Paul DiBernardo is a retired Argentine-American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

who coaches youth soccer. He played professionally in the

American Indoor Soccer Association American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

and earned one

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

with the

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT), officially recognized as USA by FIFA, represents the United States in men's international Association football, soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation, which is ...

Youth

DiBernardo, a native of Argentina, emigrated to the United States in 1972 with his family. He grew up in Illinois and attended Riverside High School in

North Riverside, Illinois North Riverside is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 7,426. Geography North Riverside is located at (41.846222, -87.829585). According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, North ...

. He graduated in 1981, after which he attended

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

. While growing up, he also played for Sparta Soccer Club in Chicago. After high school, played as a

on the Hoosiers soccer team from 1981 to 1984. His older brother Angelo had been a star at Indiana in the late 1970s. During Paul's four seasons with the Hoosiers, they went to the

championship game A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world championships, and ...

three years running, taking the title in 1982 and 1983 and losing to Clemson in 1984. DiBernardo contributed 40 goals and 36 assists during his four years and was named the 1984 ''SoccerAmerica'' college

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year. In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is held on b ...

. In 1997, the Indiana Soccer Hall of Fame inducted DiBernardo.

Professional

In January 1985, DiBernardo signed with the

Louisville Thunder Louisville Thunder was an indoor soccer club based in Louisville, Kentucky. The team played in the American Indoor Soccer Association History Stadium From the club's inaugural season in 1984 to 1987, home games were played in Broadbent Arena. ...

of the

(AISA) for the remainder of the 1984–1985 season.''Meeting Could Decide NASL'S Future'' The Record (New Jersey) - Sunday, January 13, 1985 In June 1985, the

Minnesota Strikers The Minnesota Strikers were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) for the 1984 season and in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1984 through 1988. The team was based in Minneapolis/ St. Paul metrop ...

selected DiBernardo in the first round (eighth overall) of the Major Indoor Soccer League draft. The Strikers released him during the pre-season. He then signed with the Chicago Shoccers of the AISA. He spent one season with the Shoccers then moved to the Fort Wayne Flames in 1986. DiBernardo appeared in 95 games for the Flames from 1986 to 1989. During the 1987-1988 AISA season, he scored 18 goals for the Fort Wayne Flames, putting him 10th on the league's points list.

Fort Wayne Flames

Regular season

*Games Played - 83 *Goals - 50* *Assists - 27 *Points - 77* *Shots on Goal - 305* *Blocked Shots - 55 *Fouls - 143 *Penalty Minutes - 33* (* = career franchise leader)

Playoffs

*Games Played - 12* *Goals - 7 *Assists - 8* *Points - 15 *Shots on Goal - 45 *Blocked Shots - 2 *Fouls - 20 *Penalty Minutes - 4 (* = career franchise leader)

National team

DiBernardo earned one

with the U.S. national team when he came on for Jacques LaDouceur in a February 8, 1985 tie with

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Coach

He is a staff coach for the Naperville Soccer Club of Naperville, Illinois.

References

External links

Sparta Chicago Site – its in Czech

IU Soccer History

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dibernardo, Paul Living people American men's soccer players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Argentine sportspeople of Italian descent Argentine emigrants to the United States Chicago Shoccers players Chicago Sparta players Men's association football midfielders Fort Wayne Flames players Indiana Hoosiers men's soccer players Louisville Thunder players Soccer players from Cook County, Illinois United States men's international soccer players Year of birth missing (living people) National Soccer League (Chicago) players