Andy Bernal
Australian soccer player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Andrew Bernal (born 16 May 1966) is a former professional soccer defender and football pioneer who played in Australia, England, and Spain. He was later a football agent and personal manager for David Beckham.[1] In 2021, he wrote and released his autobiography Riding Shotgun – The Original Wizard of Oz.[2] He currently works for the A-League football club Central Coast Mariners as Head of Athletic Development. In 2023 he released his second book The Vibe Manager an inside look at the 2023 A-League Champions.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Andrew Bernal | ||
| Date of birth | 16 May 1966 | ||
| Place of birth | Canberra, Australia | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1983–1985 | AIS | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1985-1988 | Sporting Gijon | ||
| 1985–1986 | Albacete Balompié | 23 | |
| 1986–1987 | Xerez CD | 38 | |
| 1988 | Nottingham Forest | 0 | (0) |
| 1987–1988 | Ipswich Town | 9 | (0) |
| 1989–1994 | Sydney Olympic | 113 | (6) |
| 1994–2000 | Reading | 187 | (2) |
| International career | |||
| 1990–1996 | Australia | 13 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Early life
Bernal was born in 1966 in Canberra to Spanish-born parents.[3]
Playing career
Club career
After graduating from the Australian Institute of Sport, Bernal became the first Australian to play for a La Liga club when he joined Sporting Gijon.[4] Gijon had intended to play him in their youth teams, however, as an Australia underage representative, he was classified as a foreigner, meaning he was not eligible.[5] He went on to play almost 100 games of Spanish club football whilst on loan to Albacete Balompié and Xerez. Faced with compulsory military service as a Spanish citizen, Bernal chose to leave Spain and signed for Ipswich Town in September 1987. Returning to England from an Australian holiday, it was found that Bernal was playing on a student holiday visa and his English stint was cut shot.[6][7][8][9]
In August 1988, Bernal signed with the Sydney Olympic ahead of the 1989 National Soccer League.[10]
In 1994, he joined English team Reading in England for a reported £30,000 fee.[11] He was part of the Reading team that narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League in the 1994–95 season.[12] Bernal retired at the end of the 1999–2000 season, having made 187 league appearances.[13][14]
International career
Bernal has also played for the Australian national team on 21 occasions between 1989 and 1996, 13 times in full international matches and eight in B internationals.[15]
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