Víctor Salvador Bernárdez Blanco (; born 24 May 1982), also known as Muma, is a Honduran former

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 lea ...

who most recently played as a defender for

Oakland Roots SC Oakland Roots Sports Club is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Oakland, California. The club competes in the USL Championship (USLC) as a member of the Western Conference (USL Championship), Western Conference. F ...

Early life

Bernárdez was raised in

La Ceiba La Ceiba () is a municipality, the capital of the Honduran department of Atlántida (department), Atlántida, and a port city on the northern Caribbean coast in Honduras. It forms part of the southeastern boundary of the Gulf of Honduras. With ...

, living with his mother, sisters, and extended family in a single house. He grew up relatively poor and endured hardships, including having his home damaged because of

Hurricane Mitch Hurricane Mitch was an extremely deadly and catastrophic Atlantic hurricane, which became the second-deadliest tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin on record. Mitch caused 11,374 fatalities in Central America in 1998, including approximately ...

in 1998. He started playing soccer in his youth with the other children of his neighborhood. Bernárdez earned the nickname of "Muma" from teammates of Vida and Honduran national player Rene “Pupa” Martinez. They noticed him following Martinez at every chance he got, so he was the Muma to Pupa. Eventually he was able to join CDS Vida, who his grandfather had played for as well as coached.

Club career

CDS Vida (2003)

Víctor Bernárdez began his career in

with his hometown club Vida. His play with Vida as well as familial connections earned him a move to top Honduran side

Motagua The Motagua River () is a river in Guatemala. It rises in the Western Highlands of Guatemala and runs in an easterly direction to the Gulf of Honduras. The Motagua River basin covers an area of and is the largest in Guatemala. The Motagua Rive ...

Motagua (2004–2008)

Bernardez credits his uncle with helping to facilitate his move to Motagua from Vida. His uncle knew members of the organization and recommended for them to sign Bernárdez. Bernardez scored several important goals in his time with Motagua, including a brace against Olimpia to win the Apertura final 4–2 on aggregate. He also scored a 40-yard free kick in El Clasico de las Emes, capping a 4–1 win for Motagua on 2 July 2007. He was linked to

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

as well as many

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

teams in the winter market. However, in January 2009, it became official that he had been loaned to

for six months.

Anderlecht (2009–2011)

He scored his first goal for the team on February 7, 2009, against Mons during his second appearance with the squad. In January 2011, Bernárdez was sent to Lierse S.K. on a five-month loan. Later in the year he was again sent on loan, this time to Mexican club

Indios de Ciudad Juárez Club de Fútbol Indios de Ciudad Juárez, commonly referred as Indios de Ciudad Juárez or simply Indios, was a Mexican football club. Founded in 2005 when CF Pachuca moved its Pachuca Juniors to Ciudad Juárez, it was promoted to the Primera Di ...

. Bernárdez was an important player for Indios, appearing in 11 matches and scoring 3 goals.

San Jose Earthquakes (2012–2017)

On 28 December 2011

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

announced that they had signed Bernárdez. Bernárdez made his debut for San Jose on April 3, in their first match of the 2012 season in a 1–0 win against the New England Revolution. His first goal for the club came in a

California Clásico The California Clásico is the name given to the soccer rivalry between the LA Galaxy and the San Jose Earthquakes. This Major League Soccer rivalry reached its zenith from 2001 to 2005, during which time the Earthquakes and the Galaxy combined ...

match, with Bernárdez scoring off a corner kick from fellow countryman Marvin Chavez. He went on to make 24 starts for the Earthquakes, quickly becoming a consistent starter for the team. Bernárdez gained recognition for his individual play for the team, being named a finalist for Defender of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, as well as part of the 2012 MLS Best XI. His play helped lead the Earthquakes to the Supporters Shield, which was their first trophy in seven years. Bernárdez proved to be a key member of the Earthquakes in playoffs, scoring in the first leg of the Western Conference semi-finals away to the LA Galaxy. In the following match, Bernárdez left in the 12th minute with an injury and the Earthquakes subsequently gave up three goals, losing the match as well as the playoff series. San Jose's Supporters Shield win in 2012 won the team qualification for the

2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League The 2013–14 CONCACAF Champions League was the 6th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 49th edition of the premier association football, football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional g ...

. Bernardez made his competition debut on August 28, 2013, in a 1–0 loss away to

Heredia Jaguares de Peten Club Deportivo Heredia is a Guatemalan football team that last played in the Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala. History Founded as ''Deportivo Heredia'' in 1958, the club has been based in San Jose, Peten only since summer 2008. The team ...

