A Q&A With Ajax Assistant Manager Carlos García
A Q&A With Ajax Assistant Manager Carlos García From his playing career that saw him line up against prime Real Madrid galacticos, to his new opportunity at Ajax, we sit down with Spanish coach Carlos García for an exclusive interview. After an improbable late-season collapse that saw them relinquish the Eredivisie title to PSV Eindhoven in the 2024-25 campaign, Ajax is in the midst of another tumultuous year. Currently fourth in the league table, the Amsterdam giants are four points out of a Champions League position with three matches left to play, and are on their third manager of the season.
Part of the newest regime to enter the fold, assistant manager Carlos García is here for the uphill battle to return Ajax to its dominant form. Born on April 29, 1984, García grew up in Barcelona and was addicted to football from the offset. Despite being rejected by both FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol’s youth academies, García was able to impress for a local academy and start playing for the Catalan regional side as well as the youth national team.
He eventually piqued the interest of Espanyol, and after signing he’d ascend through the youth ranks for club and country. García excelled alongside the likes of Fernando Torres and Andrés Iniesta in the 2001 UEFA European Under-16 Championship in England, and helped lead his team to their maiden title. He’d then feature twice in Spain’s 2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Trinidad & Tobago.
Two years later, García played nearly every single minute in the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship as Spain narrowly lost to Brazil in the final in the United Arab Emirates. García would eventually break into the Espanyol first team, debuting against the likes of Zinedine Zidane , David Beckham , and Ronaldo before making his second appearance against eventual champions Valencia. Desperate for regular minutes, García dropped down to Polideportivo Ejido in the second tier, before sticking around in Almería and helping Spain achieve their first-ever gold medal at the 2005 Mediterranean Games.
“I think there’s a very big difference between La Liga and the Segunda, not only technically, but also because of the speed at which things happen,” García said in an exclusive Urban Pitch interview. “It’s all very fast: If you make a mistake in La Liga, you’re finished, so the demands are very, very, very, very high. You might find physically strong players in the second division as well as technically skilled players, but football is played much, much faster, both mentally and physically in the top flight.
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