Bernie Ibini-Isei

Bernie Ibini-Isei

Ibini playing for Central Coast Mariners Youth in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Bernie Alpha Ibini-Isei
Date of birth	(1992-09-12) 12 September 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth	Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) [1]
Position(s)	Winger, forward
Youth career
	Blacktown City
2009–2011	Central Coast Mariners
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2013	Central Coast Mariners	61	(15)
2010–2011	→ Blacktown City (loan)	12	(1)
2013–2015	Shanghai Dongya	10	(0)
2013–2014	→ Central Coast Mariners (loan)	16	(6)
2014–2015	→ Sydney FC (loan)	28	(7)
2015–2017	Club Brugge	0	(0)
2016–2017	→ Sydney FC (loan)	20	(3)
2017–2018	Vancouver Whitecaps	25	(1)
2018–2019	Emirates Club	8	(1)
2019	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	13	(1)
2020	Newcastle Jets	6	(1)
2020–2022	Western Sydney Wanderers	46	(5)
2023	Lion City Sailors	8	(0)
International career‡
2011	Australia U20	6	(1)
2011	Australia U23	1	(0)
2014–2015	Australia	2	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 May 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15 October 2014

Bernie Alpha Ibini-Isei (born 12 September 1992), also known simply as Bernie Ibini, is a professional football player who plays as a striker or a winger, and most recently played for Singapore Premier League club Lion City Sailors. Born in Nigeria, Ibini-Isei represented Australia internationally.

Early life

Bernie Ibini-Isei immigrated to Australia from Nigeria when he was a child, and grew up in Sydney's Canterbury-Bankstown region. His passion for soccer was obvious from a very young age, and at the age of six years old he was registered to play for his local club Earlwood Wanderers.

He has a sister, Princess Ibini-Isei, who is also a soccer player, playing for Sydney FC in the W-League and the Australian team. ^[2]

Club career

Ibini started playing soccer for New South Wales Premier League club Blacktown City at youth level. He was immediately recognized as a player with immense potential and was selected to join Westfields Sports High School. ^[3]

Central Coast Mariners

In 2009, he was signed by the Central Coast Mariners to join their youth team in the A League competition. In 2009, he received the Golden Boot Award in the National Youth League and was quickly promoted to the senior team, where he made his debut on 12 February 2010, in their round 27 clash against Wellington Phoenix at Westpac Stadium in Wellington. ^[4] Ibini-Isei made his starting debut for the Mariners against the Gold Coast and scored in a 3–1 win. After just his third start for the Central Coast Mariners Ibini-Isei scored the second goal for the Central Coast Mariners against Perth Glory. His speed and skill quickly gained the attention of the Australian under 20 National Team coach to play a key role in the U20 World Cup.

His consistent development and performances earned Bernie a two-year contract extension with the club, and on 1 February 2012 it was announced that he had signed a two-year contract extension with Central Coast Mariners. ^[5]

Shanghai East Asia

On 4 June 2013, after his superb performances in the 2012/2013 Asian Champions League round of 16 clash against Guangzhou Evergrande, Central Coast Mariners received a record bid for Ibini from Shanghai East Asia FC who were keen to add to their squad list for the Chinese Super League. Three days later his move to newly promoted Chinese Super League side Shanghai East Asia, was complete with Ibini signing a three-year contract. ^[6] This move made Ibini one of the most expensive under 21 players 21 in Asia. Bernie made an immediate impact in the Chinese Super League with his speed and skill playing as a wide striker. However, in November 2013, due to the unexpected tragic death of his father Ibini gained permission to return to the Australian A League, and previous club Central Coast Mariners on loan on compassionate grounds. The loan move took effect on 8 January 2014 and was until 31 May 2014 after which he was then to return to Shanghai.

