Vidal Fernandez

Last updated
Vidal Fernandez
Personal information
Date of birth (1958-03-25) March 25, 1958 (age 65)
Place of birth Mexico City, Mexico
Position(s) Midfielder, forward
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1977–1979 San Diego State Aztecs
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1980 New York Cosmos 0 (0)
1981 California Surf 17 (1)
1981–1982 San Diego Sockers (NASL indoor) 18 (11)
1982–1984 San Diego Sockers 51 (12)
1982–1983 San Diego Sockers (MISL) 47 (34)
1983–1984 San Diego Sockers (NASL indoor) 5 (1)
1986 San Diego Nomads
1987 San Diego Sockers (MISL) 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Vidal Fernandez is a Mexican-American former soccer player who played professionally in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League and Western Soccer Alliance.

Contents

Youth

Fernandez was born in Mexico, but moved to Otay Mesa, San Diego, California where he entered Chula Vista High School. He was the 1977 California Interscholastic Federation Soccer Player of the Year as Chula Vista won back to back CIF championships. He is a member of the Sweetwater Union High School District Alumni Hall of Fame. [1] He attended San Diego State University, playing on the men's soccer team from 1977 to 1979. He is a member of the SDSU Aztecs Hall of Fame. [2] He became a U.S. citizen in 1979.

Professional

In December 1979, the New York Cosmos selected Fernandez in the first round of the North American Soccer League draft. He injured his right knee during the 1980 pre-season and had surgery to remove his meniscus. He remained out for the entire 1980 season and was released in August 1980. He then signed as a free agent with the California Surf in 1981. The Surf folded at the end of the season and in the fall of 1981, Fernandez signed with the San Diego Sockers in time to play the NASL indoor season. He went on to play the 1982 NASL outdoor and the 1982-1983 Major Indoor Soccer League seasons with the Sockers. In February 1983, Alkis Panagoulias selected Fernandez for Team America, an attempt to place the United States men's national soccer team into a competitive league. [3] He turned down Team America to remain with the Sockers only to injure his right knee in May 1983. [4] He continued to play, including five games during the 1983-1984 NASL indoor season before retiring in November 1984. [5] In 1986, he attempted to return to soccer when he played as a defender with the San Diego Nomads of the Western Soccer Alliance. [6] In April 1987, Fernandez played one game while on a ten-day contract with the Sockers. [7]

Coach

Fernandez is the head coach of the Chula Vista High School soccer teams, a position he has held since the mid-1980s. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego Sockers (1978–1996)</span> Defunct American soccer club

The San Diego Sockers were a soccer and indoor soccer team based in San Diego, California. The team played in the indoor and outdoor editions of the North American Soccer League (NASL) until 1984 as well as the original Major Indoor Soccer League and CISL. The franchise folded in 1996 and was the last surviving NASL franchise.

Brian Quinn is a Northern Irish-American soccer coach and former player. He spent most of his professional career in North America where he played in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League. He later coached in the Continental Indoor Soccer League and Major League Soccer.

Kevin Troy Crow is an American former soccer defender. He played two seasons in the North American Soccer League, eight in the Major Indoor Soccer League and four in the Continental Indoor Soccer League, all with the San Diego Sockers. He was a first team NASL All Star, a five-time MISL All Star and a five-time Defender of the Year. He earned thirteen caps with the U.S. national team from 1984 to 1988. His national team career included all three U.S. games at both the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics. He was the general manager of the San Diego Spirit and the chief operating officer of the Women's United Soccer Association. He has served on the United States Soccer Federation Board of Directors.

Alan Mayer is an American retired soccer goalkeeper. He played professionally in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League and earned six caps with the United States men's national soccer team.

Jean Wilhelm Willrich is a German-American soccer player who played as a forward. He played in his native Germany, then two seasons in the Netherlands, eight in the North American Soccer League and twelve in the Major Indoor Soccer League.

Gregory Stewart Ion is a Canadian retired soccer midfielder.

