Sporting KC’s roster needs an overhaul. This is one of the pieces to build around

When Sporting KC announced Manu Garcia as a designated player, his name was unknown to most fans.

The Greek Super League, from which Garcia arrived, isn’t exactly part of the soccer information pipeline that reaches the United States. Those who knew of him were either die-hard enough to be knowledgeable about Greek football or had played with him in the FIFA video game back when he played for some of his previous clubs — Manchester City and Sporting Gijón among them.

It took little time to see the class Garcia brought to the field. He displayed his quick and shifty nature and complete vision early.

Of course, Sporting KC’s season hasn’t gone as hoped. However, Garcia told The Star in a recent interview that one of the main reasons he came to Kansas City was to be part of a project that aspired to return to the top.

“One of the decisions of coming here was to find a bit of stability … that the club had an idea of growing,” Garcia said. “It was the right place to be to try to stay for some time and help the club grow.”

His experiences have equipped him to help lead that project.

Manu Garica is well-traveled

Garcia hails from Spain’s northern province of Asturias. He was born in the city of Oviedo. His father was also from Asturias, near the border of the province of León, where his mother lived.

His mother moved to Oviedo to study medicine. And his father followed suit. By a young age, Garcia was recognized as one of the best in Oviedo. He eventually joined the Sporting Gijón academy.

As is often the case in soccer worldwide, the regional rivalries are the most intense. There is a passionate rivalry between the two leading teams of the Asturias region: Real Oviedo and Sporting Gijón.

As an Oviedo resident and schoolboy, joining Gijón’s academy certainly brought scrutiny from schoolmates.

“I was always the black sheep in my school because I supported Sporting Gijón and played for them,” Garcia said.

He attributed that support and love of Gijón to his father. “Black sheep” or not, Garcia says he played soccer at that age because he loved to play with his friends.

“When the opportunity to go to England came, I wasn’t even thinking about (professional soccer),” Garcia said. “I was just enjoying playing. I knew I was doing well and was maybe one of the best in my age … but it was not in my mind to reach any goal.”

The opportunity to join Manchester City came at just 15 years old.

As expected, moving to a new country, with a new language, was difficult. But he carries fond memories, even from some of the more challenging times. That experience in England helped shape his willingness to take risks, travel and play outside his comfort zone.

“The experience opens your mind to travel, to see a different culture,” Garcia said. “After England, I went to so many different places. … (It) helped me mature earlier, and I think it helped me become the person that I am now in the way of seeing life with a more open mind.”

He eventually played in the Netherlands and France, and even returned to Spain before moving to Greece.

It was his final stop before arriving in KC.

Garcia’s formative influences and experiences

Garcia spent several formative years in Manchester, training alongside David Silva, one of the best Spaniards to ever play in the Premier League. While playing abroad, Garcia sought to model his game after some of the greatest players to have played the position in this modern era.

The Barcelona trio of Xavi, Andrés Iniesta and Sergio Busquets are known as one of the greatest midfields in the history of the game. All of them came through around the same generation of players, like Silva.

Silva and that trio’s stars outshone players who would have easily been considered generational on their own, including Santi Cazorla, Juan Mata, and Cesc Fabregas.

“I grew up in a generation of small midfielders in Spain, similar to my height,” Garcia said. “I looked up to all of them. You try to understand what they do, and why they do certain things, even though they were in maybe different contexts than I am. But you need to try to take from the best.”

Garcia’s ability to recognize passing patterns before they appear is the hallmark of a top-level midfielder. And specifically, one who models his game after the legends he mentioned.

“I’ve always been in the best years in my career where I had this freedom, and the team moved well with the ball,” Garcia said. “Where I could appear at the start of the play, and the ball was moving all the way up. And in the end, I appear in the last third to help the team create things there.”

A quick analysis of Dejan Joveljic’s goal against LAFC showed exactly that.

Garcia waited in a softer spot deep for the ball to pop out to him. It did, and he immediately drew LAFC defenders to another teammate with a quick pass that broke the LAFC midfield line. Now on the run, he drove at the back line with space, eventually receiving the ball back from Shapi Suleymanov.

As he entered the final third, Garcia partnered for a quick give-and-go with Joveljic. The ball ended up in the back of the net.

“I think I can hurt (the opposition) the most if I can receive, turn and be facing the opposition, trying to play balls in behind for our runners,” Garcia said. “It’s where I enjoy the most.”

The assist on Joveljic’s goal was just one of many moments that show Garcia was worth the expenditure it took to bring him to KC.

Part of the process

Ultimately, Garcia was convinced to join SKC under the assumption that Peter Vermes was in charge, and the team would begin its climb toward the top tier of MLS that it long existed in.

Within weeks, Vermes was gone, and Sporting KC entered an era it hadn’t seen in over a decade. Garcia didn’t blink.

“For me, it’s normal,” Garcia said.

European soccer is volatile. In two and a half years in Greece, he experienced six different managers at Aris FC. Only one lasted a calendar year.

“Some guys, they’ve been here for many years and they’ve only had one coach: Peter,” Garcia said. “Almost every year that I played, I got a coach change at least once.”

Garcia has played over 3,700 minutes in the last calendar year. Starting with preseason last August, through his transfer to Sporting, the soccer never stopped until he picked up a hamstring injury.

Results seemed to be coming for a while — until they didn’t. Sporting has lost seven of its last eight games after being near the playoff line with a third of the season left. Naturally, that downturn came with the absence of Garcia, as well as Erik Thommy.

The project to help Sporting KC return to the upper echelon of MLS is scheduled to begin this offseason.

Garcia will most certainly be part of that project. And despite the run of results, he’s confident in the vision.

“The feeling is, like, everyone cares,” Garcia said. “Everyone is trying their best. And I’m sure things will start working out, and this thing will go the right way.”

Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.