Loan to Sydney FC

In May 2014 Ibini signed for Sydney FC on loan, ^[7] making his debut in round 1 of the A League season against Melbourne City. Ibini scored his first goal in the Sydney Derby in a 1–1 draw. In the last three rounds of the A league season Ibini scored three goals: a contender for goal of the season against Perth Glory, a lob over the goalkeeper against Newcastle United and a solo goal against Wellington Phoenix. Although Sydney wanted to keep Ibini, he was recalled by Shanghai on 3 June 2015 ^[8] Ibini played in every A-League fixture for Sydney during the 2014–15 season.

Club Brugge

Following his release from Sydney, due to his contract ending on 1 May, Ibini missed out on playing against 2014–15 Premier League champions Chelsea in a friendly at ANZ Stadium. It was shortly announced thereafter that Ibini had gained permission from Shanghai East Asia to travel to Belgium for a medical with Club Brugge with Shanghai unlikely to retain him due to their foreign player quota already filled. ^[9] He signed a three-year deal with the club on 5 June 2015. ^[10] It was announced that Ibini would wear the number 11 shirt.

Second loan to Sydney FC

After being ruled out for the 2015–16 Belgian Pro League season due to a broken leg he suffered in his first training session with Club Brugge, it was announced on 21 July 2016 that Ibini would return to Sydney FC on a loan deal once again. ^[11] He made his return from injury in an FFA Cup semi-final against Canberra Olympic on 19 October 2016, coming on as a second-half substitute and scoring a late goal in a 3–0 win. ^[12]

Vancouver Whitecaps

On 9 May 2017, Ibini signed with Major League Soccer club Vancouver Whitecaps on a one-year deal with an option to make it a two-year deal. ^[13] On 8 August 2018, the Whitecaps announced that they and Ibini-Isei had "mutually agreed to a contract termination" to allow him to sign with Emirates Club of the UAE Pro League. ^[14]

Jeonbuk Hyundai

In January 2019 Ibini signed with Korean side Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. ^[15] He left Jeonbuk, and arranged a transfer to Esteghlal only for the contract to be rescinded after Ibini failed a medical clearance at the club.^{[ citation needed ]}

Return to Australia

Newcastle Jets & Western Sydney Wanderers

After his unsuccessful attempt to land a contract in Iran, Ibini returned to Australia and signed a short-term contract with Newcastle Jets, re-uniting with manager Carl Robinson whom he had played under at Vancouver. ^[16] Carl Robinson would quit his position as manager at the Hunter based club after less than a year, citing financial reasons at the club as part of his motive, ^[17] joining Sydney rival Western Sydney Wanderers, signing a lucrative 3-year deal. ^[18] In a move that was seen as controversial for its reasoning, ^[19] Ibini would follow Robinson to Western Sydney only days later, signing a 2-year deal with the Western Sydney club. ^[20] after nearly 50 league appearances for the Wanderers he was released.

Lion City Sailors

Following his release from the Wanderers, Ibini signed for Singapore Premier League club Lion City Sailors for the 2023 season. ^[21] His contract was mutually terminated on 15 August following lackluster performances and the signing of Richairo Živković. ^[22]

International career

Ibini made his debut for the Australian U-20 team in 2011, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 1–0 win against Germany U-20.

On 7 March 2011, he was selected to represent the Australia Olympic football team in an Asian Olympic Qualifier match against Iraq. ^[23]

On 10 October 2014, he made his debut for the Australian senior team, starting in a friendly match against the United Arab Emirates in preparation for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. ^[24]