. On October 14, 2014, the Earthquakes hosted Bernárdez's hometown club CDS Vida. He was unable to play in the match due to being called up for national team duty. Bernardez made his 100th appearance for the San Jose Earthquakes on August 28, 2015, in a 1–0 win against the LA Galaxy. He stated in August 2017 that he hoped to play one final season with San Jose in 2018 and then retire as an Earthquake. His contract option for the 2017 season was not picked up by San Jose on 27 November 2017, and he confirmed on Instagram that same day that his days as an Earthquake were over. Bernardez played in 178 games during his MLS career.

Oakland Roots SC (2019)

On 14 June 2019, Bernárdez joined

ahead of their inaugural

NISA NISA may refer to: * National Independent Soccer Association, a third tier United States soccer league * National Intelligence and Security Agency of Somalia * Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, part of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade a ...

season. In addition to playing, Bernárdez would also act as an assistant coach and Captain appearing in 2 games.

International career

He made his debut for

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

in a March 2004

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

and has earned, as of June 2012, a total of 64 caps, scoring 4 goals. He has represented his country in 23

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments ar ...

matches and played one match at the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

. He also featured at the

2007 UNCAF Nations Cup The 2007 UNCAF Nations Cup was the ninth version of the biennial association football, football tournament for the CONCACAF national teams of Central America. The event took place in San Salvador, El Salvador from February 8 to February 18, 2007. I ...

as well as at the

2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 11th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition, and the 21st CONCACAF regional championship overall in CONCACAF's 50 years of existence. The United States was the host nation. The competition started on Jun ...

. Bernárdez announced before the 2014 World Cup that he would retire after Honduras' last match in the tournament. Bernárdez played in every one of Honduras' group stage matches at the 2014 tournament including what was his final appearance for the team, a 3–0 defeat to Switzerland. The following year Bernárdez reconfirmed his decision to retire from international play, citing the need for him to move on so that new players could get their chance with the side. He also stated that his best memories playing with the national team were his participation in two World Cups as well as helping Honduras to beat

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Estadio Azteca Estadio Azteca () (officially known as Estadio Banorte for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium located in Coyoacán, Mexico City. It is the official home of football team Club América, as well as the Mexico national team. The stadium ...

in 2013.

International goals

Personal life

Bernárdez is married to

Wendy Salgado Wendy is a given name generally given to girls in English-speaking countries. In Britain during the English Civil War in the mid-1600s, a male Captain Wendy Oxford was identified by the Leveller John Lilburne as a spy reporting on his activitie ...

, who represented Honduras at

Miss Universe 2007 Miss Universe 2007 was the 56th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City, Mexico on 28 May 2007. At the end of the event, Zuleyka Rivera of Puerto Rico crowned Riyo Mori of Japan as Miss Universe 2007. It was Japan ...

. They have two children, Ananda and Megan. He also has a daughter named Victoria who lives with his mother in Honduras. Bernárdez has spoken out on quite a few occasions about the violence in Honduras, using his position as a national team player to shine a light on the situation. Before the 2014 World Cup he and fellow national team representatives partnered with the U.S. Agency for International Development and held a small conference entitled ''The Power of Soccer to Combat Youth Violence in Honduras''. After retiring from soccer, he will likely stay in Honduras and try to make a difference through soccer in a similar way that it helped him escape from violence.

Honours

;F.C. Motagua *

Honduran Liga Nacional Honduran may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Honduras * Hondurans, persons from Honduras or of Honduran descent * Honduran population, see Ethnicity in Honduras * Honduran Spanish, the language spoken in Honduras * Honduran cuisine * ...

: Apertura 2006–07 *

Copa Interclubes UNCAF The UNCAF Interclub Cup was an annual international football competition held in the UNCAF region (Central America). The competition was open to the leading domestic club teams in the region. The winners of each national league qualified automatic ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

;R.S.C. Anderlecht *

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023 ...

: 2009–10 ;San Jose Earthquakes *

MLS Supporters Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 199 ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

;National Soccer Hall of Fame *

Nominated A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group or election to an office, in which case a ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Individual *

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. The selection is determined by a collection of media, players, and MLS club technical staffs. Winners Appearances by player The following players ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernardez, Victor 1982 births Living people Footballers from La Ceiba Men's association football defenders Honduran men's footballers 21st-century Honduran sportsmen Honduras men's international footballers 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players C.D.S. Vida players F.C. Motagua players R.S.C. Anderlecht players Lierse S.K. players Indios de Ciudad Juárez footballers San Jose Earthquakes players Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional de Honduras players Belgian Pro League players Major League Soccer players National Independent Soccer Association players Honduran expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Men's association football player-managers Oakland Roots SC players Oakland Roots SC coaches USL Championship coaches