Bruno Berner

Bruno Berner
Personal information
Full name Bruno George Berner[1]
Date of birth (1977-11-21) 21 November 1977
Place of birth Zurich, Switzerland
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position Left Back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1997–2002 Grasshopper Club Zürich 66 (1)
2000 → Real Oviedo (loan) 1 (1)
2002–2005 SC Freiburg 76 (3)
2005–2007 FC Basel 32 (0)
2007 → Blackburn Rovers (loan) 1 (0)
2007–2008 Blackburn Rovers 2 (0)
2008–2012 Leicester City 84 (8)
Total 272 (13)
National team‡
2001–2004 Switzerland 16 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 09:17, 2 May 2011 (UTC).
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22 September 2010

Bruno George Berner (born 21 November 1977) is a former Swiss footballer who retired from professional football on 1 March 2012. Berner last played for Leicester City. Throughout this career, Bruno played predominantly as a left back, but had also been deployed in other roles, such as central defence, left wing and also in central midfield towards the end of his career at Leicester.

Club career

He has spent most of his career playing for Grasshopper Zürich, SC Freiburg, FC Basel and Leicester City.[2] For Basel he had 46 appearances, 32 in the Swiss Super League, two in the Swiss Cup and 12 in the 2005–06 UEFA Cup.

Blackburn Rovers

Berner moved to Blackburn Rovers for a nominal fee from FC Basel on 30 January 2007. He was given the squad number 25. On 10 February 2007 he played his first Premiership match for Blackburn, in a 1–0 defeat to Everton. He made his second start against Manchester City on 27 December 2007.[3] He was released from his contract on 19 May 2008, along with fellow Switzerland defender Stéphane Henchoz. On 3 July 2008, Berner joined Norwich City on trial, joining up with the squad for pre-season training,[4] however he failed to gain a contract.[5]

Leicester City

Berner playing against Oxford United in a pre-season friendly, 24 July 2010

On 12 September 2008, Berner joined Leicester City on a three-year contract and was issued the number 31 shirt.[6] The club had beaten the likes of Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest for his signature.[5] He made his debut in a Football League Trophy match against Lincoln City at the Walkers Stadium on 23 September, drawing 0–0 but winning 3–1 on penalties.[7] He scored a league goal in a 4–2 win over Huddersfield Town on 24 January 2009,[8] his first in four years.[9] He made a total of 32 league appearances, scoring 3 goals to help Leicester secure their promotion as League One champions.[10]

Berner was issued the number 15 shirt for the 2009–10 season, with an aim to reach the Championship play-offs.[10] After Leicester reached sixth in the table by 12 September, it came as no surprise to Berner, who insisted their promising start to the season is no more than they expected.[11] He scored his first goal of the season in a 2–1 defeat to Preston North End on 26 September.[12] When Berner was absent with injury in December, the club failed to keep a clean sheet for seven matches.[13] It was not until he returned to the first team that Leicester finally kept a clean sheet in a 0–0 draw against Newcastle United on 30 January 2010.[14] He scored a goal and assisted another in a 3–0 win over Nottingham Forest on 27 February 2010,[15] helping the club finish the month undefeated.[16] Berner scored a penalty kick in a 4–3 defeat on penalties to Cardiff City in the Championship play-offs semi-final second leg on 12 May 2010.[17]

In the 2010–11 season, Berner revealed with reluctance the likelihood he would leave the club in the January transfer window due to lack of regular football, having lost his place to loanee Greg Cunningham.[18] He made his first start since October 2010 against Swansea City on 3 January 2011, scoring in a 2-1 win.[19] Cunningham's loan soon ended due to injury and despite Berner being offered a new contract, he still maintained the possibility of leaving, having received interest from "a few Championship clubs".[20] He finally signed the one-year contract on 20 January.[21]

However, Berner announced his retirement from professional football on 1 March 2012 after failing to make an appearance for the Foxes in the 2011–12 season.[22]

International career

Berner made his international debut for Switzerland in a 2–1 win over Austria on 15 August 2001.[23] He was a participant in the 2004 UEFA European Championship, but was an unused substitute in all three Group B matches.[24] Despite being hopeful of winning his place back in the national team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Berner was not among the 23 players selected on 11 May 2010.[25]

Honours

Grasshopper Club Zürich
SC Freiburg
Leicester City

References

  1. ↑ Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Mainstream Publishing. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
  2. ↑ "Bruno Berner Profile". Yahoo! Sport UK. 30 January 2007. Retrieved 30 January 2007.
  3. ↑ "Tactical Formation". Football-Lineups.com. Retrieved 28 February 2007.
  4. ↑ "Roeder runs rule over defenders". Sky Sports. 4 July 2008. Retrieved 11 April 2009.
  5. 1 2 "Battle for Berner hots up". Sky Sports. 7 August 2008. Retrieved 11 April 2009.
  6. ↑ "Foxes Snare Swiss International". BBC Sport. 12 September 2008. Retrieved 12 September 2008.
  7. ↑ "Leicester 0–0 Lincoln City (aet)". BBC Sport. 23 September 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
  8. ↑ "Leicester 4–2 Huddersfield". BBC Sport. 24 January 2009. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  9. ↑ "Berner glad to see goals shared". BBC Sport. 15 December 2008. Retrieved 11 April 2009.
  10. 1 2 "Berner aims for play-off places". BBC Sport. 27 July 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  11. ↑ "Foxes form no surprise – Berner". BBC Sport. 15 September 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  12. ↑ "Leicester 1 – 2 Preston". BBC Sport. 26 September 2009. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
  13. ↑ "Berner Back With A Bang". LCFC.com. 1 February 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  14. ↑ "Leicester 0 – 0 Newcastle". BBC Sport. 30 January 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  15. ↑ "Leicester 3 – 0 Nottm Forest". BBC Sport. 27 February 2010. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
  16. ↑ "We're Back In Business". LCFC.com. 27 February 2010. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
  17. ↑ Shuttleworth, Peter (12 May 2010). "Cardiff 2 – 3 Leicester (agg 3 – 3)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
  18. ↑ "Reluctant Bruno Berner expects Leicester City exit". BBC Sport. 21 December 2010. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
  19. ↑ "Leicester 2-1 Swansea". BBC Sport. 3 January 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  20. ↑ "Bruno Berner still set to leave Leicester City". BBC Sport. 4 January 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  21. ↑ "Bruno Berner signs new Leicester City contract". BBC Sport. 20 January 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
  22. ↑ "Berner Announces Retirement". LCFC.com. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  23. ↑ "Austria 1–2 Switzerland". Soccerbase. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
  24. ↑ "Switzerland National Squad 2004". Expert Football. 30 January 2007. Retrieved 30 January 2007.
  25. ↑ "Leicester defender Bruno Berner retains World Cup dream". BBC Sport. 1 March 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2010.

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