Mani Hernandez

Mani Hernandez starting playing football (soccer) in Spain, but both his parents died when he was young, so he came to the United States to live with an uncle when he was in high school. Hernandez played soccer at San Jose State University as a forward, winning the 1968 Hermann Trophy as the top collegiate soccer player. He played at the 1972 Olympics and earned two caps with the US national team in 1974, in two losses to Mexico.

Hernandez played semi-pro soccer in San Francisco after college, but in 1974 joined the professional San Jose Earthquakes of the North American Soccer League (NASL). He played with them from 1974-76 and was in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) with the Detroit Lightning (1979) and San Francisco Fog (1980). Hernandez became a coach at Presentation High School in San Jose in 1980, coaching the women’s team to 17 league championships and eight Central Coast Sectional titles.