Former Barcelona and Liverpool man Luis Garcia is marquee foreigner of Atletico de Kolkata

Luis Garcia

Ex-Barcelona and Liverpool star Luis Garcia was unveiled as the marquee foreigner of the Indian Super League’s Kolkata franchise Atletico de Kolkata on Monday.

The announcement was done in the presence of the five co-owners  of the franchise including representatives from La Liga champions Atletico Madrid and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

“I hope to bring a bagful of experience and skills to India,” Garcia said over a video.

A product of the Barcelona youth system, Garcia won the UEFA Champions League with Liverpool and famously scored the ‘ghost goal’ against Chelsea in the 2005 Champions League semi-final second leg.

Garcia also had stints at Atletico Madrid and Greece’s Panathinaikos and represented Spain 20 times, including the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

The 36-year-old last played for Mexico outfit Pumas UNAM but announced his retirement in January 2014.

As reported earlier, former Atletico Madrid defender and Bolivia national team Antonio Lopez Habas was named as the head coach. Miguel Angel will be the assistant coach along with Mohun Bagan’s Brazilian legend Jose Ramirez Barreto.

The team logo and jersey were also unveiled with the kit inspired by the colours of Atletico Madrid.