Patrick Nyema Gerhardt (born 31 July 1985) is a former 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 last played for

National Premier Leagues Victoria 2 The National Premier Leagues Victoria 2, commonly referred to as NPL Victoria 2, is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is the second-highest in the Victorian league system, behind the National Premier Leagues Vict ...

side Nunawading City. Born in Switzerland, he represented the

Liberia national football team The Liberia national football team, nicknamed the ''Lone Stars'', represents Liberia in men's international football and is controlled by the Liberia Football Association. Although the nation produced the 1995 FIFA World Player of the Year, ...

. He is known for his strength, technical skill, heading ability and industrious work rate.

Early life

Gerhardt was born in

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

, Switzerland. He holds a Liberian citizenship through his heritage. He began his football career at Bern, local club FC Bumpliz, before impressing enough to be selected in the

BSC Young Boys BSC Young Boys (YB by short abbreviation ) are a Swiss sports club based in Bern, Switzerland. Its first team has won 15 Swiss league championships and six Swiss Cups. YB is one of the most successful Swiss football clubs internationally, reac ...

youth system, where he played for the under 15, under 17, under 18 and under 21 teams. He also won international youth caps for the Swiss national under 15 and under 16 side.

Career

After four years in the youth system and at the age of 19 he won a senior contract with BSC, playing 22 times for the ''BSC Young Boys II'' team. After a series of loans to local sides

Concordia Basel FC Concordia Basel is a Swiss association football, football club based in Basel. The club was founded in 1907. They play in the 2nd regional league which is the fifth level, and their home stadium was Rankhof Stadium until the 2008-09 season. F ...

and

SR Delémont SR Delémont is a Swiss football club based in Delémont and founded in 1909. It played in the Swiss Super League The Swiss Super League (known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a Swiss professional league in the ...

he left BSC after just one senior appearance. Gerhardt left BSC in the middle of 2008 and joined newly promoted

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Liga I The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It is the country's top ...

team

CS Otopeni CS Otopeni was a Romanian professional football club from Otopeni, Ilfov County, founded in 2001 and dissolved in 2013. Its greatest performance was that it played for one season in the Liga I in the 2008–09 season. History The club was fo ...

. He left after a frustrating season which saw Otopeni relegated and few first team chances. In 2010, he joined

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; french: Ligue canadienne de soccer — LCS) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (C ...

side

Brantford Galaxy Brantford Galaxy Soccer Club was a semi-professional Canadian soccer club based in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, with their home venue located in Hamilton, Ontario at the Heritage Field Turf. The club competes in the Canadian Soccer League, a leag ...

. After an up and down 'regular season' Gerhardt helped the side win the league playoffs, where they came from way back in 7th place to beat

Hamilton Croatia Hamilton Croatia is a Croatian Canadian amateur soccer team founded in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in 1957. It is supported by the Croatian Sports and Community Centre of Hamilton Inc. (formerly the Croatian National Sports Club of Hamilton, Inc.) ...

0–3 in the final.

FK Željezničar

On 26 January 2011,

FK Željezničar Sarajevo Fudbalski klub Željezničar Sarajevo ( sh-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Жељезничap Сарајево; English: Football Club Željezničar Sarajevo), commonly referred to as Željo, is a professional football club, based in Sarajevo ...

announced that Gerhardt was coming on trial with the club. He signed for FK Željezničar on 7 February, for the remainder of the 2010–11 season. After helping the Club win the

National league cup The Championship Cup, (known as the Northern Rail Cup for sponsorship reasons), and previously known as the National League Cup, was a rugby league football competition for clubs in the United Kingdom's Rugby League Championships. Although the ...

he was awarded a 1-year contract, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2011/12 season. The 2011–12 season was an even better one for the club and for Gerhardt, winning 'the Double' (League and Cup titles), as well as qualifying for the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

. It was the first double for any club since the unified

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

football competitions started in 2002.

Melbourne Heart FC

On 22 June 2012, he signed for Australian

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. He was released by the club on 30 April 2014. After a stint with Malaysian Sarawak FA, Gerhardt returned to Australia, signing for

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 ...

club

Melbourne Knights FC Melbourne Knights Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in the suburb of Sunshine North, Melbourne. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria, the second-tier of the Australian soccer league ...

. After battling various injuries in the first part of the season, Gerhardt made his Knights debut in Round 14, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–0 win over

Hume City FC Hume City Football Club is a semi-professional Australian football club based in Broadmeadows Broadmeadows is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Hume loc ...

. He moved to Nunawading City in June 2017.

International career

Despite being born in Bern, Switzerland, Gerhardt accepted the call to play for the Liberian national team. He was eligible to play for Liberia due to his heritage. He debuted on 26 March 2011 in a

2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification This page details the process of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification phase. Forty-six African nations, including hosts Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, entered the competition. Gabon and Equatorial Guinea automatically qualified as host count ...

match against Cape Verde Islands, a 2–4 loss.

Honors

FK Željezničar

Winner *

Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina The m:tel Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, m:tel Premijer liga Bosne i Hercegovine / м:тел Премијер лига Босне и Херцеговине), also known as Liga 12, is the top tier football league in Bosnia and Herz ...

: 2011/2012 *

Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Cup The Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Cup ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kup Bosne i Hercegovine, Куп Босне и Херцеговине) is a knock-out football competition contested annually by clubs from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The winner ...

: 2010/2011, 2011/2012

Brantford Galaxy

Winner *

(playoffs): 2010

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerhardt, Nyema 1985 births Living people People with acquired Liberian citizenship Liberian footballers Association football defenders CS Otopeni players Brantford Galaxy players FK Željezničar Sarajevo players Melbourne City FC players Liga I players Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina players A-League Men players Liberia international footballers Liberian expatriate footballers Liberian expatriate sportspeople in Romania Expatriate footballers in Romania Liberian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate soccer players in Canada Liberian expatriates in Bosnia and Herzegovina Expatriate footballers in Bosnia and Herzegovina Liberian expatriates in Australia Expatriate soccer players in Australia Liberian expatriate sportspeople in Malaysia Expatriate footballers in Malaysia Footballers from Bern Swiss footballers BSC Young Boys players FC Concordia Basel players SR Delémont players Swiss expatriate footballers Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Romania Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Canada Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Bosnia and Herzegovina Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Australia Swiss expatriates in Malaysia Swiss people of Liberian descent Sportspeople of Liberian descent