Bernardo Espinosa

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Espinosa and the second or maternal family name is Zúñiga.

Bernardo Espinosa

Bernardo in action for Sporting Gijón in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Bernardo José Espinosa Zúñiga[1]
Date of birth	(1989-07-11) 11 July 1989 (age 35)[2]
Place of birth	Cali, Colombia
Height	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[2]
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Marbella
Number	20
Youth career
	CD Chapas
	AD Vázquez-Cultural
2005–2006	Dos Hermanas San Andrés
2006–2008	Sevilla
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2008–2011	Sevilla B	75	(1)
2011–2013	Sevilla	1	(0)
2011–2012	→ Racing Santander (loan)	25	(2)
2013	→ Sporting Gijón (loan)	22	(2)
2013–2016	Sporting Gijón	95	(6)
2016–2017	Middlesbrough	11	(0)
2017–2023	Girona	157	(7)
2019–2020	→ Espanyol (loan)	26	(3)
2024	Atlético Nacional	9	(1)
2024–	Marbella	2	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:49, 10 September 2024 (UTC)

Bernardo José Espinosa Zúñiga (Spanish pronunciation: [beɾˈnaɾðo espiˈnosa]; born 11 July 1989) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Primera Federación club Marbella.

Club career

Sevilla

Born in Cali to a Colombian father and a Spanish mother, Espinosa and his family moved to Marbella when he was 10 and he finished his youth career in the country with Sevilla FC.^[3] After appearing in one match for the reserves in 2007–08 (five minutes) he proceeded to spend a further three full seasons with them, one in the Segunda División and two in the Segunda División B, only starting regularly in his last.

Espinosa made his first-team – and La Liga – debut on 11 May 2011, playing 90 minutes in a 3–2 away loss against CA Osasuna.^[4] In the ensuing summer, he was loaned to Racing de Santander in a season-long move.^[5]

Espinosa scored his first top-flight goal for the Cantabrians on 7 January 2012, heading home the game's only in a home win against Real Zaragoza.^[6]

Sporting Gijón

On 26 December 2012, after not featuring at all for Sevilla in the first half of the campaign, Espinosa was loaned to Sporting de Gijón in the second division.^[7] The following 26 June he signed a permanent three-year contract,^[8] scoring three goals^[9][10][11] while only missing one game in 42 in the 2014–15 campaign to help the Asturians to return to the top tier after three years.^[12]

Espinosa missed the second part of 2015–16, due to a serious knee injury.^[13]

Middlesbrough

On 15 June 2016, at the expiration of his contract, Espinosa joined newly promoted Premier League side Middlesbrough on a three-year deal.^[14] Still recovering from his anterior cruciate ligament ailment when he arrived, he gained regular playing time during the second half of the season, being third choice in his position behind Calum Chambers and Ben Gibson.^[15]

Girona

On 7 July 2017, after being relegated,^[16] Espinosa signed with Girona FC for an undisclosed fee.^[17] He was an undisputed starter during his two seasons at the club,^[18][19] suffering relegation at the end of his second.^[20]

Espinosa was loaned to RCD Espanyol of the top division on 6 July 2019, with a buyout clause.^[21] He scored his first competitive goal on 27 October, the only in an away victory over Levante UD.^[22][23]

Espinosa left the Estadi Montilivi in December 2023, aged 34 and with 174 official appearances to his credit.^[24]

Atlético Nacional

On 5 January 2024, Espinosa returned to Colombia after more than two decades, joining Atlético Nacional of the Categoría Primera A.^[25] He scored his first goal in his country on 28 January, but in a 4–1 defeat at América de Cali.^[26]

International career

In November 2015, Espinosa was named in Colombia's squad for a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Argentina,^[27] but eventually did not make his debut. He was called up again in March 2018, for friendlies with France and Australia.^[28]

Espinosa was named in a preliminary 35-man squad for the finals in Russia,^[29] but he did not make the final cut.^[30]

Career statistics

As of match played 30 May 2021^[31][32]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Sevilla B	2007–08	Segunda División	1	0	—		—		—		1	0
	2008–09	Segunda División	15	0	—		—		—		15	0
	2009–10	Segunda División B	24	0	—		—		—		24	0
	2010–11	Segunda División B	35	1	—		—		4[a]	0	39	1
	Total		75	1	—		—		4	0	79	1
Sevilla	2010–11	La Liga	1	0	1	1	—		0	0	2	1
Racing Santander (loan)	2011–12	La Liga	25	2	1	0	—		—		26	2
Sporting Gijón	2012–13	Segunda División	22	2	0	0	—		—		22	2
	2013–14	Segunda División	38	2	0	0	—		2[b]	0	40	2
	2014–15	Segunda División	41	3	0	0	—		—		41	3
	2015–16	La Liga	16	1	1	1	—		—		17	2
	Total		143	8	3	2	—		2	0	148	9
Middlesbrough	2016–17	Premier League	11	0	4	0	0	0	—		15	0
Middlesbrough U23	2016–17	Professional Development League	—		—		—		1[c]	0	1	0
Girona	2017–18	La Liga	34	0	1	0	—		—		35	0
	2018–19	La Liga	31	1	6	0	—		—		37	1
	2020–21	Segunda División	31	2	1	0	—		—		32	2
	Total		96	3	8	0	0	0	0	0	104	3
Espanyol (loan)	2019–20	La Liga	26	3	1	0	—		—		27	3
Career total			351	17	16	2	0	0	7	0	374	19

