Gerardo Bruna

Gerardo Alfredo Bruna Blanco[1] (born 29 January 1991) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a midfielder.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Bruna and the second or maternal family name is Blanco.
Gerardo Bruna
Personal information
Full name Gerardo Alfredo Bruna Blanco
Date of birth (1991-01-29) 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

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.

Club career

Youth career

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]

Blackpool

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]

Huesca

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.

Tranmere Rovers

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.

Whitehawk

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]

Accrington Stanley

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]

Ottawa Fury

On 15 February 2016, Bruna was offered contracts with both Accrington and Ottawa; he decided to join Ottawa, for an undisclosed fee .[18]

Derry City

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]

Shelbourne

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, keeping him out of action for a long term spell which kept him out of action for the entire season meaning he never played a competitive game for the club.[22]

Dungannon Swifts

In September 2022, he signed for NIFL Premiership club Dungannon Swifts.[23]

International career

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]

Personal life

His wife is from Liverpool.[27]

Career statistics
As of 14 September 2022
Club statistics
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Blackpool 2011–12[28] Championship 101010——30
2012–13[29] Championship 100000——10
Total 20101000—40
Huesca 2013–14[30] Segunda División B 17100———171
Tranmere Rovers 2014–15[31] League Two 00—10——10
Whitehawk 2014–15[32] Conference South 51———1[lower-alpha 1]061
Accrington Stanley 2014–15[31] League Two 60————60
2015–16[33] League Two 300010—1[lower-alpha 2]151
Total 9000100011111
Ottawa Fury Academy 2016 PLSQ 30—00——30
Ottawa Fury 2016[32] NASL 6000———60
2017[32] United Soccer League 26110———271
2018[32] United Soccer League 5000———50
Total 37110———381
Derry City 2019[32] League of Ireland Premier Division 2610031——292
2020[32] League of Ireland Premier Division 7010—1[lower-alpha 3]0—90
Total 331103110—382
Shelbourne 2021[32] League of Ireland First Division 0000———00
Dungannon Swifts 2022–23[32] NIFL Premiership 000000——00
Career total 1064206110211096
  1. Appearance in FA Trophy
  2. Appearance in Football League Trophy
  3. Appearance in UEFA Europa League

References
  1. "Premier League clubs submit squad lists". premierleague.com. Archived from the original on 4 September 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  2. "Gerardo Alfredo Bruna Blanco". Liverpool F.C. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  3. Hodges, Vicki (15 November 2007). "Real Madrid slam Liverpool for Bruna signing". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  4. "Blackpool sign Liverpool's Bruna". BBC Sport. 18 July 2011.
  5. "Sheffield Wednesday 0–0 Blackpool (4–2 penalties)". BBC Sport. 11 August 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  6. "Blackpool 1 – 2 Nott'm Forest". BBC Sport. 22 October 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  7. Thomas Ince & Matt Phillips: Blackpool take up one-year options; BBC Sport, 9 May 2013
  8. Bruna, un lujo para la S.D. Huesca (Bruna, a luxury for S.D. Huesca); Aragón Digital, 20 September 2013 (in Spanish)
  9. "Tranmere Rovers ready to offer short-term deal to Gerardo Bruna". Liverpool Echo. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  10. "Tranmere Rovers sign Gerardo Bruna and Matt Hill". BBC Sport. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  11. "Tranmere crash out of League Cup but take plenty of positives from defeat". Liverpool Echo. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  12. Espiga, Jon. "El ex del Liverpool, Gerardo Bruna, ficha por el Whitehawk".
  13. "Impressive Capture for Hawks with Bruna Signing". Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  14. "- Whitehawk FC". Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  15. "Why Accrington Stanley's new signing turned down Real Madrid contract". Lancashire Telegraph. 3 February 2015.
  16. "Accrington 1-2 Bury". BBC Sport. BBC. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  17. "Former Liverpool Midfielder and Real Madrid Youth Product Joins Fury FC". ottawafuryfc.com. Archived from the original on 20 January 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  18. "Gerardo Bruna, l'énigmatique surdoué" (in French). Express Ottawa. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  19. "Derry sign former Liverpool and Real Madrid man Bruna". RTE. 5 February 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  20. "Derry City: Gerardo Bruna becomes latest player to leave the Candystripes". British Broadcasting Corporation. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  21. "Ex-Derry City midfielder Gerardo Bruna joins Shelbourne". 3 February 2021.
  22. "Dublin weekend previews Airtricity League". 2 July 2021.
  23. "Dungannon Swifts sign former Real Madrid and Liverpool player". Belfasttelegraph.
  24. Tully, David (15 December 2009). "'The Boy Has Got Skills' – Liverpool's Gerardo Bruna". FootballFanCast.com. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  25. Mizrahi, Yakir (7 May 2008). "France and Spain share six goals". UEFA. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  26. "Festival International "Espoirs" de Toulon et du Var". www.festival-foot-espoirs.com. Archived from the original on 8 June 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  27. "Gerardo Bruna: From the Bernabeu to the Brandywell". BBC Sport. 15 August 2019.
  28. "Games played by Gerardo Bruna in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  29. "Games played by Gerardo Bruna in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  30. "Games played by Gerardo Bruna - BD Futbol". BD Futbol. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  31. "Games played by Gerardo Bruna in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  32. "Games played by Gerardo Bruna - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  33. "Games played by Gerardo Bruna in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
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