Alexander Joseph Gersbach ( ; born 8 May 1997) is an Australian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

team

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, la ...

and the Australia national team. He made his debut for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in 2016, having previously played numerous times for the nation's youth teams.

Early life

Born in

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

to a father of German descent and a mother of Greek descent, Gersbach grew up in Sutherland, in Sydney's South East. For the majority of his school years he attended St Patrick's College, Sutherland, before leaving for the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

in Canberra where he also attended

Canberra High School Canberra High School is a years 7–10 public co-educational high school in Macquarie, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. It was established in 1938. History Canberra High School was established in 1938 and was previously s ...

. Gersbach played his youth football for the Miranda Magpies and Sutherland Sharks where he played as a striker.

Club career

Sydney FC

On 20 July 2014,

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was fo ...

announced that they had signed Gersbach to a two-year deal. Alex was previously given the number 13 jersey, but later swapped with

Christopher Naumoff Christopher Naumoff (born 29 June 1995) is a retired Australian professional football (soccer) player who played as a winger for Sutherland Sharks in the NPL and for Sydney FC in the A-League. Born in Sydney, Naumoff played youth football ...

for the number 16. Rated as one of Australia's most promising young footballers, he made his senior professional debut for the club at the age of 17 years and 3 months in the

2014 FFA Cup The 2014 FFA Cup was the inaugural season of the FFA Cup, the main national soccer knockout cup competition in Australia. 631 teams in total from around Australia entered the competition. Only 32 teams competed in the competition proper (Round o ...

Round of 32 tie against

Melbourne City FC Melbourne City Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in the south–eastern Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne East, that plays in the A-League, the top level of Australian soccer, under licence from Australian Profession ...

at Morshead Park on 12 August 2014 which

won 3–1 after extra time. He made his A-League debut on 11 October 2014 against Melbourne City when he came on for Matthew Jurman after 69 minutes. He put in a promising performance as Sydney FC drew 1–1. For the 2015–16 A-League season, Gersbach was given the number 3 jersey.

Rosenborg

On 31 January 2016, it was announced that Gersbach had signed with Norwegian club,

Rosenborg BK Rosenborg Ballklub, commonly referred to simply as Rosenborg () or RBK, is a Norwegian professional football club from Trondheim that plays in Eliteserien. The club has won a record 26 league titles, a shared record 12 Norwegian Football Cup ti ...

of the

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

for a reported fee of $500,000. Gersbach made his Tippeligaen debut for Rosenborg on 19 March 2016 at home to Stromsgodset where he played a full 90 minutes in a 1–0 home victory.

Loan to Lens

On 22 January 2018,

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...

announced the signing of Gersbach on a six-month loan deal, with the view to make it a permanent three-year deal at the end of his stint. Given the number 5 jersey, Gersbach made his debut in an unfamiliar centre-back role in a 1–0 loss to

US Orléans Union Sportive Orléans Loiret Football (; commonly referred to as US Orléans or simply Orléans) is a French association football club based in Orléans. The club was founded in 1976 and currently play in Championnat National after being relega ...

NAC Breda

On 23 January 2019,

NAC Breda NAC Breda (), often simply known as NAC, is a Dutch professional football club, based in Breda, Netherlands. NAC Breda play in the Rat Verlegh Stadium, named after their most important player, Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh. They play in the Eerste Divi ...

announced the signing of Gersbach on a 2.5 year contract.

AGF

In July 2019, Gersbach moved to Denmark and joined AGF on a 3-year contract, also getting reunited with his former teammate from the national team

Mustafa Amini Mohammad Mustafa Castillo Amini, known as Mustafa Amini, (Dari language, Dari: محمد مصطفی کاستیلو امینی, born 20 April 1993) is an Australian professional Association football, footballer who plays for Perth Glory FC, Perth ...

Grenoble

On 31 August 2021, Gersbach secured a move to French

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

team

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

on a 2-year contract.

Colorado Rapids

After playing two seasons for Grenoble, Gersbach joined

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

team

on 30 January 2023 for a reported fee of €300.000. Gersbach signed a 3 year contract with a club-held option for the 2026 MLS season and occupies an international roster spot. Gersbach made his debut for the Rapids starting in a 4-0 defeat to

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

on 26 February 2023.

International career

On 25 September 2015, Gersbach was selected to play for the Young Socceroos to play in the

2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification The 2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification decided the participating teams of the 2016 AFC U-19 Championship. The tournament is the 39th edition of the AFC U-19 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by ...

. In March 2016 Gersbach received his first call up to the senior team when he was named in the squad to face

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

and

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

in World Cup Qualifiers on 24 and 29 March. On 4 June 2016, Gersbach made his first international appearance for Australia, coming on for

Brad Smith Brad or Bradley Smith may refer to: Sportspeople * Bradley Smith (cricketer) (born 1969), English former cricketer * Brad Smith (footballer, born 1948), Australian rules footballer and premiership coach of East Fremantle * Brad Smith (ice hockey) ...

against

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

in the 82nd minute and later setting up Mathew Leckie's last second winner.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Club

Rosenborg *

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Norwegian Football Cup The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football ...

Mesterfinalen Mesterfinalen ( en, Champions Final), also known as UNICEF Mesterfinalen due to its cooperation with UNICEF, is a Norwegian association football competition contested between the champions of the previous Eliteserien season and the holders of the ...

Individual

* Harry Kewell Medal: 2017

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gersbach, Alex 1997 births Living people Association football defenders Australian soccer players Australia youth international soccer players Australia under-20 international soccer players Australia international soccer players Australian people of German descent Australian people of Greek descent Australian expatriate soccer players Sydney FC players Rosenborg BK players RC Lens players NAC Breda players Aarhus Gymnastikforening players Grenoble Foot 38 players Colorado Rapids players A-League Men players National Premier Leagues players Ligue 2 players Eliteserien players Eredivisie players Danish Superliga players Expatriate footballers in France Australian expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate footballers in Norway Australian expatriate sportspeople in Norway Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Australian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Australian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2019 AFC Asian Cup players Major League Soccer players

Early life

Club career

Sydney FC

Rosenborg

Loan to Lens

NAC Breda

AGF

Grenoble

Colorado Rapids

International career

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Club

Individual

See also

References

External links