2013 Player Profiles: Olmes Garcia excels in spurts, struggles with consistency

Olmes Garcia, the young Colombian mystery striker. He wasn’t supposed to even see the pitch so early in 2013.

In fact, when RSL scouts first went to watch Deportes Quindio, they weren't scouting Olmes at all, but they noticed he made an impact as a super sub and played well each time he got in.

For someone who shouldn't have even seen the pitch, all he did once he got in was show incredible flashes of a young exciting forward — one who has everything you could want in a striker (size, speed, heading ability, finishing, creativity, dribbling ability, and more), who just needs to put it all together to become an ideal striker.

He scored five goals and four assists in just under 1,000 total minutes. This while playing in a different country, in a different league, with different cultures, and a different language. He is already well on his way to being a fan favorite. He earned his nickname of Golmes with devastating efficiency.

One third of his shots on goal turned into actual goals and approximately one out of every six shots in general were goals. He only had eight starts on the year and appeared in twenty four games overall. Both are very good numbers for a rookie in the Jason Kreis era.

It is safe to say he more than exceeded expectations for the year 2013. He lacked overall fitness in general. Once he was regularly starting he would really drop off somewhere around minute 60-75 depending on the game. This was to be expected as he has played sparingly only in his native Colombia and the altitude and the colder climate in Utah both take time to get used to.

Olmes going into the new season is still signed with Real Salt Lake. His role would appear to be likely as a sub when the new year begins. There seems to be a very high chance he will have opportunities to start as injuries are unavoidable and one of our current starters seems a certainty to miss a good amount of time for the World Cup.

If Olmes could show more consistency and ability to play at the same level for 90 minutes or at least close to it, he could really make a push to be a full time starter no matter who is healthy and around. He has all the talent and potential.

Editor's note: This is part of a series of player profiles recapping the 2013 season and previewing the 2014 season. Player ratings were compiled via a vote by RSL Soapbox writers. Statistics are via mlssoccer.com.