Jon Bakero González (born 5 November 1996) is a Spanish footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Pontevedra. In 2017, Bakero won the MAC

Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and the ...

, an annual award given to the top college soccer player in the United States.

Career

Youth and college

Bakero played college soccer for Wake Forest in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

, where he was a regular starter all four years. In total, Bakero made 88 appearances for the Demon Deacons, scoring 37 goals across all competitive matches. Bakero made his debut for Wake Forest on 29 August 2014 in a 3–1 loss against UCLA. A month later, he would earn his first points with Wake Forest, notching an assist against Akron on 30 September 2014, in a 2–1 victory. In the following match, on 3 October 2014, Bakero scored his first collegiate goal against Duke in a 4–1 victory. Bakero would score multiple times two weeks later. During his sophomore year, Bakero improved on his freshman campaign and scored eight season goals, and would go on to earn Third Team All-ACC recognition. Between his sophomore and junior years, Bakero played for

FC Tucson FC Tucson is an American soccer club based in Tucson, Arizona that plays in USL League Two. The club has an amateur women’s team, FC Tucson Women, that play in the WPSL. Organized in 2010, the club first fielded a team in March 2011, then joine ...

in the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

, a off-season amateur league that allows college soccer players to retain their NCAA eligibility while still playing competitively during the offseason. Bakero finished the

2016 PDL season The 2016 USL Premier Development League season was the 22nd season of the PDL. The regular season began on May 6 and ended on July 17. The Michigan Bucks were the season champions. Conferences Changes From 2015 New/Returning teams Name C ...

with one goal in eight appearances for Tucson. In his junior year, Bakero played an integral part of the 2016 Wake Forest team that earned their first ACC Men's Soccer Championship since 1989, and their first berth in the NCAA College Cup Final since 2007. Bakero earned All-ACC Tournament XI honors and College Cup Best XI honors. In between his junior and senior years, Bakero returned to the PDL where he scored five times in seven appearances for the Carolina Dynamo. Bakero lead the Deacs in scoring for his senior year, where he notched 16 goals in 23 appearances. He helped Wake Forest successfully defend their ACC Tournament title, and reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. He was awarded with First-Team All ACC honors, the ACC Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Year and the

, which is given annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the best college soccer player in the United States.

Professional

Ahead of the

2018 Major League Soccer season The 2018 Major League Soccer season was the 23rd season of Major League Soccer, top division of soccer in the United States and Canada. The regular season began on March 3, 2018 and concluded on October 28, 2018. The MLS Cup Playoffs began on Oc ...

, it was announced that Bakero had signed a contract with

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 ...

, making him eligible for the

2018 MLS SuperDraft The 2018 MLS SuperDraft was the nineteenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. As customary, the SuperDraft was held in conjunction with the annual United Soccer Coaches convention. The 2018 UCS was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania be ...

. He was an expected first round draft pick. Bakero was selected by Chicago Fire SC with the fifth overall pick in the SuperDraft. Bakero made his professional debut on 14 April 2018 as an 85th minute substitution in a 1–0 loss to the LA Galaxy. On 20 July 2018, Bakero was traded by Chicago Fire to Toronto FC along with $50,000 in General Allocation Money in exchange for

Nicolas Hasler Nicolas Hasler (born 4 May 1991) is a Liechtensteiner professional footballer who plays as a left or right midfielder for FC Vaduz in the Swiss Challenge League and captains the Liechtenstein national team. He is the son of Rainer Hasler, who ...

. He made his TFC debut in their 3–2 loss to NYCFC on 11 August. In 2019, he was loaned to Phoenix Rising FC After the season, he signed a permanent contract with Phoenix Rising. On 6 January 2022, Bakero joined

Bulgarian First League The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...

club Slavia Sofia.

Personal life

Bakero is the son of former professional footballer, José Mari Bakero, who played for the Spain national team,

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septem ...

and FC Barcelona. His aunt is Itziar Bakero, a former female professional footballer, and his uncles Santiago and Jon Bakero were also footballers.

Career statistics

Honors

Individual

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 ...

* ACC Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Year:

* Senior CLASS Award: 2017Wake Forest’s Jon Bakero Wins the 2017 Senior Class Award® for Men’s Soccer
Seniorclassaward.com, accessed 15 December 2017 * 2017 First-Team All American (CSN, ''Soccer America'', United Soccer Coaches)

Club

* Wake Forest ** ACC Men's Soccer Tournament:

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 ...

References

External links

*
Wake Forest Profile

PDL Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bakero, Jon 1996 births Living people Association football forwards North Carolina Fusion U23 players Footballers from Catalonia Chicago Fire FC draft picks Chicago Fire FC players FC Tucson players Hermann Trophy men's winners Major League Soccer players People from Sitges Sportspeople from the Province of Barcelona Phoenix Rising FC players Spanish emigrants to the United States Spanish footballers FC Tulsa players Toronto FC players Toronto FC II players PFC Slavia Sofia players USL Championship players USL League Two players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer players Spanish people of Basque descent Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Poland Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Canada Spanish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Spanish expatriate footballers Expatriate soccer players in Canada Expatriate soccer players in the United States Expatriate footballers in Poland Expatriate footballers in Bulgaria All-American men's college soccer players Southern New Hampshire University alumni