Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Gerardo Alfredo Bruna Blanco | ||
Date of birth | 29 January 1991 | ||
Place of birth | Mendoza, Argentina | ||
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Youth career | |||
2002–2007 | Real Madrid | ||
2007–2008 | Liverpool | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2008–2011 | Liverpool | 0 | (0) |
2011–2013 | Blackpool | 2 | (0) |
2013–2014 | Huesca | 17 | (1) |
2014 | Tranmere Rovers | 0 | (0) |
2014 | Whitehawk | 5 | (1) |
2015–2016 | Accrington Stanley | 9 | (0) |
2016–2018 | Ottawa Fury | 37 | (1) |
2016 | → Ottawa Fury Academy | 3 | (0) |
2019–2020 | Derry City | 33 | (1) |
2021 | Shelbourne | 0 | (0) |
2022–2023 | Dungannon Swifts | 20 | (1) |
International career‡ | |||
2008 | Spain U17 | 1 | (1) |
2009 | Argentina U20 | 1 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9th June 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26th February 2012 |
Gerardo Alfredo Bruna Blanco [1] (born 29 January 1991) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a midfielder.
He was on the books of Real Madrid and Liverpool as a teenager but never made a senior appearance for either club. He has spent most of his career in the lower leagues of England and Spain, moving frequently.
Born in Argentina and raised in Spain, Bruna first represented Spain at a youth international level, before switching to represent his native Argentina.
Bruna spent five years in the youth set-up at Real Madrid from 2002 to 2007. [2]
In the summer of 2007 Bruna moved to England to sign for Liverpool, having been offered and turned down a professional contract by Real Madrid. [3]
"My father agreed with me that moving here would be a great opportunity. I already knew about Liverpool from the Champions League, the final we won and the final we lost. These games, as well as the Chelsea semi-finals, made a big impression on me." A left-footer with a talent for set pieces, he learnt his trade with the reserves, helping them to win the Premier Reserve League in 2007–08. [2]
Bruna joined Championship side Blackpool on a two-year deal, with an option for a further 12 months, on 17 July 2011. [4] He made his competitive debut as a substitute in the League Cup defeat to Sheffield Wednesday on 11 August 2011. [5] He made his Football League debut in a 2–1 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest on 22 October, coming on as a late substitute. [6]
With four total appearances to his name, Bruna was released by Blackpool on 9 May 2013. [7]
On 20 September 2013 Bruna joined SD Huesca, freshly relegated to Segunda División B. [8] He played 17 games for the Aragonese club, scoring one goal.
Bruna played in a number of pre-season friendlies for League Two club Tranmere Rovers in the summer of 2014, before picking up an injury. [9] He was then offered a one-month contract by the club. [10] He made his only appearance for the club as a substitute in a league cup match [11] but was not offered a long-term contract.
Bruna signed a one-month contract with Whitehawk, who then played in England's 6th tier, with the option to extend by the club depending on performances. [12] The signing of Bruna was described as a "massive coup" as Bruna had previously played for clubs such as Real Madrid and Liverpool. [13] Bruna scored his first goal for Whitehawk in a 5–1 victory over Chelmsford City. [14]
In January 2015, Bruna joined League Two club Accrington Stanley. [15] He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 loss to Bury in the Football League Trophy on 1 September 2015. [16] On 18 January 2016, Bruna signed a pre-contract with Canadian club Ottawa Fury which would have him depart at the end of the season. [17]
On 15 February 2016, Bruna was offered contracts with both Accrington and Ottawa; he decided to join Ottawa, for an undisclosed fee . [18]
On 5 February 2019, Bruna signed with League of Ireland Premier Division side Derry City. [19] On 4 December 2020, Bruna announced his departure from the club after two seasons. [20]
In February 2021, Bruna signed for Shelbourne ahead of their first season back in the League of Ireland First Division having been relegated 3 months previously. [21] He suffered an Anterior cruciate ligament injury before the season started, which kept him out of action for the entire season meaning he never played a competitive game for the club. [22]
In September 2022, he signed for NIFL Premiership club Dungannon Swifts. [23]
Bruna has represented both Argentina and Spain at youth level. [2] In May 2008 he was a member of the Spain under-17 squad European Under-17 Football Championship in Turkey. [24] He made one appearance in the group stages as a second-half substitute in a 3–3 draw with France at the Mardan Sports Complex, Aksu, Antalya. [25] Bruna represented the Argentina national under-20 football team at the 2009 Toulon tournament. [26]
His wife is from Liverpool. [27]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Blackpool | 2011–12 [28] | Championship | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||
2012–13 [29] | Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
Total | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |||
Huesca | 2013–14 [30] | Segunda División B | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 17 | 1 | |||
Tranmere Rovers | 2014–15 [31] | League Two | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
