Ezequiel Garay

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Ezequiel Garay

Personal information
Full name	Ezequiel Marcelo Garay
Date of birth	October 10, 1986 (1986-10-10) (age 22)
Place of birth	Rosario, Argentina
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Centre-back / Sweeper
Club information
Current club	Real Madrid
Number	-
Senior career1
Years	Club	Apps (Gls)2
2004–2005	Newell's Old Boys	13 0(1)
2005–2008	Racing Santander	59 (12)
2008–	Real Madrid	00 0(0)
2008–2009	→ Racing Santander (loan)	24 0(2)
National team3
2007–	Argentina	01 0(0)
2008–	Argentina Olympic	09 0(0)
Honours Competitor for  Argentina Men's Football Gold 2008 Beijing Team Competition
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:57, 20 May 2009 (UTC). 2 Appearances (Goals). 3 National team caps and goals correct as of 11:29, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

Ezequiel Marcelo Garay (born October 10, 1986 in Rosario) is an Argentine football player, who plays for Real Madrid. His main position is as central defender however he can also play at right back and other positions. While at Racing Santander, he proved himself to be a consistent set-piece taker, regularly scoring free-kicks and penalties.

[edit] Club career

At the early age of 18, Ezequiel Garay made his professional debut in 2004 for his home town club, Newell's Old Boys, in the Argentine Primera. His first match was an important one against Gimnasia de La Plata where he helped Los Leprosos clinch the Apertura championship.

His profile was raised even higher in 2005 where he was a part of Argentina's U-20 World Cup winning side which included such young stars like Lionel Messi, Sergio Agüero, Fernando Gago, and Oscar Ustari. Garay made 12 more appearances for Newell's in 2005 and had the honor of scoring his first goal for the club in a 2-1 win over Rosario Central in the Rosario derby. He ended up transferring to Racing de Santander in the Spanish Primera in late 2005 after only making 13 appearances for Newell's at the professional level.

After a short and expected settling in period during his first partial season, Garay established himself as a first team regular for Racing that fall where he featured in central defense. He started 30 of Racing's 38 league matches in 2006/2007 where he not only provided tidy defending, but also displayed polished offensive skills as he netted nine goals that season. Most of these came from the penalty spot as his ability to strike a free kick made him an unusual commodity, a talented defender who also had advanced technical skills.

Once again, he displayed a knack for performing well in big situations as his initial strike for Racing was a beautiful free kick against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. In the return fixture, he bagged a brace from the penalty spot in Racing’s memorable win over Los Blancos which, at the time, looked like it might derail Madrid’s bid for the Primera title that year. Even more impressive in Garay’s performance was the fact that his mistake allowed Madrid to initially take the lead before his late game heroics helped Los Verdiblancos gain a memorable result. Racing ended up finishing 10th that season which was their best finish since returning to the Primera in 2002. His performance at the club level earned Garay a few call-ups to the senior Argentina national team where he expects to establish himself in central defense for the next World Cup.

The 2007–2008 season was a mixed bag for Garay at Racing. While he played a large part in Racing finishing 6th in the Primera which secured a UEFA Cup spot for next season, injuries limited him to only playing in 22 league matches. However, with his considerable talent as well as increased profile, he was already well on the radar screen of many top clubs.

In 2008, Racing sold him to Real Madrid. Madrid loaned him back to Racing with the loan finishing in June 2009.

[edit] International career

Garay earned his first full Argentina cap in a 22 August 2007 friendly against Norway which Argentina lost 2-1. He had previously been called upon in May 2007 by coach Alfio Basile to a series of friendlies prior to the 2007 Copa América but injury prevented him from appearing in those matches and the official competition.

[edit] Career statistics

(Correct as of 14 March 2009 )

[edit] External links

• Statistics at Guardian Stats Centre
• Career statistics at National Football Teams
• Goal.com profile

v • d • e Argentina squad – 2008 Olympic Gold Medalists 1 Ustari • 2 Garay • 3 Monzón • 4 Zabaleta • 5 Gago • 6 Fazio • 7 Sosa • 8 Banega • 9 Lavezzi • 10 Riquelme • 11 Di María • 12 Pareja • 13 Acosta • 14 Mascherano • 15 Messi • 16 Agüero • 17 Buonanotte • 18 Romero • 22 Navarro • Coach: Batista