Gerardo Alfredo Bruna Blanco
(born 29 January 1991) is an Argentine 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 ...
who plays as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
.
He was on the books of
Real Madrid and
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
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.
In the summer of 2007 Bruna moved to England to sign for
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
, having been offered and turned down a professional contract by Real Madrid.
"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
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
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
The Premier Reserve League (officially known as The Barclays Premier Reserve League for sponsorship reasons) was the reserve team league for the top English football teams in the Premier League. The league was split into a northern and a southe ...
in
2007–08.
Blackpool
Bruna joined
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
side
Blackpool on a two-year deal, with an option for a further 12 months, on 17 July 2011. He made his competitive debut as a substitute in the
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
defeat to
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
on 11 August 2011.
He made his
Football League debut in a 2–1 defeat at home to
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
on 22 October, coming on as a late substitute.
With four total appearances to his name, Bruna was released by Blackpool on 9 May 2013.
Huesca
On 20 September 2013 Bruna joined
SD Huesca
Sociedad Deportiva Huesca, S.A.D., is a Spanish football club in Huesca, in the autonomous community of Aragon. Founded on 29 March 1960, SD Huesca plays in the Segunda División, having played in the Spanish top division for the first time in ...
, freshly relegated to
Segunda División B. 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
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
club
Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...
in the summer of 2014, before picking up an injury. He was then offered a one-month contract by the club. He made his only appearance for the club as a substitute in a league cup match but was not offered a long term contract.
Whitehawk
Bruna signed a one-month contract with
Whitehawk
Whitehawk is a suburb in the east of Brighton, England, south of Bevendean and north of Brighton Marina. The area is a large, modern housing estate built in a downland dry valley historically known as Whitehawk Bottom. The estate was original ...
, who then played in England's 6th tier, with the option to extend by the club depending on performances. The signing of Bruna was described as a "massive coup" as Bruna had previously played for clubs such as Real Madrid and Liverpool. Bruna scored his first goal for Whitehawk in a 5–1 victory over
Chelmsford City
Chelmsford City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chelmsford, Essex, England. Currently members of they play at the Melbourne Stadium.
History Chelmsford
Chelmsford Football Club was established in 1878 by members of ...
.
Accrington Stanley
In January 2015, Bruna joined League Two club
Accrington Stanley
Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete his ...
. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2-1 loss to
Bury in the
Football League Trophy
The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...
on 1 September 2015. 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.
Ottawa Fury
On 15 February 2016, Bruna was released by Accrington, allowing him to join the Fury in time for the start of training camp.
He played a few matches for their
academy team in the third-tier
Première Ligue de soccer du Québec
The Première ligue de soccer du Québec (PLSQ) is a semi-professional soccer league created in 2012. The Quebec Soccer Federation operates both men's and women's divisions at the pro-am tier of the Canadian soccer league system. The league is p ...
.
Derry City
On 5 February 2019, Bruna signed with
League of Ireland Premier Division side
Derry City. On 4 December 2020, Bruna announced his departure from the club after two seasons.
Shelbourne
In February 2021, Bruna signed for
Shelbourne ahead of their first season back in the
League of Ireland First Division
The League of Ireland First Division ( ga, Céad Roinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division, is the second level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. Th ...
having been relegated 3 months previously. He suffered an
Anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligament
Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and th ...
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.
Dungannon Swifts
In September 2022, he signed for
NIFL Premiership
The NIFL Premiership, known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and colloquially as the Irish League or Irish Premiership, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northe ...
club
Dungannon Swifts.
International career
Bruna has represented both Argentina and Spain at youth level.
In May 2008 he was a member of the
Spain under-17 squad European Under-17 Football Championship
The UEFA European Under-17 Championship or simply UEFA Under-17 Championship, is an annual football competition contested by the European men's under-17 national teams of the member associations of UEFA.
Spain is the most successful team in this ...
in Turkey.
He made one appearance in the group stages as a second-half substitute in a 3–3 draw with
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
at the
Mardan Sports Complex
Mardan Sports Complex is a multi-purpose stadium in Aksu, Antalya, Turkey. It is currently used mostly for football matches, and it hosted matches during the 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship
The final tournament of the 2008 ...
,
Aksu, Antalya.
Bruna represented the
Argentina national under-20 football team
The Argentina national under-20 football team is the representative of Argentina in FIFA-sponsored tournaments that pertain to that age level.
Argentina is the most successful nation in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, winning the competition a record ...
at the 2009 Toulon tournament.
Personal life
His wife is from Liverpool.
Career statistics
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruna, Gerardo
1991 births
Living people
Men's association football midfielders
Argentine footballers
Spanish footballers
Footballers from Mendoza, Argentina
Argentine emigrants to Spain
Argentine expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Spain
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Expatriate footballers in England
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in England
Expatriate soccer players in Canada
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Canada
Expatriate association footballers in Northern Ireland
Liverpool F.C. players
Blackpool F.C. players
SD Huesca footballers
Tranmere Rovers F.C. players
Whitehawk F.C. players
Accrington Stanley F.C. players
Ottawa Fury FC players
Derry City F.C. players
Shelbourne F.C. players
Dungannon Swifts F.C. players
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
Segunda División B players
North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players
USL Championship players
League of Ireland players
NIFL Premiership players
Argentina men's youth international footballers
Spain men's youth international footballers