomlin Turn’ taking the world and
most importantly Vincent Kompany by surprise.
Then, in the 53rd minute, Boro took the
lead as Patrick Bamford scrappily bundled the ball over the line and sparked
delirium in the away end.
Kike came on as a second half sub and in the 93rd
minute, with the score still 1-0, Boro broke forward, the ball fell to the
Spaniard who finished past Willy Caballero with a strike of the highest
calibre.
Although Kike may not be the only Spanish hero to
come out of that day (with Mejias and Ayala being brilliant), the celebrations
that came after the ball struck Caballero’s net will be stained on the minds of
Teessider’s forever.
Play-off Delight and Heart Break
Kike scored in patches for the remainder of the
season as Boro found a winning formula with a front four consisting of Bamford,
Vossen, Tomlin and Adomah, but when the man from Spain was called upon he did
not look out of place. His highlight of the second-half of the 46 league games
was when he finished a magnificient team goal with a fine finish into the
top-corner against Millwall on the 3rd of March.
Having missed out on automatic promotion, Boro
still had a chance of making it to the Premier via the Play-Offs. On the 15th
of May 2015 Boro had the chance to reach the Play-Off Final at Wembley.
A home draw against Brentford would have been
enough to secure Boro’s place in the Final following a 2-1 win in the
first-leg, but Aitor Karanka’s men weren’t willing to risk losing the game by
playing for a draw.
Attacking Midfielder Lee Tomlin scored a first-half
goal to ease the nerves before Albert Adomah and Kike each scored once in the
second half to cap off an outstanding performance over the two legs.
Kike’s goal was the most memorable of the lot, not
particularly for the finish but more for the celebrations that followed.
His 55th minute goal pretty much
confirmed our trip to Wembley and Kike knew it. He flung his shirt off and ran
towards the man who had put so much faith in him, Aitor Karanka. The emotion on
his face as he ran towards the Boro boss was something in which I’ll never
forget.
The Play-Off Final defeat to Norwich City was
painful and meant it was a devastating end to what had been a great season for
both Boro and Kike, but everything seemed set in stone for another promotion
push the next.
Struggling for Game Time
As the 2015/16 season approached, Boro announced
the signings of Uruguayan international Cristhian Stuani and serial goalscorer
David Nugent following the end of Jelle Vossen and Patrick Bamford’s loan deal.
This meant that competition for Boro’s lone striker
role really heated up.
Stuani had a great start to life on Teesside as
striker in the League Cup, and Nugent was being his usual tireless worker self.
This meant that Kike found himself on the bench more often than not, despite
scoring 3 goals in his first 3 matches of the season.
Although he frequently started on the bench during
his second season at the club, his commitment to the cause was never questioned
as he worked tirelessly whenever he was given a chance.
You never heard any reports of him moaning about
game time or threatening to move away, and this earned him further respect
among the fans.
Tears on Teesside
Once January came around the 26-year old Kike was
linked with moves to the likes of Wolves and Leeds. Karanka insisted Kike was in his plans and
still had a major role to play in Boro’s promotion bid.
However, with the deadline day signing of Jordan
Rhodes from Blackburn and namesake compatriot Kike Sola coming in from Bilbao
on loan this spelled the end to the Boro striker’s time on Teesside.
In a video which showed Kike leaving Rockcliffe Park
in tears, he showed just how much this club meant to him in the year and a half
he spent here.
I’m certain Kike won’t have been the only one in
tears as the club confirmed he would sign for Eibar. Some fans were dismayed
with the decision to sell him because as the deal was completed later than the transfer
deadline, he couldn’t actually play for Eibar until the following season.
The Letter
A gentleman like Kike Garcia doesn’t just leave a
club that he had shared so many memories with, and not say goodbye.
A heartfelt letter was written by Kike himself and
released to fans on social media.
When translated from Spanish, it reads:
"To all Boro fans,
This stage of my life has come to an
end, in which I have been very happy.
It's impossible to write in a few lines
all that I've been through here.
On one side I am sad because I have
left a great club where I felt very loved, which opened the doors and gave me a
chance to learn the English way of football.
It is time to say thank you to all who
have stood by me throughout this period, my teammates (those who are still
there and those who have left), that from each and every one of you I have
learned something that has made me grow personally and in football; the
coaching staff, physios, doctors, club staff, club directors and many more.
But most of all I would like to thank
the FANS, you are wonderful and you have always been there for me. Thank you
for supporting me, I have felt loved by you at all times.
I will be taking lots of wonderful
memories with me. I still get goosebumps when I think about you chanting my
name and singing my song. Thank you.
I hope that Boro achieve their goals as
they truly deserve to. Come on Boro!
Now I am thrilled to begin a new
chapter. I would like to thank enormously Eibar as a club for trusting me, and
giving me the opportunity to fulfil my dream of playing in the Spanish first
division.
I leave with the hope to grow as a
player and help a great club like Eibar.
Thank you for believing in me,
Kike Garcia."
Never Forgotten
The Spaniard quickly settled into life back in his
country when he was finally registered with Eibar ahead of the 2016/17 season,
as he’s scored 15 league goals in 59 appearances; stats not to be shunned at
when playing in the top tier.
Back in November last year, Boro fans Hannah
Harrison and Jack Moore flew out for Eibar's game with Levante and ended up
meeting the striker.
After waiting until after the game to meet their
hero, they unfortunately just missed out.
Later that day they received a message from Kike
himself saying that he was upset that he didn’t get to meet them and that they
should come back the next day and spend some time with him after training.
Eibar’s number 17 was true to his word and gave the
two a signed shirt and chatted with them for a while, stating that he still
looks out for Boro results.
Kike often also posts on his Instagram about the
club he shared so many memories with.
Although he may have only scored 16 competitive
goals in his 75 Boro appearances, each and every one of them were very special.
Man City away in the cup, Blackpool away to send us
top of the league, Brentford in the play offs, debut goals, the ‘ole’s’, the
end of the “La Bamba” chant, the letter, the fan meet-ups… these are all memories
which Teessiders will never forget and for that we can only be thankful.
The tireless work ethic, dogged determination and
passion for the club mean Kike’s name will live on as a folk legend, a player
who captured the hearts and minds of the fans as he helped the club into an era
of success not seen for many years.
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