Alex Brunner (born 8 December 1973) is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

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 played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. He currently works as a goalkeeping coach.

Football career

Early career

Brunner started his career at hometown club

Triestina Unione Sportiva Triestina Calcio 1918, commonly referred to US Triestina or just Triestina, is an Italian football club based in Trieste, in the northern Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. Originally established in 1918, Triestina was one of the fo ...

. After the club were relegated to

Serie C1 Serie C1 was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Se ...

in the summer of 1991, Brunner gained his place in first team, making five appearances for the club in two Serie C1 seasons. In the summer of 1993, he moved to

Formia Formia (ancient Formiae) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Latina, on the Mediterranean , Italy. It is located halfway between Rome and Naples, and lies on the Roman-era Appian Way. Mythology According to the mythology the city was f ...

Serie C2 Serie C2 was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Serie C. The league menaging t ...

, where he first became a regular starter.

Foggia & Bologna

Brunner joined

Foggia Foggia (, ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere delle Puglie, Tavoliere, also know ...

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

in 1994, starting his career as a backup keeper for several Serie A clubs. In his first season with the team, he just made two appearances, as second-choice goalkeeper behind Francesco Mancini; after the club suffered relegation, he became a regular starter once again. In summer 1996, Brunner joined newly promoted Serie A team

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. He spent three seasons at the club, and made six appearances in Serie A, as second-choice goalkeeper behind

Francesco Antonioli Francesco Stefano Antonioli (born 14 September 1969) is an Italian former footballer who played as goalkeeper. He was the oldest footballer in Serie A until his club Cesena were relegated to Serie B at the end of the 2011–12 season, after wh ...

Como

He transferred to

Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...

in June 1999, where he spent four seasons. In his first season with the club, Como just finished tenth in Serie C1, but in the second and third seasons, he helped the team to obtain consecutive promotions to Serie B and subsequently

, which was also aided by the signing of new club president

Enrico Preziosi Enrico Preziosi is an Italian entrepreneur. He runs a number of businesses and is most famous for having been the chairman () of football club Genoa C.F.C., Genoa. Toys Preziosi is the chairman () of the board of directors of Giochi Preziosi (co ...

. In the

2002–03 Serie A The 2002–03 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 101st season of top-tier Italian football, the 71st in a round-robin tournament. It was composed by 18 teams, for the 15th consecutive time from season 1988–89. ...

season, he competed with experienced Fabrizio Ferron for a starting spot, but still made 21 appearances for Como.

Return to Serie B

After Como finished bottom of the table and suffered relegation to Serie B, Brunner transferred to

Ternana Ternana Calcio, commonly referred to as Ternana, is an Italian football club based in Terni, Umbria and currently compete in the Serie C. The club was founded in 1925 and refounded in 1993. In its history, Ternana has twice played in Serie A ...

, replacing

Sergio Marcon Sergio Marcon (born 9 November 1970) is an Italian former Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He played for several Italian clubs during his career, which lasted from the 1980s to the 20 ...

and Gianmatteo Mareggini, who had recently been released the club. Brunner played ahead of

Tommaso Berni Tommaso Berni (born 6 March 1983) is a retired Italian professional footballer who last played as a goalkeeper for Inter Milan. Club career Early career Berni started his career at Fiorentina. In 1998, he joined Inter Milan. He was a backup goal ...

as the club's first choice keeper, and Ternana finished seventh that season. Brunner left for

Salernitana Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919 is an Italian professional football club based in Salerno, Campania. The original club was founded in 1919 and has been reconstituted three times in the course of its history, most recently in 2011. The current ...

in July 2004, where he competed for a starting spot with former first-choice keeper Domenico Botticella. In January 2005, he left for

Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...

of Serie A, as the club's second-choice keeper (replacing the recently departed

Fanis Katergiannakis Fanis Katergiannakis (, born 16 February 1974) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Ethnikos Pylaias Katergiannakis started his career in the young team for Ethnikos Pylaias a team in his town in Tr ...

), behind

Gennaro Iezzo Gennaro Iezzo (born 8 June 1973) is an Italian football manager and former player who played as a goalkeeper. He is the head coach of Serie D club Chieti. Playing career Iezzo began his career at hometown club Juve Stabia before moving on to pla ...

and ahead of Luca Tomasig (who replaced the recently departed Davide Capello).

Return to Lega Pro

After the bankruptcy of Salernitana, Brunner returned to Serie C1 side Lucchese in 2005, on a free transfer,. He was the club's first choice keeper ahead of Mathieu Moreau, Michele Tambellini and

Paolo Castelli Paolo Castelli (born 3 January 1980) is an Italian association football, football coach and a former Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He spent his most of his career in the Lega Pro Prima Divisione, Prima Divisione, seasons in the ...

. In June 2007, he joined

Sorrento Sorrento ( , ; ; ) is a City status in Italy, city and overlooking the Gulf of Naples, Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the southern terminus of a main branch o ...

. In the next season, he left for

Juve Stabia Società Sportiva Juve Stabia is an Italian professional football club based in Castellammare di Stabia, Campania. Juve Stabia plays in Serie B, the second tier of Italian football system, following their promotion ahead of the 2024–25 seas ...

Lega Pro Prima Divisione Serie C1 was the third highest football league in Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into ...

on a two-year contract, where he was the first choice, until he was released in March and replaced by Salvatore Soviero. In October 2009, he left for Itala San Marco of

Lega Pro Seconda Divisione Serie C2 was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Serie C. The league menaging ...

. Brunner, along with Marcon, served as the backup of young keeper Omar Tusini.

Coaching career

After Itala San Marco were expelled from professional league, Brunner returned to Como in the 2009–10 season as an assistant goalkeeping coach (), under Ottavio Strano, who was both the club's main goalkeeping coach (), and the team's head coach, along with Oscar Brevi. On 18 June, his contract was renewed for another year. Brunner spent seven years as goalkeeper coach at Udinese, before joining Watford in 2022.

Honours

;Como *

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

: 2001–02

References

External links

* *
Profile at Football.it
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunner, Alex Italian men's footballers Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players US Triestina Calcio 1918 players Calcio Foggia 1920 players Bologna FC 1909 players Como 1907 players Ternana Calcio players US Salernitana 1919 players Cagliari Calcio players Lucchese 1905 players SS Juve Stabia players ASD Itala San Marco Gradisca players SS Formia Calcio players Watford F.C. non-playing staff Men's association football goalkeepers Italian people of Austrian descent Footballers from Trieste 1973 births Living people