Ezequiel Garay

Ezequiel Marcelo Garay (born October 10, 1986 in Rosario) is an Argentina Association football player, who plays for Real Madrid. Ezequiel Garay main position is as Defender (football) however Ezequiel Garay can also play at Defender (football) fullback and other positions. While at Racing Santander, Ezequiel Garay proved himself to be a consistent set-piece taker, regularly scoring free-kicks and penalties.

Club career

Newell's Old Boys

At the early age of 18, Ezequiel Garay made Ezequiel Garay professional debut in 2004 for Ezequiel Garay home town club, Newell's Old Boys, in the Argentine Primera. Ezequiel Garay first match was an important one against Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata where Ezequiel Garay helped Los Leprosos clinch the 2004–05 in Argentine football championship.

Ezequiel Garay profile was raised even higher in 2005 where Ezequiel Garay was a part of Argentina's U-20 World Cup winning side which included such young stars like Lionel Messi, Sergio Agüero, Fernando Gago, and Oscar Ustari. Garay made 12 more appearances for Newell's in 2005 and had the honor of scoring Ezequiel Garay first goal for the club in a 2-1 win over Rosario Central in the Rosario derby. Ezequiel Garay ended up transferring to Racing de Santander in the Spanish Primera in late 2005 after only making 13 appearances for Newell's at the professional level.

Racing de Santander

After a short and expected settling in period during Ezequiel Garay first partial season, Garay established himself as a first team regular for Racing that fall where Ezequiel Garay featured in central defense. Ezequiel Garay started 30 of Racing's 38 league matches in 2006/2007 where Ezequiel Garay not only provided tidy defending, but also displayed polished offensive skills as Ezequiel Garay netted nine goals that season. Most of these came from the penalty spot as Ezequiel Garay ability to strike a free kick made Ezequiel Garay an unusual commodity, a talented defender who also had advanced technical skills.

Once again, Ezequiel Garay displayed a knack for performing well in big situations as Ezequiel Garay initial strike for Racing was a beautiful free kick against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. In the return fixture, Ezequiel Garay bagged a brace from the penalty spot in Racing’s memorable win over Los Blancos which, at the time, looked like it might derail Madrid’s bid for the Primera title that year. Even more impressive in Garay’s performance was the fact that Ezequiel Garay mistake allowed Madrid to initially take the lead before Ezequiel Garay late game heroics helped Los Verdiblancos gain a memorable result. Racing ended up finishing 10th that season which was their best finish since returning to the Primera in 2002. Ezequiel Garay performance at the club level earned Garay a few call-ups to the senior Argentina national team where Ezequiel Garay expects to establish himself in central defense for the next World Cup.

The 2007–2008 season was a mixed bag for Garay at Racing. While Ezequiel Garay played a large part in Racing finishing 6th in the Primera which secured a UEFA Cup spot for next season, injuries limited Ezequiel Garay to only playing in 22 league matches. However, with Ezequiel Garay considerable talent as well as increased profile, Ezequiel Garay was already well on the radar screen of many top clubs.

Real Madrid

In 2008, Racing sold Ezequiel Garay to Real Madrid. Madrid loaned Ezequiel Garay back to Racing with the loan finishing in June 2009.

International career

Garay earned Ezequiel Garay first full Argentina national football team cap in a 22 August 2007 friendly against Norway national football team which Argentina national football team lost 2-1. Ezequiel Garay had previously been called upon in May 2007 by coach Alfio Basile to a series of friendlies prior to the 2007 Copa América but injury prevented Ezequiel Garay from appearing in those matches and the official competition.