Jonatan Miguel Germano (born 31 May 1988 in San Nicolás) is an Argentine-Australian footballer who currently plays for

National Premier Leagues Victoria 3 The National Premier Leagues Victoria 3, commonly referred to as NPL Victoria 3, is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is the third-highest in the Victorian league system, behind NPL Victoria and NPL Victoria ...

club Preston Lions FC.

Early life

Germano's odyssey into football began when he joined the Estudiantes youth team. He signed a professional contract in 2007.

Club career

Estudiantes (2007–2011)

Germano made his debut for Estudiantes on 9 September 2007 against Racing Club in the Primera División. He came on as a substitute for Juan Manuel Salgueiro in the 66th minute, Estudiantes won the match 2–1. He was released from the club after the 2010–11 season.

Loan to HNK Rijeka

In 2009 Germano wen't on a season long loan to Croatian club

HNK Rijeka Hrvatski nogometni klub Rijeka ( en, Croatian Football Club Rijeka), commonly referred to as NK Rijeka or simply Rijeka, is a Croatian professional association football, football club from the city of Rijeka. HNK Rijeka compete in Croatia's top ...

. He was unable to cement a place in the first team. He was used sparingly, featuring just four times in the 2009–10 Prva HNL season.

Loan to Sportivo Luqueño

Germano was loaned to

Primera División Paraguaya Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera, Venezuelan musician, compos ...

club

Sportivo Luqueño Club Sportivo Luqueño is a Paraguayan football club, based in the city of Luque on the outskirts of the capital Asunción. The club has won two Paraguayan championships. History The club was founded in 1921 when three teams from the city of L ...

for the Torneo Apertura of the 2010 season. He featured in 14 games for the club, playing in a variety of positions.

Melbourne Heart / City

In July 2011, Germano traveled to

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 ...

for a one-month trial with

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

club

Melbourne Heart 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 ...

, where he 'surprised' the team with his talent. He played in two trials for the club, playing a full 90 minutes in both games. At the end of July, he returned to his homeland after impressing coaches

John van 't Schip Johannes Nicolaas van 't Schip (; born 30 December 1963) is a Dutch Canadian and former Dutch international footballer, who played as a winger. He spent his club career with Ajax, where they won four Eredivisie titles, a UEFA Cup and a Europe ...

Ante Milicic Ante Milicic ( ; hr, Ante Miličić ; (born 4 April 1974) is an Australian soccer manager and former professional player. Personal life The son of Croatian immigrants, Milicic grew up in Strathfield, a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney. Mi ...

and

John Aloisi John Aloisi () (born 5 February 1976) is an Australian former soccer player and current head coach of A-League club Western United. In a professional career that spanned 20 seasons, with league totals of 459 games and 127 goals, he was the first ...

. Germano was offered a contract and awaited clearance on his

visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

application. His signing completed Melbourne Heart's squad for the 2011–12 season. He claimed the fifth and final 'Visa spot' for the club. On 5 September 2011, he officially signed with Melbourne Heart and was given the number 13. On 18 November 2011, Germano scored his first official goal which sealed the win for the game. It was his sixth appearance for the club. After heading in his second goal for the club, the opener in a 2–1 victory over the

Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat. Brisba ...

, Germano celebrated by pulling a

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

hat from his shorts whilst celebrating in front of Roar fans. Later, referee

Kris Griffiths-Jones Kris Griffiths-Jones is an Australian football referee who currently officiates in the Hyundai A-League and the NSW Premier League. He made his A-League debut in the 2008-09 A-League season. He began his refereeing career witGDFRA(Granville D ...

booked Germano for the celebration. As of October 2014, Germano, along with his manager

John van't Schip Johannes Nicolaas van 't Schip (; born 30 December 1963) is a Dutch Canadian and former Dutch international footballer, who played as a winger. He spent his club career with Ajax, where they won four Eredivisie titles, a UEFA Cup and a Europe ...

were the only members of Melbourne City who spoke Spanish. On 28 March 2015 Germano scored the winner against

in the 4th minute all but ending Brisbanes title defence making it almost impossible for them to make the finals. Germano was released by Melbourne City at the end of the 2014–15 A-League season.

Avondale FC

In late 2015, it was confirmed that Germano, along with former

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory e ...

player

Spase Dilevski Spase Dilevski ( mk, Спасе Дилевски; born 13 May 1985) is an Australian former footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Club career Dilevski started his career as a junior for Victorian lower league team Sydenham Park wher ...

, would be joining

National Premier Leagues Victoria The National Premier Leagues Victoria, commonly known as NPL Victoria, is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the highest level within the Victorian soccer leagu ...

side Avondale for the 2016 NPL Victoria season. Germano had to sit out the first few rounds of the NPL season, waiting for his Australian Visa to come through. He made his debut in a 3–1 loss at

Knights Stadium Knights Stadium was a baseball stadium which served as the home of the International League's Charlotte Knights from 1990 to 2013 and had a capacity of 10,002. The park was located across the state line from Charlotte, North Carolina, in Fort M ...

against reigning champions Bentleigh Greens on 11 March 2016. He then scored his first goal for the club, the fifth in a 5–1 win over South Springvale in Round 5 of the

FFA Cup The Australia Cup, formerly known as the FFA Cup until the 2021 season, is the national football knockout cup competition in Australia. This annual competition is organised by Football Australia, formerly known as Football Federation Austral ...

, after coming on as a late substitute. Germano scored both of Avondale's goals in a Round 13 2-2 draw with

Richmond SC Richmond Soccer Club is an Australian soccer club from Richmond, Victoria, an inner eastern suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Richmond compete in the Victorian State League Division 1 South-East competition, the third tier of football in Victor ...

on 20 May 2016, hitting home a 92nd-minute goal to give his side a point from the game. Germano became an Australian citizen as of 2017. Jonatan Germano won the Dockerty cup in 2021 with Avondale Heights.

Honours

Club

Avondale FC Avondale FC is an Australian semi-professional association football club, with the men's and women's teams based in Parkville and the junior sides based in Avondale Heights, suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the National P ...

* Dockerty Cup Winners: 2021 *Runners up NPL 2017/18

References

External links

*
Profile at Ceroacero
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Germano, Jonatan 1988 births Living people Argentine people of German descent Argentine footballers Argentine expatriate footballers Estudiantes de La Plata footballers Sportivo Luqueño players Melbourne City FC players Avondale FC players Preston Lions FC players HNK Rijeka players Argentine Primera División players Croatian Football League players A-League Men players National Premier Leagues players Expatriate footballers in Croatia Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Croatia Expatriate footballers in Paraguay Expatriate soccer players in Australia Naturalised soccer players of Australia Argentine emigrants to Australia Association football defenders Association football midfielders People from San Nicolás de los Arroyos Sportspeople from Buenos Aires Province