He was inconsistent, drifted in and out of games, he was a luxury we could barely afford and was generally one of the most infuriating players to ever pull on the Red of Liverpool.

And yet...and yet, we loved him.

We loved him because he was brilliant. He made things happen, he scored wonderful and important goals in equal measure and most importantly, he cared.

Luis Garcia is a player most Liverpool fans will never forget. Not because he was one of the best players the club has ever had; he isn't.

He was a good player who was able to produce moments of magic, often from nowhere. But one of the best ever? Even the man himself would admit he does not fall into that bracket.

He will, though, always be remembered. He will be remembered most for one thing above all others. His 'ghost' goal against Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final in 2005. The goal gave Liverpool a 1-0 win and sent them to Istanbul for the final. The rest, as they say, is history.

For Garcia, however, it all began years earlier back in his native Catalonia where he came through the ranks of the famous FC Barcelona academy. Having impressed for Barcelona B the decision was made to loan a young Garcia out to gain more experience, firstly to Real Valladolid during which time the attacking midfielder made his La Liga début.

The next two seasons saw Garcia head out on loan a further three times with the most notable of those being his spell at Tenerife where he linked up for the first time with a certain Rafael Benitez. Under Benitez's guidance the Spaniard was able to score an impressive 16 goals, helping Tenerife to win promotion to the top flight.

The following season saw him return to Valladolid, where he scored his first La Liga goals and, following his impressive displays for them, Atletico Madrid were convinced to part with 3.6 million euros to secure his services in the summer of 2002. The next 12 months saw him become a key man for Atletico as he scored 9 league goals in his 30 appearances.

Those goals meant he was to be on the move again as Barcelona activated a clause to bring him back to the Camp Nou. In what was to prove another one year stint, Garcia continued to impress as he was part of the Barcelona team that finished 2nd to Benitez's Valencia.

That summer saw Garcia reunited with his former manager at Tenerife, Rafa Benitez, at Liverpool. It is in the three years that followed that Catalan Garcia would enjoy arguably his best and most memorable time in European football.

After his £6m transfer was finalised, Liverpool's new number 10 made his début in a 1-0 defeat to Bolton. However, his goalscoring habit and ability to time his runs to create chances were already evident as he was denied a début goal by a wrongly-raised offside flag.

Against West Brom on his Anfield début, Garcia produced a man of the match performance - grabbing himself a goal in the process. The little Spaniard was an instant hit and over the next few months he was to show that his display wasn't a one-off.

Playing either from the right or off the main striker, Luis Garcia cemented his place as a fans' favourite as he continued to torment Premier League defences with his quick feet, clever movement and an eye for a pass. Goals such as one from fully 30 yards against Charlton at Anfield, where the ball seemed to be heading yards wide before curling late into the back of the net, were merely the icing on the cake.

For all these great attributes and wonderful goals the fact remained that fans couldn't be sure what to expect from their number 10 from one minute to the next, let alone one game to the next. He had an infuriating ability to follow-up a lovely but of skill with a careless piece of play just seconds later, at times putting the team in a difficult position.

As the new year and the knock-out phase of the Champions League came round though it was the good side of Luis Garcia that came to the fore.

He notched five goals in total in the knock-out stages: three over the two legs against Bayer Leverkusen followed by another stunning goal at Anfield, this time the second goal as Liverpool beat a very strong Juventus side 2-1. His 25-yard volley flew past Gianluigi Buffon into the top corner of the net at the Anfield Road end.

It was Garcia at his very best.

The Kop was in full voice singing the Spaniard's very own song to the tune of 'You are my Sunshine'.

Kopites were singing again after his fifth and final goal of that season in the Champions League - an altogether scrappier one, not that any Liverpool fan cared a jot.

With the semi-final tie against Chelsea poised at 0-0 after the first leg, the stage was set for Anfield to host Liverpool's biggest European fixture in 20 years. The atmosphere was electric, a red cauldron bubbling, just waiting to explode.

And explode it did as Garcia was first to react after Milan Baros was taken out by Petr Cech just 3 minutes in. The ball came loose and the Reds number 10 hooked it goalwards and (comfortably) over the line before William Gallas got his foot to it.

The goal was given.

Anfield erupted and, after another 93 excruciating minutes, that was it. Liverpool had reached the Champions League against all the odds and Luis Garcia had scored the goal to take them there.

The match in Istanbul is one Liverpool fans will never forget and had things worked out differently Garcia may even have had another huge part in Liverpool's history. As Andrei Shevchenko stepped up to take Milan's fourth penalty in the shoot-out, Garcia watched on knowing that if the Ukrainian scored he would soon enough have to step forward and have the chance to score the kick that won Liverpool the Champions League. As it was Dudek saved the penalty, the Reds won and Garcia could celebrate without having had the pressure of taking a spot kick.

Unsurprisingly, this was the highlight of Garcia's time at Liverpool and almost certainly of his career. His form for Liverpool that season earned him international recognition with Spain with whom he played 18 times scoring four goals, including a hat-trick against Slovakia in qualifying for the 2006 World Cup. Garcia was a part of the squad for the World Cup as Spain reached the last 16.

In his second season for the Reds Garcia remained a key player but inconsistency became more and more of a problem. Despite that, the likeable Garcia was still able to add 11 goals to his 13 from the season before. Most notable amongst them was another semi-final goal against Chelsea, this time in the FA Cup as the Reds again won through, 2-1.

Suspension meant he missed the final but didn't stop him celebrating and earning a second winners' medal in as many seasons for Liverpool as the Reds beat West Ham on penalties in Cardiff.

Going into the 2006-07 season Garcia was still very much part of the first team although he was perhaps not assured of a spot in the starting line-up. Nevertheless he continued to give his all for the club unless a cruciate knee ligament injury in January 2007 ended his season—and with it, his Liverpool career.

The summer of 2007 saw Garcia sold back to Spain and Atletico Madrid for a second spell at the Vicente Calderon. Shortly after leaving Liverpool, however, Garcia wrote an open letter to all Liverpool fans thanking them for their support during his time on Merseyside, only adding to his popularity amongst the Anfield faithful. He spent a further two seasons there before moving to Racing Santander and then to Greek side Panathinaikos, spending a season at each club.

At the end of the 2010-11 season Garcia was on the move again as he crossed the Atlantic to join Mexican club Puebla where he enjoyed a successful first season scoring 13 goals. That success earned him a move to fellow Mexican side and current team, Club Universidad Nacional. To date he has managed a solitary goal in eight appearances.

Despite playing for numerous clubs in four different countries it is for his three years at the Reds that Luis Garcia will always be most remembered. His goals, his thumb-sucking celebration, his moments of magic, his song and even the times he left more than 40,000 fans inside Anfield exasperated as an unnecessarily complicated pass or touch went wrong, ensure that he will forever be remembered fondly by Liverpool.

Rafa Benitez once said of his fellow Spaniard, "You have to accept Luis for what he is."

Liverpool fans did, and he made sure they didn't regret it.

This article on Luis Garcia was originally published on The Liverpool Word by staff writer Sam Drury.