Career statistics

As of 8 August 2021^{[ citation needed ]}

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Central Coast Mariners	2009–10	A-League	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2010–11		4	1	0	0	0	0	4	1
	2011–12		29	7	0	0	6	0	35	7
	2012–13		27	7	0	0	8	0	35	7
	Club total		61	15	0	0	14	0	75	15
Blacktown City (loan)	2010	NSW Premier League	12	1	2	0	0	0	14	1
Shanghai Dongya	2013	Chinese Super League	10	0	1	0	0	0	11	0
Central Coast Mariners (loan)	2013–14	A-League	16	6	0	0	5	0	21	6
Sydney FC (loan)	2014–15		28	7	2	0	0	0	30	7
Club Brugge	2015–16	Belgian Pro League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sydney FC (loan)	2016–17	A-League	20	3	1	1	0	0	21	4
Vancouver Whitecaps	2017	Major League Soccer	17	1	0	0	0	0	17	1
	2018		8	0	1	0	0	0	9	0
	Club total		25	1	1	0	0	0	26	1
Emirates Club	2018–19	UAE Pro League	8	1	2	0	0	0	10	1
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	2019	K League 1	13	1	0	0	2	0	15	1
Newcastle Jets	2019–20	A-League	6	1	0	0	0	0	6	1
Western Sydney Wanderers	2020–21		26	4	0	0	0	0	26	4
	2021–22		20	1	2	1	0	0	22	2
	Club total		46	5	2	1	0	0	48	6
Career total			245	41	11	2	21	0	277	43

Honours

Club

Central Coast Mariners:

• A-League Premiership: 2011–12
• A-League Championship: 2012–13

Sydney FC

• A-League Premiership: 2016–17

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors

• K League 1: 2019

Individual

• Y-League Golden Boot: 2010–11
• A-League All Star: 2014 ^[25]

See also

• List of Central Coast Mariners FC players
• List of Sydney FC players

References

1. "Bernie Ibini-Isei – Sydney FC Team". Archived from the original on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
2. Buckley, Danielle. "Princess Ibini-Isei following royal path of Socceroo brother Bernie". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
3. AAP (9 August 2018). "Bernie Ibini exits Vancouver Whitecaps, joins Emirates Club". ESPN. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
4. "Hyundai A-League Home". Archived from the original on 16 July 2012.
5. "Bernie Ibini Signs On For Two More Years". FourFourTwo. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
6. 东亚官方宣布2次转会第1签 3年合同锁澳大利亚锋将 (in Chinese)
7. "Ibini signs for Sydney FC". SBS. 12 May 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
8. Hassett, Sebastian (3 June 2015). "All change at Sydney FC as Graham Arnold dumps key players and lose Bernie Ibini". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
9. Lewis, David (3 June 2015). "Ibini signs for Sydney FC". SBS. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
10. "Bernie Ibini 3 years at Club Brugge". Club Brugge. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
11. "Star Forward Returns To Sydney FC". Sydney FC. 21 July 2016.
12. Puterflam, Michael (20 October 2016). "Bernie Ibini's return: 'Arnie would probably lose it at me if I didn't get to the back post'". Fox Sports . Retrieved 21 October 2016.
13. "Whitecaps FC acquire winger/forward Bernie Ibini from Belgian club Brugge KV". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
14. "Whitecaps FC and midfielder Bernie Ibini mutually agree to part ways". Whitecaps FC.
15. "Ibini makes Korean switch". ftbl.com.au. 20 January 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
16. "BERNIE JETS BACK INTO OZ". FTBL. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
17. Homer, Ben (15 October 2020). "Newcastle Jets coach Carl Robinson joins rival Western Sydney Wanderers as dire financial state laid bare". ABC News. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
18. Monteverde, Marco. "A-League: Robinson has no qualms about deserting Jets to coach Wanderers". news.com.au. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
19. Rugari, Vince (17 December 2020). "Ibini hits back at Jets' doubts over mental health 'excuse'". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
20. "WANDERERS SECURE IBINI". Western Sydney Wanderers. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
21. Ganesan, Deepanraj (29 March 2023). "Lion City Sailors sign Australian striker Ibini to replace injured Tanaka". The Straits Times. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
22. Sailors, Lion City (15 August 2023). "Bernie leaves the Sailors". Lion City Sailors FC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
23. "Vidmar names U23s squad to face Iraq". Archived from the original on 9 June 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
24. Greco, John (10 October 2014). "Socceroos left frustrated in Abu Dhabi". Football Federation Australia.
25. "A-League All Stars vs. Juventus 2 – 3". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 February 2015.

External links

• Bernie Ibini-Isei at Soccerway
• Bernie Ibini-Isei – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Bernie Ibini-Isei – K League stats at kleague.com (in Korean)