Ezequiel Garay facts for kids
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Garay playing for Zenit in 2015
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Ezequiel Marcelo Garay González | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 10 October 1986 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Rosario, Argentina | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Newell's Old Boys | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Newell's Old Boys | 13 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2008 | Racing Santander | 60 | (12) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2011 | Real Madrid | 25 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | → Racing Santander (loan) | 24 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2014 | Benfica | 78 | (9) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 50 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2020 | Valencia | 92 | (6) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 342 | (34) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | Argentina U17 | 6 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Argentina U23 | 9 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2015 | Argentina | 32 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ezequiel Marcelo Garay González is a former professional footballer from Argentina. He was born on October 10, 1986. Ezequiel played as a central defender, which means he helped protect his team's goal.
He began his football journey with Newell's Old Boys in Argentina. When he was 19, he moved to Spain. There, he played for teams like Racing de Santander, Real Madrid, and Valencia for ten seasons. Later, in 2011, he joined S.L. Benfica in Portugal. With Benfica, he won four major titles, including a "domestic treble" in the 2013–14 season. This means they won three big competitions in their home country that year.
Garay also played for the Argentine national team. He represented his country in the 2014 World Cup and two Copa América tournaments.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting Out in Argentina
Ezequiel Garay was born in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina. He started his professional football career at just 18 years old. He played for his hometown team, Newell's Old Boys, in Argentina's top league. His first game was against Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata. His team won the Apertura championship in the 2004–05 season.
Garay played 12 more league games for Newell's. He scored his first and only goal for the club in a special local game called the Rosario derby against Rosario Central. His team won that game 2–1.
Playing in Spain: Racing Santander
In December 2005, Garay moved to Spain to play for La Liga club Racing de Santander. He helped his team avoid being moved down to a lower league in the 2005–06 season.
His first full season, 2006–07, was amazing. He scored nine goals in 31 league games. This made him one of the top-scoring defenders in Europe. He even scored three goals against famous club Real Madrid. Racing Santander finished tenth that season, which was their best finish since returning to the top league in 2002.
In March 2008, Garay got a serious leg injury during a Copa del Rey semi-final match. This injury kept him from playing for the rest of the season. Even with the injury, he scored three goals in 22 matches. His team finished in their best-ever sixth place, which meant they qualified for the UEFA Cup for the first time.
Time at Real Madrid
On May 18, 2008, Racing Santander sold Garay to Real Madrid. However, he stayed at Racing for another season on loan. He officially joined Real Madrid in July 2009. His first league game for Real Madrid was on August 29, 2009, against Deportivo de La Coruña. Real Madrid won that game 3–2 at home. On December 12, he scored his first goal for Real Madrid. He headed in a free kick to help his team win 3–2 against Valencia CF.
In the 2010–11 season, Garay was not a regular starter under the new coach, José Mourinho. He played in only five league games and two Spanish Cup games. He even played for one minute in the 2011 Copa del Rey final, which Real Madrid won 1–0 against FC Barcelona.
Success with Benfica
On July 5, 2011, Garay moved to S.L. Benfica in Portugal. He signed a four-year contract. During his time in Lisbon, Garay played with many players from his home country. He often played alongside Luisão as a central defender. On April 24, 2014, he scored his eighth goal of the season. This was the first goal in a 2–1 home win against Juventus FC in the Europa League semi-finals.
Moving to Zenit and Valencia
On June 25, 2014, Garay joined the Russian club FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. In his first season, he played in 42 games across all competitions. He helped his team win their fourth Russian Premier League championship.
On August 31, 2016, Garay moved back to Spain to play for Valencia. He scored four goals in his first season there. Valencia finished 12th in the league that year. Garay was a starting player in the 2019 Copa del Rey final, where Valencia beat Barcelona 2–1. In February 2020, he suffered a serious knee injury that would keep him out of action for many months. He decided to leave the club so they could sign another player in his position.
After not playing for over a year, Garay announced his retirement from football on July 16, 2021. He shared that he had been dealing with a long-term injury since 2018. He had received offers to play, but he felt it would not be fair to accept them because his injury meant he could only play in about one out of every three games.
International Career
In 2005, Garay helped the Argentine under-20 team win the FIFA U-20 World Cup in the Netherlands. Famous players like Sergio Agüero, Fernando Gago, and Lionel Messi were also on that team.
Garay played his first game for the senior national team in a friendly match against Norway on August 22, 2007. Argentina lost that game 2–1. He was chosen for the 2011 Copa América and the 2014 FIFA World Cup squad. He played all 90 minutes in Argentina's first World Cup game, a 2–1 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina. He played in all the remaining games. On July 9, he scored a penalty kick in a shootout against the Netherlands. This helped Argentina reach the World Cup final for the first time in 24 years. Garay was also part of the team for the 2015 Copa América.
Personal Life
On March 15, 2020, Ezequiel Garay was the first player in Spain's La Liga to test positive for COVID-19. After he retired from football, it was reported on September 21, 2021, that he started working in real estate development in Valencia.
Honours and Achievements
Ezequiel Garay won many titles and awards during his career:
Newell's Old Boys
- Argentine Primera División: 2004 Apertura (a championship in Argentina)
Real Madrid
- Copa del Rey: 2010–11 (Spanish Cup)
Benfica
- Primeira Liga: 2013–14 (Portuguese League)
- Taça de Portugal: 2013–14 (Portuguese Cup)
- Taça da Liga: 2011–12, 2013–14 (Portuguese League Cup)
- UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2012–13, 2013–14 (finished second in this European competition)
Zenit Saint Petersburg
- Russian Premier League: 2014–15 (Russian League)
- Russian Cup: 2015–16
- Russian Super Cup: 2016
Valencia
- Copa del Rey: 2018–19 (Spanish Cup)
Argentina Youth Teams
- FIFA U-17 World Cup third place: 2003 (with Argentina U17)
- FIFA U-20 World Cup: 2005 (with Argentina U20)
- Summer Olympic Games: 2008 (Gold Medal with Argentina U23)
Argentina National Team
- FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2014 (finished second in the World Cup)
- Copa América runner-up: 2015 (finished second in the Copa América)
Individual Award
- UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season: 2013–14 (chosen as one of the best players in the Europa League that season)
See also
In Spanish: Ezequiel Garay para niños
