Another Spaniard: Villarreal's Roger Garcia joins Ajax
15 June: Less than two weeks after having landed
Gabri, Ajax have signed another Spaniard and product of the
FC Barcelona youth system. Roger García Junyent (29),
known as Roger, has joined the Amsterdam club on a free
transfer, coming from Spain's remarkable over-achievers of
recent seasons, Villarreal. The left
midfielder penned a one year contract at the Amsterdam
ArenA.
Roger celebrates his contract
signing with Ajax executives. [Photo: Ajax.nl]
According to Dutch football weekly Voetbal
International Ajax landed Roger when it became clear that
Edgar Davids' return to Amsterdam was not going to happen.
Ajax's technical director, Martin van Geel said: "We've landed
him for the starting line-up. He is an experienced player. In
principle, Roger completes our squad for the upcoming
season."
Roger García Junyent (born Sabadell, Spain, 15
December 1976) joined FC Barcelona as a nine year-old
and made it all the way through the youth ranks
of the club, making his first team
début in the 1994-1995 season under... head-coach
Johan Cruyff. After five first team appearances
he was 'parked' at the Barcelona reserves, who
play as an independent lower division club in La Liga, under
the name of Barcelona B. Roger had 25 league appearances in the
remainder of the 1994-1995 season (6 goals).
The midfielder started the 1995-1996 campaign at Barcelona
B, but after only one game he returned to Nou Camp and had no
less than 33 first team appearances (5 goals) for the
real FC Barcelona that season. He would play for
Barça for three more season, but lost his spot
in the starting eleven and saw action in 'only' 42 league
matches (1 goal) in three years' time. As a Barcelona player he
won two Spanish championships, two Spanish cups, the Spanish
and the European Super Cup and the European Cup
Winners Cup.
In the summer of 1999 Roger signed a contract at FC
Barcelona's local rivals, Espanyol, for which club he had 114
league appearances in four seasons. He netted 17 times and won
the Spanish cup with Barcelona's 'second club'. After his four
year spell at Espanyol he remained on Spain's east coast,
moving on to the ambitious Villarreal CF, where he had 55
league appearances in three seasons' time (4 goals), initially
as a starter, but mostly as a substitute in the latter two
seasons. In total, Roger García played 273 games
(including 247 in the highest division) in Spain's La
Liga, in which he scored 34 times in total.
"I am very happy to join Ajax," Roger said after having
penned his contract. "It's an honour to play for a club with
such a big reputation. To me, Ajax is the academy of real
football. Many great players came from this club."
In Amsterdam Roger will be re-united with his countryman and
fellow Catalan Gabri. "I know Gabri and we have already talked
about Ajax. The two of us agree that Ajax is a big club and
that it's an honour to play for them. I also know Henk ten
Cate. I've met him in Barcelona. There was a click there and
I've also heard very good stories about him as a coach. He did
a wonderful job at Barcelona with Frank Rijkaard."
Roger had almost played against Rijkaard and Ten Cate in the
final of the UEFA Champions League. He saw action in
Villarreal's home game in the semi-final against Arsenal, but
Villarreal did not make it to the final. "Due to the fact that
we were in the Champions League I also know many Ajax players,"
Roger explained. "We watched their games on TV, obviously. I am
going to give everything I've got over here and I hope we will
win trophies." (MP)
Source: Ajax.nl, VI.nl
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