Trinidad and Tobago winger Levi Garcia had an assist in AEK Athen’s opening goal in the club’s come from behind 4-2 victory over Volos in the first leg of their Greek Cup quarter-final encounter on Wednesday.
Garcia played one in for Petros Manatalos to tie the scores at 1-1 on 25 minutes as the former Central FC player was a threat to the Volos defence on several occasions during the Cup affair.
Speaking after the match, Garcia expressed a fair level of satisfaction with his display, saying he was regaining full match fitness since returning from a hamstring injury in October.
“It’s a really good feeling to be back in the team especially after coming off an injury couple months back. I’ve been able to get in among the goals and get some assists for the team which is what you aim to do as a player. The main objective is to always help the team in some way,” Garcia said on Wednesday.
“Today we were able to spring to a 4-1 lead and come away with the victory. This was important because at the moment the Cup is the main title we are fighting for. Basically it’s about being grateful for the win after coming off a couple of disappointing results and I’m really happy we were able to come out on top today.”
Garcia has not played international football since an international friendly away to Venezuela in October 2019 and with 2022 World Cup qualifiers looming, Garcia is hoping to earn a recall in order to play his part in this country’s qualifying efforts which commences on March 25th at home to Guyana.
“It is always a great honor to represent the country and always an exciting feeling. Hopefully once everything is in place and I’m healthy I will be able to make a contribution. Just as it is at club level, I think we are all trying to do things the right way and it is my hope that we can come away with the best result possible in our matches to come,” Garcia said.
The 23-year-old from Santa Flora was formerly attached to T&TEC and Central FC in the T&T Pro League before signing with Dutch club AZA Alkmaar in February 2015. At the Eredivisie club, Garcia was able to work with former Netherlands star player Marco Van Basten who was the assistant manager at the time. At age 18 years and 65 days, García became the youngest Trinidad and Tobago footballer to make an appearance for a European club, beating a record previously held by Dwight Yorke who set the previous record at Aston Villa.
After moving to Israel, Garcia then joined AEK Athens in September 2020 as the club offered Beitar Jerusalem the amount of €2.6 million to acquire 60% of the rights of the player plus bonuses. He would go on to score the opening goal of a 3-0 win for AEK Athens against Lamia on his league debut on September 20th.
Garcia has two goals in twenty seven international appearances for Trinidad and Tobago.
