Francisco Javier "Javi" García Fernández (; born 8 February 1987) is a Spanish former professional footballer who is an assistant manager for Benfica. A defensive midfielder by nature, he could also appear as a central defender. He started his career with Real Madrid, but represented mostly the reserve team, going on to have a three-year spell with Benfica in Portugal. In 2012 he signed with Manchester City, then spent a further three seasons in the Russian Premier League with Zenit where he appeared in 108 matches across all competitions. He returned to Spain with Betis in 2017 and retired at Boavista. García represented Spain at various youth levels, including the victorious under-19s at the 2006 European Championship, and made his senior international debut in 2012. Club career Real Madrid A product of Real Madrid's youth system, García was born in Mula, Region of Murcia, and played three La Liga matches for the first team while still a junior, making his debut at age 17 in a 5–0 home win against Levante UD on 28 November 2004. After that, he would spend the entire 2005–06 season with the reserves in Segunda División. The summer of 2006 was a very busy one for García: first, he won the UEFA European Championship with the under-19s, impressing first-team head coach Fabio Capello who recalled him to training sessions. He played most of Real's pre-season games, including a starting line-up spot in both Ramón de Carranza Trophy fixtures, being deployed in central midfield alongside new purchase Emerson; however, he failed to appear for the main squad in official matches. In August 2007, in the campaign of García's supposed definitive promotion to the first team, head coach Bernd Schuster would eventually prevent that golden opportunity – as fellow cantera players Rubén de la Red and Esteban Granero also left – and offers began to appear from clubs in the Premier League, including Liverpool, and domestic teams such as Atlético Madrid and Deportivo de La Coruña. García would finally settle for CA Osasuna on 31 August, signing for four seasons for a €2.5 million transfer fee as the Navarre side was keen to replace injury-struck midfielder Javad Nekounam (out of action for several months); having first appeared in a 1–1 home draw to Sevilla FC, where he played one minute, he scored twice in his first six matches, in victories over Levante (4–1) and Villarreal CF (3–2).