1. Appearances in Segunda División B play-offs
2. Appearances in La Liga play-offs
3. Appearance in EFL Trophy

Honours

Individual

• Segunda División Best Defender: 2014–15^[33]

References

1. "Squads for 2016/17 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
2. "Bernardo Espinosa". Eurosport. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
3. Alba, Jesús (12 November 2010). "Bernardo costó 1.800 euros" [Bernardo cost 1.800 euros]. Diario de Sevilla (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 January 2024.
4. "Osasuna hit back for stunning win". ESPN Soccernet. 11 May 2011. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
5. "El central Bernardo Espinosa, nuevo refuerzo sorpresa del Racing" [Centre-back Bernardo Espinosa, new surprise Racing signing]. El Diario Montañés (in Spanish). 31 August 2011. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
6. "Racing Santander beats Zaragoza 1–0 in Spain". Sports Illustrated. 7 January 2012. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
7. Ceñal, Jaime (26 December 2012). "Bernardo llega cedido del Sevilla para reforzar la defensa" [Bernardo arrives on loan from Sevilla to bolster defence]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 July 2017.
8. "Bernardo Espinosa ya es propiedad del Sporting" [Bernardo Espinosa is already property of Sporting]. Marca (in Spanish). 26 June 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
9. "0–1: El Sporting, imparable, acaba con la racha del Mallorca" [0–1: Sporting, unstoppable, end Mallorca's streak]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 30 November 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
10. "3–0: El Sporting se reencuentra con la victoria ante un conservador Numancia" [3–0: Sporting back to winning ways against conservative Numancia]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 25 January 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
11. "El Sporting remonta al Racing y duerme el sábado como segundo" [Sporting come back from behind against Racing and go to sleep as second on Saturday]. Marca (in Spanish). 16 May 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
12. Rodríguez Calabozo, Sergio (11 June 2016). "Sporting de Gijón 2015/2016: Bernardo, el muro colombiano" [2015/2016 Sporting de Gijón: Bernardo, the Colombian wall] (in Spanish). Vavel. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
13. "Bernardo es operado con éxito de su rotura de ligamentos" [Bernardo undergoes successful surgery to his ligament rupture]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 12 January 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
14. "Bernardo Espinosa to join Boro from La Liga side Sporting Gijon". Middlesbrough F.C. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
15. Taylor, Jonathon (15 May 2017). "The 18 Middlesbrough signings since Victor Orta was appointed & if they've worked out". Teesside Gazette. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
16. "Bye Boro! Middlesbrough relegated from Premier League". BBC Sport. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
17. "Bernardo moves on". Middlesbrough F.C. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
18. Brugués, Marc (23 December 2018). "Bernardo, indiscutible per a Eusebio i clau en les accions d'estratègia" [Bernardo, automatic first choice for Eusebio and key in set pieces]. Diari de Girona (in Catalan). Retrieved 12 August 2019.
19. Martínez, Román (18 June 2019). "L'Espanyol sedueix Bernardo" [Espanyol seduce Bernardo]. L'Esportiu (in Catalan). Retrieved 12 August 2019.
20. "Bernardo Espinosa escribe carta tras el descenso del Girona" [Bernardo Espinosa writes letter after Girona's relegation]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 22 May 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
21. "Bernardo, primera incorporación" [Bernardo, first addition] (in Spanish). RCD Espanyol. 6 July 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
22. Burgos, Julián (27 October 2019). "Bernardo rescata al Espanyol y rompe el hechizo del Ciutat" [Bernardo rescues Espanyol and breaks Ciutat's spell]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 March 2020.
23. "Primero en el Espanyol: el curioso gol de Bernardo Espinosa" [First at Espanyol: Bernardo Espinosa's funny goal] (in Spanish). Fútbol Red. 27 October 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
24. "Bernardo deja el Girona FC" [Bernardo leaves Girona FC] (in Spanish). Girona FC. 29 December 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
25. "Sello Europeo aterriza en el equipo más grande de Colombia" [European label lands in the biggest team of Colombia] (in Spanish). Atlético Nacional. 5 January 2024. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
26. García, Javier (28 January 2024). "Con error garrafal de Sergio Mosquera, América de Cali venció 4–1 a Atlético Nacional" [With major Sergio Mosquera blunder, América de Cali defeated Atlético Nacional 4–1]. Infobae (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 February 2024.
27. Pisani, Sacha (6 November 2015). "James returns to Colombia squad". Goal. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
28. "Rodriguez, Falcao headline Colombia squad for France, Australia". Chicago Tribune. 17 March 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
29. "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad – 23-man & preliminary lists & when will they be announced?". Goal. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
30. Dorman, Matt (4 June 2018). "Falcao and James join injured duo in Colombia's World Cup squad". Goal. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
31. "Bernardo: Bernardo José Espinosa Zúñiga". BDFutbol. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
32. Bernardo Espinosa at Soccerway
33. "Bernardo, 2014/15 Liga Adelante Best Defender". La Liga. 30 November 2015. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.

External links

• Bernardo Espinosa at BDFutbol
• Bernardo Espinosa at Futbolme (in Spanish)