George Fernandez

George Fernandez is a retired American soccer defender who played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League and National Professional Soccer League. He coached in both the Continental Indoor Soccer League and NPSL and was the 1994 CISL Coach of the Year.

This article is about the American soccer player. For the Indian politician, see George Fernandes.
George Fernandez
Personal information
Date of birth (1961-10-29) October 29, 1961
Place of birth San Francisco, California, United States
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1979–1983 Cal State Hayward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1983–1985 Cleveland Force (indoor) 6 (0)
1985–1987 Los Angeles Lazers (indoor) 64 (8)
1987–1990 San Diego Sockers (indoor) 145 (13)
1990–1994 Cleveland Crunch (indoor) 154 (38)
1995–1998 Cincinnati Silverbacks (indoor) 91 (13)
Total 460 (72)
National team
US U-20
– US Futsal
Teams managed
1994–1995 Anaheim Splash
1996–1998 Cincinnati Silverbacks
1998–2000 Buffalo Blizzard
2000–2001 Cleveland Crunch (assistant)
2001 Cleveland Crunch (interim)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Youth

Born in San Francisco, Fernandez spent much of his youth in Hawaii. He played both soccer and football in high school and was offered a football scholarship by the University of the Pacific but chose to attend Cal State Hayward instead.[1] Fernandez played soccer at Hayward from 1979 to 1983.[2] He was a 1982 and 1983 NCAA Division II First Team All American and has been inducted into the CSU East Bay Athletic Hall of Fame.[3][4][5]

Professional

In 1983, the Chicago Sting of the North American Soccer League drafted Fernandez but he did not sign with them. In October 1983, the Tacoma Stars had the first selection in the Major Indoor Soccer League Draft but swapped their pick with the Cleveland Force. The Force used the pick to select Fernandez.[6] Fernandez played only six games over two seasons with the Force before being released in October 1985.[7] On December 27, 1985, the Los Angeles Lazers for the remainder of the season. He ended up playing two seasons in Los Angeles. In 1987, Fernandez joined the San Diego Sockers as a free agent. On July 30, 1990, he moved to the Cleveland Crunch as a free agent.[8] In 1992, the Crunch moved to the National Professional Soccer League. In 1994, he became the head coach of the Anaheim Splash in the Continental Indoor Soccer League. NPSL rules prohibited players and coaches from the CISL to compete in the NPSL. Therefore, the Crunch released Fernandez.[9] In 1995, he returned to the NPSL when he signed with the Cincinnati Silverbacks.[10][11][12][13]

National team

In 1981, he played two games with the United States U-20 men's national soccer team at the 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship. He was a member of the United States national futsal team at both the 1992 and 1996 FIFA Futsal World Championship.

Coaching career

In 1994, Fernandez became the head coach of the Anaheim Splash of the Continental Indoor Soccer League. He took the team, to the second best record in the league and was named the 1994 CISL Coach of the Year.[14] In September 1996, Fernandez became a player-coach with the Cincinnati Silverbacks.[15] He coached the Silverbacks for two seasons. In September 1998, the Buffalo Blizzard hired Fernandez.[16] The team fired him on March 1, 2000.[17] He then moved to the Cleveland Crunch as an assistant coach. When the Crunch fired head coach Bruce Miller in March 2001, Fernandez served as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.[18]

Yearly Awards
  • CISL Coach of the Year – 1994

References
  1. His Game is Growing Again
  2. CSU East Bay Soccer Records
  3. 1982 All Americans
  4. "1983 All Americans". Archived from the original on 2006-11-15. Retrieved 2010-02-06.
  5. CSU East Bay Hall of Fame Archived 2002-08-21 at the Wayback Machine
  6. "NETTLES FILES FOR FREE AGENCY" Miami Herald Thursday, October 27, 1983
  7. "SPIRIT, REFS TOO MUCH FOR FORCE TO OVERCOME" Akron Beacon Journal (OH) Saturday, October 26, 1985
  8. "Fernandez signs with Cleveland" Evening Tribune (San Diego) Tuesday, July 31, 1990
  9. "CRUNCH PLAYER NOW ANAHEIM COACH \ FERNANDEZ TAKES JOB WITH CISL TEAM, UNCERTAIN IF HE EVER WILL PLAY AGAIN" Akron Beacon Journal (OH) Saturday, May 7, 1994
  10. "Silverbacks sign two" The Cincinnati Post Saturday, November 25, 1995
  11. NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE FINAL OFFICIAL STATISTICS -- 1995–1996 Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  12. NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE FINAL OFFICIAL STATISTICS -- 1996–1997
  13. NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE FINAL OFFICIAL STATISTICS -- 1997–1998 Archived January 28, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  14. "The Year in American Soccer – 1994". Archived from the original on 2010-05-04. Retrieved 2010-02-06.
  15. "Silverbacks hire player-coach" The Cincinnati Post Friday, September 20, 1996
  16. "BLIZZARD TO NAME FERNANDEZ NEW COACH" The Buffalo News Thursday, September 3, 1998
  17. "BUFFALO FIRES FERNANDEZ; KITSON TAKES THE HELM" The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) Wednesday, March 1, 2000
  18. "Crunch's Marinaro defends fired Miller" The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) Wednesday, March 7, 2001
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