Manuel "Mani" Hernandez (born August 2, 1948 in Madrid, Spain) is a

Spanish-American Spanish Americans ( es, españoles estadounidenses, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in th ...

former

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He played collegiate soccer at San Jose State University where he won the 1968

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 ...

as the collegiate player of the year. He later spent three seasons with the

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

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

. He currently coaches high school girls soccer at

Presentation High School Presentation High School is a private, Catholic, college preparatory school for girls established in 1962. It is owned and run by the Sisters of the Presentation, and operates within the Diocese of San Jose in California. The school is located i ...

Player

Youth and college

Hernandez was born in Spain where he spent most of his youth. He joined Atletico Madrid soccer club as a youth player, but his life took a turn when tragedy struck. After the death of both of his parents, Hernandez left Spain to live with his uncle in the United States. He arrived in the U.S. as a junior in high school. Hernandez played youth u17 and u18 in Hayward, California. His senior year, San Jose State soccer coach Jules Menendez approached Hernandez about playing for him. Hernandez agreed and Menendez became a second father to him. In 1968, the Spartans went to the NCAA Final Four before falling to eventual co-champions Maryland. That year, Hernandez was selected as a first team All American and the 1968

recipient as the top collegiate player of the year.

Club career

Following college, Hernandez spent several years with San Francisco semi-pro teams. In 1974, the

(NASL) established a franchise in San Jose, naming it the

. The Earthquakes signed Hernandez. On 5 May 1974, Hernandez scored the first ever point for a San Jose professional sports franchise when he scored against the Vancouver Whitecaps seven minutes into the match. He spent three season with the ‘Quakes, 1974-1976.NASL stats
/ref> In 1979, he signed with the

Detroit Lightning The Detroit Lightning was a Major Indoor Soccer League franchise which existed for only one season, 1979–1980. The Lightning finished that season at 15–17. The team's home arena was Cobo Arena. On May 28, 1980, at the end of the 1979–1980 ...

of the Major Indoor Soccer League. After one season, he moved to the

San Francisco Fog Fog is a common weather phenomenon in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as along the entire coastline of California extending south to the northwest coast of the Baja California Peninsula. The frequency of fog and low-lying stratus clouds is ...

Olympics and national teams

In 1970, Hernandez represented the united States Olympic Team at the Pan-American games, Hernandez scored two goals against Bermuda which allow them to go into the second round of competition for the first time in the history of the tournament. In 1972, Hernandez was selected for the

U.S. Olympic Team United States of America (USA) has sent athletes to every celebration of the modern era Olympic Games, except for the 1980 Summer Olympics, during which it led a boycott to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. American athletes have w ...

as it began the qualification process for the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

. Hernandez scored one of the two goals in the U.S. victory over Jamaica which put the U.S. into the tournament. Hernandez earned two caps with the U.S. national team in 1974, both losses to Mexico.

Coach

In 1976, Hernandez coached Leland High School (San Jose, California) varsity men's soccer team to its first Central Coast Section championship and in 1982, Hernandez was also the assistant coach at San Jose State men's soccer. Hernandez coached the Gunderson High School (San Jose, California) varsity men's soccer team to its first Central Coast Section playoff berth, beating previous Central Coastal Sectional champion Watsonville HS 11-1 in a 1st-round match. In 1983,

in San Jose hired Hernandez, becoming the head coach of the girl’s varsity soccer team. Over the decades since then, he has taken Presentation to seventeen league championships and eight Central Coast Sectional titles.

Aly Wagner Alyson Kay Wagner (born August 10, 1980) is an American sports broadcaster and retired soccer midfielder who last played for Los Angeles Sol of Women's Professional Soccer and the United States women's national soccer team. She is a two-time Ol ...

and

Danielle Slaton Danielle Victoria Slaton (born June 10, 1980) is an American retired professional soccer player. She is currently a soccer analyst for the San Jose Earthquakes, Fox Sports and the Pac-12 Network. A five-year member of the United States women' ...

are among the players Hernandez has coached at Presentation.

References

External links

Profile of Hernandez at Presentation High School

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez, Manuel 1948 births Living people American soccer coaches American men's soccer players Detroit Lightning players Footballers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Hermann Trophy men's winners Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Footballers at the 1971 Pan American Games Pan American Games competitors for the United States Olympic soccer players for the United States San Francisco Fog (MISL) players San Jose Earthquakes (1974–1988) players San Jose State University alumni Spanish emigrants to the United States Footballers from Madrid United States men's international soccer players San Jose State Spartans men's soccer players Men's association football forwards High school soccer coaches in the United States San Jose State Spartans men's soccer coaches