George Fernandez is a retired American soccer defender who played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League and National Professional Soccer League. He coached in both the Continental Indoor Soccer League and NPSL and was the 1994 CISL Coach of the Year.

Playing career

Youth

Born in San Francisco, Fernandez spent much of his youth in Hawaii. He played both soccer and football in high school and was offered a football scholarship by the University of the Pacific but chose to attend

Cal State Hayward California State University, East Bay (Cal State East Bay, CSU East Bay, or CSUEB) is a public university in Hayward, California. The university is part of the 23-campus California State University system and offers 136 undergraduate and 60 post ...

instead. Fernandez played soccer at Hayward from 1979 to 1983. He was a 1982 and 1983

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

First Team All American and has been inducted into the CSU East Bay Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional

In 1983, the

Chicago Sting The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from ...

of the North American Soccer League drafted Fernandez but he did not sign with them. In October 1983, the Tacoma Stars had the first selection in the Major Indoor Soccer League Draft but swapped their pick with the Cleveland Force. The Force used the pick to select Fernandez. Fernandez played only six games over two seasons with the Force before being released in October 1985. On December 27, 1985, the

Los Angeles Lazers The Los Angeles Lazers were an indoor soccer team that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1982 to 1989. History Jerry Buss, the owner of California Sports, the parent company of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kings and Strings of ...

for the remainder of the season. He ended up playing two seasons in Los Angeles. In 1987, Fernandez joined the

San Diego Sockers San Diego Sockers may refer to: *San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) 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 ( ...

as a free agent. On July 30, 1990, he moved to the

Cleveland Crunch The Cleveland Crunch are an American professional indoor soccer club located in Cleveland, Ohio competing in as a charter member of the Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS). The rebranded Crunch returned to indoor play as a member of the MASL 2 i ...

as a free agent. In 1992, the Crunch moved to the National Professional Soccer League. In 1994, he became the head coach of the

Anaheim Splash The Anaheim Splash was a U.S. indoor soccer team that played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL). It was founded in 1992 as the Los Angeles United, but was sold after the season. The new ownership moved the team to Anaheim, Californ ...

in the Continental Indoor Soccer League. NPSL rules prohibited players and coaches from the CISL to compete in the NPSL. Therefore, the Crunch released Fernandez. In 1995, he returned to the NPSL when he signed with the

Cincinnati Silverbacks The Cincinnati Silverbacks was an indoor soccer club based in Cincinnati, Ohio that competed in the National Professional Soccer League. History They performed under the leadership of All-Star goalkeeper Carlos Pena. Other star players include ...

National team

In 1981, he played two games with the

United States U-20 men's national soccer team The United States U-20 men's national soccer team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation. The highest level of competition in which the team competes is the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which is held every two years. The United States' b ...

at the

1981 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship, the third edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship, was held in Australia from 3 to 18 October 1981. The tournament took place in six venues—where a total of 32 matches were played. Adelaide, Brisban ...

. He was a member of the

United States national futsal team The United States national futsal team represents the United States at international competitions. It is governed by the United States Soccer Federation and affiliated with CONCACAF. The U.S. Futsal Federation was founded in 1981 and the first ...

at both the 1992 and

1996 FIFA Futsal World Championship The 1996 FIFA Futsal World Championship was the third FIFA Futsal World Championship, the quadrennial international futsal championship contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It was held between 24 November and ...

Coaching career

In 1994, Fernandez became the head coach of the

of the Continental Indoor Soccer League. He took the team, to the second best record in the league and was named the 1994 CISL Coach of the Year. In September 1996, Fernandez became a player-coach with the

. He coached the Silverbacks for two seasons. In September 1998, the

Buffalo Blizzard The Buffalo Blizzard was a soccer club that existed from 1992 to 2001 in Buffalo, New York. History The team was originally owned by the Knox brothers who owned the Buffalo Sabres at the time, and additionally by the Riches who owned the minor l ...

hired Fernandez. The team fired him on March 1, 2000. He then moved to the

as an assistant coach. When the Crunch fired head coach Bruce Miller in March 2001, Fernandez served as interim head coach for the remainder of the season."Crunch's Marinaro defends fired Miller" ''The Plain Dealer'' (Cleveland, Ohio) Wednesday, March 7, 2001

Yearly Awards

* CISL Coach of the Year – 1994

References

External links

articles.latimes.com

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez, George 1961 births Living people American men's futsal players American soccer coaches American soccer players Association football defenders California State University, East Bay alumni Cincinnati Silverbacks players Cleveland Crunch players Cleveland Force (original MISL) players Continental Indoor Soccer League coaches Los Angeles Lazers players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) coaches Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) coaches National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players San Diego Sockers (original MISL) players Soccer players from San Francisco United States men's under-20 international soccer players