Anthony Bardon

Anthony Michael Bardon (born 19 January 1993) is a retired footballer and current USSF "B" License coach who played as a central midfielder for the Gibraltar national football team and most recently for Lincoln Red Imps.

Anthony Bardon
Personal information
Full name Anthony Michael Bardon[1]
Date of birth (1993-01-19) 19 January 1993
Place of birth London, England
Position(s) Central midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Lincoln FC DFW (director-manager)
Youth career
2007–2011 Birdville Hawks
2012–2013 Tooting & Mitcham United
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011 Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds 17 (3)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013 Tooting & Mitcham United
2013 Bromley 3 (0)
2013–2014 Cray Wanderers 8 (0)
2014 Manchester 62 7 (1)
2014–2016 Lincoln Red Imps 34 (4)
2016 Sheffield 3 (0)
2016–2018 Lincoln Red Imps 50 (9)
2021 Lincoln FC DFW
International career‡
2014–2019 Gibraltar 29 (0)
Managerial career
2022– Gibraltar (assistant coach)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:48, 2 November 2018 (UTC+2)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:18, 10 June 2019 (UTC+1)

After retiring from senior football in 2019, he relocated to the United States. He is currently the owner, director and head coach for Lincoln FC Dallas Fort Worth in the Metroplex Premier League.

Early career

Born in London before moving to America, Bardon attended high school at Birdville High School in North Richland Hills, Texas, USA. He played for the school's soccer team before graduating in 2011.[2] After high school, Bardon played one year of college soccer for the Greyhounds of Eastern New Mexico University. In his only season with the team, he tallied three goals and four assists in seventeen matches.[3]

Club career

After returning to the UK, Bardon spent his youth career at Tooting & Mitcham United before moving to Bromley in 2013. Despite this, he failed to start and moved with reserve team manager Keith Bird to Cray Wanderers early in the season. In winter he moved to Gibraltar to play for Manchester 62 and put in a number of impressive performances, becoming a fixture in the starting XI. On 24 July 2014 he moved to league champions Lincoln Red Imps. With Lincoln, Bardon appeared in four matches in the club's 2015–16 UEFA Champions League qualifying campaign and scored a goal in the first round against FC Santa Coloma of Andorra.[4]

In January 2016, it was announced that Bardon was released from his contract with Lincoln early after he received an offer from a club in the USA.[5] That club was later revealed to be Saint Louis FC of the United Soccer League.[6] It was reported that Bardon was set to join up with Sheffield F.C. of the English Northern Premier League on a short-term basis to gain match fitness before the start of the 2016 USL season. Bardon made a total of 34 appearances, tallying 4 goals, in the Gibraltar Premier Division between his time with Manchester 62 and Lincoln Red Imps.[7] Bardon made his Northern Premier League debut for Sheffield as a start in a 0–2 defeat to Leek Town F.C. on 26 January 2016. He was named Man of the Match for his performance.[8]

After unsuccessfully seeking a professional contract, Bardon returned to the Red Imps in July. He played in the club's shock 1-0 first leg victory over Celtic in the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League qualifiers. He would go on to star in midfield for Lincoln over the next two seasons, scoring 9 goals in 46 games. After completing a transfer degree at Ozarks Technical Community College while playing, he moved to the US in 2018 to study at Missouri Baptist University. However, he remained under contract at Lincoln and returned to action on 1 October against St Joseph's.[9]

On 4 February 2019, it was revealed that Bardon was on the pre-season roster of North Texas SC of USL League One, the new reserve side of Major League Soccer side FC Dallas.[10] He joined the club as a trialist after impressing in an open try-out, having previously considered retiring from football after becoming disillusioned with the sport while at Lincoln Red Imps.[11] However, he was not offered a contract, and he retired from football. He become a skills coach for North Texas Celtic FC, an amateur youth soccer club.[12] He also served on the coaching staff of North Texas SC until March 2020.

Anthony Bardon is now the owner and academy director of Lincoln Football Club (Dallas Fort Worth). Since 2021 he has managed a senior team in the Metroplex Premier League.[13] In September 2022, he joined the technical team of the Gibraltar national football team, assisting Julio César Ribas.[14]

International career

In summer 2013 along with Danny Higginbotham, Bardon declared his eligibility to play for the Gibraltar national football team after the territory's acceptance into UEFA, however he was not included in the squad to face Slovakia in November, and was only a stand-by for the games against Estonia and the Faroe Islands in March 2014. He made his debut in the May 2014 friendly against Estonia, providing the assist for Jake Gosling to score the equaliser in a 1–1 draw - the first away draw by the national side. He also played in the side's 1–0 victory against Malta. He announced his retirement from playing in order to focus on coaching on 9 June 2019, with his final game coming the next day against Ireland.[15]

International career statistics
As of match played 10 June 2019.[16]
Gibraltar national team
YearAppsGoals
201420
201560
201650
201750
201870
201940
Total290

References
  1. "UEFA Nations League 2019: Booking List before League phase Matchday 5" (PDF). UEFA. 6 November 2018. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  2. "1st ROUND PLAYOFFS SET". Birdville Athletics. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  3. "ENMU Profile". Eastern New Mexico Athletics. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  4. "UEFA Profile". UEFA. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  5. "Anthony Bardon has left Lincoln Red Imps". Lincoln Red Imps F.C. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  6. "INTERNATIONAL MIDFIELDER JOINS SHEFFIELD". Nonleague Pitchero. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  7. "BARDON: "ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO BECOME AN ESTABLISHED PROFESSIONAL"". GibFootballTalk. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  8. "First Team vs. Leek Town (0 : 2)". Sheffield FC. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  9. Match Report: St Joseph's vs Lincoln Red Imps Gibraltar FA. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  10. North Texas Soccer Club Preseason Roster FC Dallas. 4 February 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  11. Finding Joy Again: Gibraltar International Anthony Bardon Rediscovers his Love for the Game North Texas SC. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  12. Club staff North Texas Celtic Futbol Club. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  13. MPL First Team Lincoln FC DFW. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  14. Bardon makes a return for Gibraltar’s final Nations League preparations Gibraltar Chronicle. 14 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  15. Bardon will bid farewell with match against Ireland Gibraltar Chronicle. 9 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  16. Anthony Bardon at National-Football-Teams.com
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