Alex Bunbury
Alexander "Alex" Bunbury ( born June 18, 1967 in Plaisance, Guyana ) is a former Canadian football player. The 64- times capped player played during his career in Canada, England, Portugal and the USA. In 2006 he was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame. His son Teal Bunbury is also a professional footballer.
Club career
Bunbury, who came with his family from Guyana in childhood to Montreal began, 12 -year-old with the game of football at club level, he started his professional career in 1987 in the Canadian Soccer League with the Hamilton Steelers. After engagements with the league rivals Toronto Blizzard ( 1990) and Montreal Supra ( 1991), he was taken in December 1992 for 200,000 pounds of manager Billy Bonds to the English first division side West Ham United. The transfer turned out to be a failure, Bunbury came up to his departure only four league and two cup inserts and remained without a goal.
The end of 1993, he spent 50,000 pounds to on the Atlantic island of Madeira situated Portuguese first division club Maritimo Funchal. He had his breakthrough there in the season 1994/95 when he was the top scorer of his team with 11 hits and season in the semifinals of the Cup scored the 1-0 winning goal against FC Porto. In the final, Sporting Lisbon was then a size too big (0:2); Bunbury was honored for his performance as the best foreign player of the season 1994/95. He also received the award for Canada's Player of the Year, an honor which he had first issued in 1993. By 1999, the striker Funchal remained active and distinguished himself as a regular goalscorer. In 165 league operations he came on 59 hits, making it the best Erstligatorjäger in the history of Marítimo Funchal.
In the summer of 1999 he returned to North America and signed in Major League Soccer with the Kansas City Wizards. Could after winning the title in the 2000 season, at the Bunbury participate only start of the season because of an ankle injury in June, he announced his retirement.
National
Bunbury was first used in 1983 in an official junior international match for the Canadian U -17 and was used in the following years, the squad of U- 20th In 1985 he took part with the U -20 team at the World Youth Championship in the Soviet Union. He formed together with Doug McNaught in attack, which remained as the entire team without scoring and retired as a group last.
On August 24, 1986 Bunbury debuted as part of the Merlion Cup, an invitational tournament in Singapore, with a 1-0 win against the hosts in the Canadian national team. Throughout his career, he was part of the national squad at the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 1993 and 1996, when the Canadian team was eliminated in the first round each. In qualifying for the 1994 World Cup in the USA Bunbury was the best Canadian scorer with five goals and was close to the World Cup. In the final and decisive group game against the tied Mexicans Canada led by a hit Bunbury's already 1-0, ultimately lost the game but still had to 1:2 and in the intercontinental play-offs, in which one in the first round Australia in a penalty shootout subject.
With the last qualifier for the 1998 World Cup on 16 November 1997, against Costa Rica, as a qualification of Canada was already impossible to Bunbury's international career ended after 64 matches and 16 goals. With him and his long-time team-mates Paul Dolan, Geoff Aunger, Frank Yallop and Colin Miller took leave from the national team.
In 1989, he took with the Futsal National Team at the invitation of FIFA at the inaugural Futsal World Championship in the Netherlands part. In the 6-2 victory against Japan Bunbury once was successful as a goal scorer, the group stage concluded Canada ranked 3rd from.
Achievements
At club level
- American Masters: 2000
- Portuguese Cup Runners-up: 1994/95
- UEFA Cup Participation: 1994/95, 1998/99
Individually
- Inclusion in the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2006
- Best foreign player of the Portuguese League: 1994/95
- Canadian Player of the Year: 1993, 1995