Whitehawk | 2014–15 [32] | Conference South | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 [a] | 0 | 6 | 1 | |||
Accrington Stanley | 2014–15 [31] | League Two | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||||
2015–16 [33] | League Two | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 [b] | 1 | 5 | 1 | ||
Total | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 1 | ||
Ottawa Fury Academy | 2016 | PLSQ | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
Ottawa Fury | 2016 [32] | NASL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
2017 [32] | United Soccer League | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 27 | 1 | ||||
2018 [32] | United Soccer League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||||
Total | 37 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 38 | 1 | |||||
Derry City | 2019 [32] | League of Ireland Premier Division | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 29 | 2 | ||
2020 [32] | League of Ireland Premier Division | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 [c] | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | |||
Total | 33 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 38 | 2 | |||
Shelbourne | 2021 [32] | League of Ireland First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
Dungannon Swifts | 2022–23 [32] | NIFL Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
Career total | 106 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 109 | 6 |
Darren Michael Potter is a former professional footballer. A midfielder, he made 502 league and cup appearances in a 16-year career in the Premier League and English Football League. Born in England, he won five caps for the Republic of Ireland.
Anthony Randolph Warner is a football coach and former professional footballer who is the goalkeeping coach at Reading.
Peter Michael Clarke is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre back for club Warrington Town.
Gary Taylor-Fletcher is an English football manager and former professional player who manages AFC Crewe. Prior to marrying his wife in June 2004 he was known as Gary Fletcher, adopting the surname Taylor-Fletcher in football terms from the beginning of the 2004–05 season.
Andrew Francis Mangan is an English former footballer who played as a striker. He is now a coach at Stockport County.
Matthew Clayton Hill is an English former footballer who played as a defender. Born in Bristol, Hill started his career with Bristol City where he made over 200 appearances. He subsequently joined Preston North End where he also spent a successful spell, playing over 100 times for the Lancashire club. A move to Wolverhampton Wanderers followed but first team opportunities were more limited and he was loaned to Queens Park Rangers before leaving to join Barnsley. After only one season at the South Yorkshire club he transferred to Blackpool but again played few first team games before being loaned to Sheffield United, with the move being made permanent in the summer of 2012. He managed non-league Stafford Rangers F.C. from 2021 to 2023
James William Harris is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Warrington Town.
James Ryan is an Irish former professional footballer that played as a midfielder. He made 419 league appearances in the EFL and was capped four times for the Republic of Ireland Under-21.
Robert Grant is an English footballer who plays as a striker and is currently captain of National League North club Marine.
Christopher Alan Shuker is an English football coach and former player who made 402 appearances in a 14-year career as a midfielder in the English Football League.
Jay Francis Spearing is an English professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool, where he is also a coach at their academy.
Daniel John Mayor is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for EFL League Two club Fleetwood Town.
Ashton John Taylor is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Gibraltar Football League club FCB Magpies. He began his career with Tranmere Rovers, and during his time there had a loan spell at Colwyn Bay. He later played for Scottish club Aberdeen before moving to English club Northampton Town for two years, after which he re-signed for Aberdeen. Born in England, he has represented Wales at youth international level.
Arnaud Mendy is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Ryan Christopher Edwards is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Indian Super League club Chennaiyin.
Michael Uzoukwu Absalom Jude Ihiekwe is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for EFL Championship club Sheffield Wednesday.
Harrison McGahey is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Cymru Premier club The New Saints. McGahey began his career as a junior with Blackburn Rovers and then Liverpool, before moving to Blackpool where he eventually made his first team debut.
William Stewart Aimson is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL League One club Wigan Athletic.
Thomas Christopher Davies is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL League Two club Tranmere Rovers.
Joseph Daniel Patrick Maguire is an English former professional footballer who plays as a left-back, for North West Counties League Premier Division club Bury. He has played in the English Football League for Fleetwood Town and Crawley Town.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)