Rudy Garcia was born back in 1964 in the family of a professional football player. Rudy's father, who at one time played with not-so-famous French teams (“Sedan” and “Dunkirk”), largely determined his son’s future hobby and profession. It was he who first took his son to the training of the youthful Corbey-Esson team, of which Rudy is a pupil.
Football career
The debut of Rudi Garcia as a player took place for the main team, “Lille” in the 1983/1984 season. For this club, Garcia played 5 seasons, and, as it turned out later, devoted most of his short career to him.
In 1988, the footballer moved to the Cannes football club, playing in France’s second strongest division, and in 1991 another transition took place - to Martigues.
The professional career of Rudi Garcia, whose biography as a player is not replete with high-profile titles and successes, ended in 1992 due to a severe knee injury. However, even before the mid-1990s, the footballer played in amateur French clubs and at the same time began to comprehend the secrets of the difficult coaching profession in the same Corbeil-Esson, in which he took his first steps in the football field.
The beginning of a coaching career
Since 1998, Garcia has worked in various coaching positions at the Saint-Etienne Club, and in January 2001 took over as head coach of the club from the hands of renowned Welsh coach John Toshak. However, Garcia was able to hold out at the helm of this team only until the end of the current season. After 12 matches, the wards of Rudi Garcia were able to score only 12 points, and the club management dismissed the novice coach.
Garcia was able to rehabilitate himself with Dijon, who wasn’t enough stars from the sky, which he managed to lead to League 2, as well as make good noise in League 1 with Le Mans, taking with him a record 9th place for this modest club.
Career heyday
True fame as a coach for Garcia came along with “Lille”, which he was entrusted to lead in 2008. The team immediately took 5th place in the championship and made it to the Europa League.
In the next championship, “Lille” took 4th place, and in 2011 won the French Cup and became the country's champion, playing in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.
In June 2013, Rudi Garcia accepted the offer of the Italian Roma, hoping with this team to rise to a new level of global confrontation.
The unsuccessful season of 2015/2016, in which the legendary Italian club took only 5th place, served as a catalyst for the dismissal of Rudi from Roma on January 13, 2016.