Óscar García Junyent

International career Óscar appeared for Spain at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, scoring twice for the eventual quarter-finalists.

Coaching career Maccabi Tel Aviv and England In late 2009, García joined former Barcelona coach Johan Cruyff's coaching staff in the Catalonia national team, as the Dutchman had just been appointed. On 22 May 2012, he received his first head coach appointment, signing a two-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv, where Cruyff's son Jordi acted as sporting director. Exactly one year later, after leading the club to the Israeli Premier League after a ten-year drought, he resigned from his post citing personal reasons.

García was unveiled as the new head coach of Football League Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion on 26 June 2013, replacing Gus Poyet. His first win came on 17 August, 1–0 at Birmingham City; he was November's Manager of the Month, with three wins and a draw. On 12 May 2014, following their play off semi-final defeat to Derby County, his offer of resignation was accepted by the board.

On 2 June 2014, García returned to Maccabi by signing a two-year contract, but left on 26 August due to ongoing war. A week later he was appointed at Watford, replacing Giuseppe Sannino. He was admitted to hospital with minor chest pains on 15 September, forcing him to miss the team's upcoming match with Blackpool. These health problems eventually led to him stepping down, two weeks later.

Red Bull Salzburg

Austrian double holders Red Bull Salzburg hired García on 28 December 2015, following the dismissal of Peter Zeidler. His team, for which fellow Spaniard Jonathan Soriano was the main striker, ended the season as national champions. On 19 May the latter scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 cup final victory over Admira Wacker to seal another double.

In 2016–17, Salzburg retained both major honours. After the loss of Soriano, García built the attack around South Korean Hwang Hee-chan.

Saint-Étienne On 15 June 2017, Saint-Étienne signed García to a two-year contract. In November, however, following a 5–0 home loss against Lyon in the Derby du Rhone, he left the club by mutual agreement.

Olympiacos Olympiacos announced García as their new manager on 5 January 2018, to replace Takis Lemonis. His contract was terminated by mutual consent on 3 April, following a 1–1 away draw with Levadiakos; the side had also been eliminated from the Greek Cup for a third consecutive year, and he was held partially responsible for the lack of dressing room, training and match discipline.

Celta García had his first head coach experience in Spain in November 2019, when he took over for Fran Escribá at Celta de Vigo, who stood third from the bottom in the standings. His team stayed up on the last day of the season, as Leganés could not win their fixture.

On 9 November 2020, after only one win in nine matches of the new campaign, García was dismissed.

Reims García returned to the French Ligue 1 in June 2021, being appointed at Reims on a three-year deal. Starting with a goalless draw at Nice on 8 August, he won on his fifth attempt with a 2–0 victory at Rennes.

García's one full season at the Stade Auguste-Delaune resulted in a 12th-place finish. He was relieved of his duties on 13 October 2022, with his team 15th in the table, and was replaced by his assistant Will Still.

OH Leuven On 3 November 2023, García was hired at Oud-Heverlee Leuven, taking over a club in the Belgian Pro League relegation zone after 12 games. He eventually managed to avoid a drop, with a 1–0 win against Mechelen in injury time.

One year after arriving, with the side again in the bottom part of the table, García was dismissed alongside his staff.

Guadalajara On 2 December 2024, Guadalajara of the Liga MX announced García as their new head coach from January 2025. He was fired three months later, less than 24 hours before a game at UNAM.

Ajax On 10 February 2026, García was appointed at Jong Ajax, placed bottom in the Eerste Divisie; he arrived shortly after Willem Weijs was relieved of his duties by the newly installed technical director Jordi Cruyff. He managed some improvement and, on 8 March, became caretaker manager of the first team in place of the dismissed Fred Grim, who returned to his role in the academy.

Pogoń Szczecin On 23 June 2026, García became coach of Ekstraklasa club Pogoń Szczecin on a three-year contract.

Personal life García's brothers, Roger and Genís, were also footballers. All youth products of Barcelona, they had however different fates as professionals (especially the latter).

On 17 June 1997, during the final of the Copa Catalunya, all three appeared with the first team in a 3–1 loss to Europa.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player Barcelona La Liga: 1992–93, 1993–94, 1997–98, 1998–99 Copa del Rey: 1996–97, 1997–98 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1996–97 UEFA Super Cup: 1997

Valencia Supercopa de España: 1999 UEFA Champions League runner-up: 1999–2000

Spain U-21 UEFA European Under-21 Championship runner-up: 1996; third place 1994

Manager Maccabi Tel Aviv Israeli Premier League: 2012–13

Red Bull Salzburg Austrian Football Bundesliga: 2015–16, 2016–17 Austrian Cup: 2015–16, 2016–17

Individual Football League Manager of the Month: November 2013