Ezequiel Marcelo Garay González (Spanish pronunciation:[eseˈkjelɣaˈɾaj]; born 10 October 1986) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a central defender.
Garay made another 12 league appearances for Newell's, scoring his first and only goal for the club in the local derby against Rosario Central, a 2–1 win.[4]
Garay playing for Real Madrid against Real Sociedad in 2011
Real Madrid
On 18 May 2008, Racing sold Garay to Real Madrid,[10] but received the player again on a season-long loan.[11] Returned in July 2009, he made his league debut for the latter on 29 August, in the opening game of the campaign against Deportivo de La Coruña, a 3–2 home win.[12] On 12 December, after coming on as a substitute for severely injured Pepe, he scored his first goal for the club, heading in a free kick from Xabi Alonso to make it 3–2 at Valencia CF with six minutes to go.[13]
On 5 July 2011, Garay transferred to S.L. Benfica[16] for a fee of €5.5 million,[17] signing a four-year contract; initially part of the deal that sent Fábio Coentrão to Real Madrid,[18] Garay eventually signed a separate deal.[19] Real Madrid also remained eligible for 50% of any transfer fee Benfica would receive,[17] and the latter also sold part of his rights to Benfica Stars Fund for €1.175 million, making the club owner of 40%.[20]
During his spell in Lisbon, Garay shared teams with a host of compatriots, and often partnered with Luisão in central defence.[21][22][23] On 24 April 2014, he scored his eighth official goal of the season, his team's first in a 2–1 home win over Juventus FC in the first leg of the Europa League semi-finals.[24]
Zenit
On 25 June 2014, Russian club FC Zenit Saint Petersburg signed Garay in a transfer totalling €6 million, with Benfica receiving €2.4 million for their 40% part of the player's rights.[25][26]
On 31 August 2016, Garay joined Valencia for a fee reported at around €20 million.[28][29] He scored four goals in his debut campaign, but his side could only finish 12th.[30]
Garay was on the starting XI in the 2019 Copa del Rey final, a 2–1 defeat of Barcelona.[31] In February 2020, after suffering a cruciate ligament injury to his right knee which would sideline him for up to six months,[32] he asked to be released so that another player in his position could be signed.[33]
Having been without a club for over one year, the 34-year-old Garay announced his retirement on 16 July 2021. He revealed that he had been suffering with a long-term injury since 2018 and had had offers since leaving Valencia, but felt that it would have been dishonest to accept them since the injury situation would have meant he would only have been available for one game out of every three.[34]
Garay earned his first cap for the senior team cap in a friendly against Norway, a 2–1 loss on 22 August 2007.[36][37] He had previously been called in May 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.[4]
Garay was selected by new national team manager Sergio Batista to the 2011 Copa América. He was also picked by the following coach, Alejandro Sabella, for his 2014 FIFA World Cup squad, making his debut in the competition on 15 June by featuring the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 group stage win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.[38] He was first-choice in all the remaining games and, on 9 July, converted his penalty shootout attempt against the Netherlands (0–0 after 120 minutes) to send his country to the final for the first time in 24 years.[39]
On 15 March 2020, Garay became the first La Liga player to test positive for COVID-19.[42] On 21 September 2021, shortly following his retirement, he was reported to have started real estate development in Valencia.[43]
Career statistics
Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[44][45]
^Fernández, Elena (21 June 2007). "La Juve ya ha superado la pérdida de Milito" [Juve have already come to terms with loss of Milito] (in Spanish). Merca Fútbol. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
^"Comunicado" [Announcement] (PDF) (in Portuguese). Portuguese Securities Market Commission. 30 September 2011. Archived from the original(PDF) on 31 May 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
^"Comunicado" [Announcement] (PDF) (in Portuguese). Portuguese Securities Market Commission. 26 June 2014. Archived from the original(PDF) on 31 May 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
^"Relatório & contas 2013/2014" [2013/2014 report & finance] (PDF) (in Portuguese). S.L. Benfica. 30 June 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
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