Greg Garza
American soccer player (born 1991)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gregory "Greg" Martin Garza (born August 16, 1991) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a left-back.
|
Garza at an FC Cincinnati event in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gregory Martin Garza[1] | ||
| Date of birth | August 16, 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Grapevine, Texas, United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.72 m) | ||
| Position | Left-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2006 | São Paulo | ||
| 2007–2008 | Dallas Texans | ||
| 2008–2010 | Sporting CP | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2011 | Estoril Praia | 3 | (0) |
| 2012–2017 | Tijuana | 66 | (3) |
| 2015 | → Atlas (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2017 | → Atlanta United (loan) | 26 | (2) |
| 2018 | Atlanta United | 11 | (1) |
| 2019–2020 | FC Cincinnati | 22 | (0) |
| Total | 131 | (6) | |
| International career | |||
| 2011 | United States U20 | 3 | (0) |
| 2014–2017 | United States | 10 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
Estoril Praia
Garza spent several years with Sporting Clube de Portugal's under-19 team, but he was not offered a contract with the senior squad.[2] As a result, he moved to Estoril Praia on a two-year contract in August 2010.[3]
Club Tijuana
Garza signed with Mexican Primera División side Club Tijuana on December 21, 2011.[4] Garza made his debut coming in as a sub in minute 73 for José Sand against Monarcas Morelia in a 1–1 tied game. He scored the first goal of his career for the club on October 13, 2012, in a 2–2 draw at Santos Laguna.[5]
Atlanta United
In December 2016 it was announced that Garza had signed a one-year loan deal with newly formed side Atlanta United for the 2017 season.[6] Atlanta acquired Garza's MLS right from Columbus Crew SC in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft.
On November 29, 2017, Atlanta announced that it had signed Garza to a permanent multi-year deal.[7] Greg Garza made $175,008 for the 2018 MLS Season.[8]
FC Cincinnati
On December 11, 2018, Atlanta United announced that the club had traded Garza to FC Cincinnati in exchange for $250,000 of Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) and $200,000 of General Allocation Money (GAM) to be used toward the acquisition of new players.[9]
Retirement
On April 23, 2021, Garza announced his retirement from professional soccer at the age of 29. He cited his struggles with various injuries as the reason for his retirement. Since retirement, Garza maintains his connection with soccer through volunteering with local youth soccer clubs.[10][11] In 2021 Garza founded a soccer mentoring organization, Beyond Goals Mentoring along with former Atlanta United teammate Michael Parkhurst.
International career
Garza was announced as part of the United States senior squad for a friendly against the Czech Republic on September 3, 2014. His first senior international cap was recorded during the match, being subbed on in the 62nd minute. He was capped-tied to the U.S. national team after his first competitive match in the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup against Haiti, while starting and playing 67 minutes. But after the group stage he was traded out of the gold cup roster for DaMarcus Beasley as each team could make six changes if they advanced to the knockout round.
Personal life
Garza was born and raised in Texas but holds a Mexican passport by way of his father who was born in Mexico.[12]
Career statistics
- As of March 17, 2018[13]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Estoril | 2010–11 | Liga de Honra | 3 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| Tijuana | 2011–12 | Mexican Primera División | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2012–13 | Liga MX | 10 | 2 | 7 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | 21 | 2 | ||
| 2013–14 | 19 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | 25 | 0 | ||||
| 2014–15 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 1 | ||||
| 2016–17 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 66 | 3 | 8 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | 84 | 3 | |||
| Atlas (loan) | 2015–16 | Liga MX | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| Atlanta United (loan) | 2017 | Major League Soccer | 26 | 2 | — | — | — | 26 | 2 | |||
| Atlanta United | 2018 | Major League Soccer | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 100 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 121 | 5 | ||