Lets face it, you'd be hard pressed to find a club manager who's happy about the imminent World Cup. The four-week tournament has brought domestic football to a standstill and seen many club's prized assets jet off to the Middle East half way through the league season.
Recently appointed Hull manager, Liam Rosenior, is one of the lucky ones. The failure of Turkey, Greece and the Ivory Coast to qualify for the tournament has kept many of the Tiger's stars at home during the break. Additionally, Injuries to usual national team stalwarts, Allahyar Sayyadmanesh and Benjmain Tetteh has meant that Rosenior has virtually his entire squad at his disposal during the 29 day break in action.
In lieu of any active Tigers travelling to Qatar, the absence of league football provides an opportunity to look back at the history of Hull players at the world cup. Whilst a slew of ex-Tigers have gone on to have stellar international careers, only six players have ever been to a World Cup whilst playing in black and amber.
The first active Hull City player to don his national team colours at the highest level of international football was Richard Garcia who represented his native Australia at the 2010 instalment of the tournament.
Garcia was a mainstay in East Yorkshire during Hull City's meteoric rise to the Premier League. The right-winger spent almost five years at Hull, playing 128 games and scoring 10 goals in the process. The name Garcia will be synonymous amongst fans with the 2008 promotion winning season and the vital role that the Australian played in booking the Tiger's first ever trip to Wembley.
Whilst never being known for his goals, Garcia stepped up during the play off semi final against Watford with the second leg at home being a career highlight for the former West Ham man. The Tigers had comprehensively defeated their opponents in the away leg and went into the home tie knowing that a composed performance would set up a maiden visit to the national stadium and an opportunity for promotion to the promise land of the Premier League.
Nick Barmby celebrates scoring against Watford in the play of semi final first leg (The Independent)
The quiet confidence throughout the Kingston Communications Stadium following the 2-0 first leg win was quickly dampened by a Watford goal in the opening passages of the fixture. Despite this early set back, what followed was a demolition of their opponents by the home side, with Richard Garcia at the epicentre of the onslaught.
A goal bound header from the Australian looped over Watford keeper, Richard Lee, causing a goalmouth scramble as frantic hornets defending met Hull attackers trying to force the ball in. Eventually the ball hit the back of the net as Nick Barmby bundled the ball home to level the tie and reinstate the Tiger's two goal advantage on aggregate. Credited with an assist for the goal, Garcia continued to provide attacking output throughout the game as Hull went ahead through a Caleb Folan goal in the second half.
Garcia's moment came in the 88th minute as the winger picked up the ball in the middle of the park, running through a lethargic Watford defence and putting the ball past Lee for the second time during the game. A late Nathan Doyle goal gave the Tigers a 6-1 lead on aggregate, sealing the East Yorkshire side a chance to make history and take the club to the most prestigious level of English Football.
Richard Garcia celebrates his goal against Watford (Hull Daily Mail)
With Hull famously achieving promotion with a win over Bristol City, Garcia remained a prevalent part of the side as they became accustomed to life in the Premier League. The Australians only Premiership goal came in the Tigers first ever away fixture in the league, a 1-1 draw against Blackburn in August 2008.
Unfortunately for Garica, much of his Premier League career was marred by injury with the 2009/10 season proving particularly difficult for the then 28-year-old. Missing the opening twelve games of the season with a knee injury, the winger struggled with his performances on the pitch, only managing one goal contribution in his 18 games played that season.
Injuries also hampered his international career as Garica had only been able to play three times for the Socceroos during their unbeaten World Cup qualifying campaign. Despite this, the man who had only been capped six times previously was selected as a part Pim Verbeek's 23-man squad for South Africa, making him the first active Tiger to do so.
Verbeek cited Garcia's versatility as a reason for his decision as the Tigers star was someone who was comfortable playing anywhere across the forward line. Garcia had traditionally played as a centre forward during his days at West Ham before drifting further wide over his time in East Yorkshire.