Gary Etherington is a retired English-American soccer player who began his professional career in the North American Soccer League before moving to the Major Indoor Soccer League. He earned seven caps with the U.S. national team. Since retiring, Etherington has coached youth soccer and is a soccer equipment salesman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juli Veee</span>

Juli Veee is a Hungarian-American retired soccer forward. Announced as "Double-deuce, triple-E, the one and only Juli Veee", Veee experienced his greatest success as an indoor player with the San Diego Sockers. He also earned four caps, scoring two goals, with the U.S. national team.

Charles "Chugger" Adair is a retired American soccer player and current soccer coach. He spent two seasons in the Continental Indoor Soccer League, two in the National Professional Soccer League and seven in the USISL A-League / USL First Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego Sockers (2009)</span> American professional indoor soccer team

San Diego Sockers are an American professional indoor soccer franchise playing in the Western Division of the Major Arena Soccer League, representing the San Diego area since 2009. The Sockers first played home games at Chevrolet Del Mar Arena at the Del Mar Fairgrounds adjacent to the Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. They moved to Pechanga Arena, the original home of the MISL Sockers, for the 2012–2013 season. The Sockers plan on moving into Frontwave Arena, a 7,600 multi-purpose indoor sports arena in Oceanside, CA once it opens. The projected opening date is in the first quarter of 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego Jaws</span> Defunct American soccer club

The San Diego Jaws were a professional soccer team based in San Diego, California, playing their home games at the Aztec Bowl on the campus of San Diego State University. Founded in 1976, the team was a member of the North American Soccer League, and was the league's second attempt to place a franchise in San Diego with the Toros having folded in 1968 after two seasons. The franchise lasted only one season and relocated to Las Vegas for the 1977 NASL season.

Ben Collins is a retired Liberian footballer who played as a midfielder in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League.

Gary Bernard Collier is an English former professional footballer who played as a central defender. Active in both England and the United States, Collier made over 500 career league appearances.

Asghar Shadin "Cha Cha" Namdar is a retired Iranian-American soccer player who spent time in the Major Indoor Soccer League, North American Soccer League and Continental Indoor Soccer League.

Jim Millnder is a retired American soccer player and coach who played professionally in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League, American Soccer League and United Soccer League. He coached collegiate soccer for twenty-nine years.

Waad Hirmez is a retired Iraqi-American football (soccer) player who spent most of his professional career in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League.

The 1981–82 season was the North American Soccer League's third indoor soccer season.

Ronald Vernon Newman was an English professional association football player and coach. He was a member of the American National Soccer Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in San Diego</span>

Sports in San Diego include one men's major professional sports team, several teams from other highest-level professional leagues, minor league teams, semi-pro and club teams, and college athletics. The most popular team in San Diego is the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). Also popular locally are the college teams of the San Diego State Aztecs, which play in NCAA Division I (FBS).

1989 National Pro Soccer Championship was the championship final for professional soccer in the U.S. in 1989. The match was contested on September 9, 1989. The WSL Champion, San Diego Nomads took on the ASL Champion, Fort Lauderdale Strikers in order to crown a national professional champion for the first time since 1984. The game was played at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, California.

References

  1. ↑ Sweetwater Hall of Fame Welcomes a Dozen More Archived February 7, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ Aztecs Hall of Fame
  3. ↑ Team America Introduces Its 16 Players The Washington Post (DC) - Thursday, February 24, 1983
  4. ↑ Knee injury casts Fernandez in exile The San Diego Union (CA) - Friday, December 16, 1983
  5. ↑ Bum knee forces Sockers' Fernandez to retire at age 26 Evening Tribune (San Diego, CA) - Thursday, November 22, 1984
  6. ↑ 1986 San Diego Nomads
  7. ↑ Sockers are short on miracles, players for match in St. Louis The San Diego Union (CA) - Friday, April 10, 1987
  8. ↑ VIDAL FERNANDEZ, COACH The San Diego Union-Tribune (CA) - Wednesday, February 23, 2000
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.