Hull ended their sophomore Premier League outing in 19th place, condemning them back to the Football League after narrowly avoiding the drop the previous year. Regardless of the poor performance, there was no doubt that the Club were proud to see their first ever player travel to a world cup as Garcia packed his bags ready for the tournament.
Considered a fringe player for Australia, Garcia would've been surprised to see his name on the starting lineup for the Socceroos opening game against 2006's hosts, Germany. The fixture was nothing short of a rout with first half strikes from Lukas Podolksi and Miroslav Klose putting the side that finished 3rd four years ago, in command of the tie at the break.
Richard Garcia in action against Germany during the 2010 World Cuo (Hull Daily Mail)
Early in the second half, a rash challenge on Bastian Schweinsteiger from Tim Cahill was merited with a red card. The loss of Australia's star player diminished any remaining hope of a comeback and the the 64th minute signalled the end of the Garcia's maiden World Cup outing for his national team.
Replaced by Nikita Rukavytsya, Garcia left the field with his side a man down and truly out of the contest. Garcia then went on to watch from the sidelines as Germany added a further two goals to complete the demolition at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
Following the disappointing loss, Pim Verbeek looked forward to the next game against Ghana, branding the fixture as "a final", highlighting that "We have to win that game." Unfortunately for Garcia, five changes for Australia meant that he was left as an unused sub against the West African outfit, demoted to the bench as the Socceroos fought hard for a 1-1 draw with the Black Stars.
Garcia remained on the bench for the beginning of Australia's must win clash against Serbia to round off the group stage fixtures. The game was a cagey affair with chances few and far between for both sides. Garcia remained on the sidelines as Australia managed to put two past Vladimir Stojković and see themselves in contention for a place in the last 16. Returning from suspension, Tim Cahill scored the first goal for the Socceroos with Brett Holman adding the second four minutes later.
The 82nd minute saw Garcia finally brought off the bench to replace Luke Wilkshire and see out a victory for Australia. Marko Pantelic struck late for Serbia making the final passages of the game a nervy one for an Aussie side that hadn't won a game at a World Cup for twelve years. After slew of late chances for both sides, Roberto Rosetti's whistle brought an end to the fixture and provided a chance for the Socceroos to finally celebrate a victory on the world's stage.
Disappointingly, Australia ended up getting knocked out on goal difference with Ghana managing to concede four less goals than their Oceanic counterparts and progressing to the round of sixteen.
Regardless of the outcome, Richard Garcia could certainly leave South Africa with his head held high. The attacker was not only the first active Tiger to play at a World Cup but also the first player from Western Australia to represent the national team at this level.
Richard Garcia during his substitute appearance against Serbia at the 2010 World Cup (MyFootball)
Speaking to Bleacher Report after the tournament, Garcia said that he was proud of what he achieved at the tournament despite his sides early exit. Garcia stated that "it was a proud moment, and one I will never forget. It is such a great honour to represent your country".
Returning to East Yorkshire ahead of the 2010/11 season, Garcia was determined to pick up some good form and help propel Hull back to the Premier League. Unfortunately, injuries persisted for the attacker with Garcia only able to muster 38 appearances across his final two seasons in East Yorkshire. The Australian would only manage two goals during this period and the end of the 2011/12 season saw the then 30 year old allowed to leave the club on a free.
Garcia left Hull for a return to Australia with Melbourne Hearts. This time in his home country was a short one with Garcia clearly struggling to settle at a club after five years in Hull. Garica then moved about both the A-League and the MLS over the next five years before announcing his retirement after a period at his hometown club, Perth Glory. Garcia left the professional game with 48 goals in 356 games as well as 18 caps and 2 goals for the Australian national team.
Most recently, Garcia had been manager at Perth Glory, taking the helm of the Western Australian side in 2020 before being sacked earlier this year. At the time of his departure, Perth sat rock bottom of the A-League and without a win in their last seven games.
It is clear that the best period of the now 41 year olds career was at Hull, where fans will not remember the injuries and relegations but rather the goal that sent them to Wembley and the pride of seeing the first Tiger play at the World Cup.
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