Bianca Elissa Sierra García (born 25 June 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Liga MX Femenil club Tigres UANL. Born in the United States, she represents the Mexico women's national football team.
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bianca Elissa Sierra García[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 25 June 1992[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Mountain View, California, United States[2] | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Right-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | UANL | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2013 | Auburn Tigers | 85 | (5) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014 | Washington Spirit | 9 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Boston Breakers | 11 | (0) |
| 2016 | Arna-Bjørnar | 21 | (0) |
| 2017–2019 | Þór/KA | 31 | (2) |
| 2020– | UANL | 57 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2009–2012 | Mexico U20 | 8 | (0) |
| 2013– | Mexico | 64[3] | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 March 2018 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 April 2021 | |||
Early life
editBianca Sierra is the daughter of Alberto Sierra and Rosa García. They manage several Mexican restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area.[4] Sierra played forward, midfield, and centerback in high school from her freshman through junior years and with the Mustang Spirit, a girl's club team, in 2009.[5]
College
editSierra played with the Auburn Tigers of the Auburn University from 2010 to 2013 and was a starting center back for the last three of her four years on the Auburn Tigers women's soccer team. She played in a total of 85 matches and scored five goals and seven assists.[5]
Professional career
editNational Women's Soccer League
editSierra was not among the 36 college soccer players drafted by the NWSL in January 2014. She showed up at tryouts for the Washington Spirit, played in several pre-season games, and was signed to a contract for the 2014 season on 4 April 2014.[6] On 18 June 2014, the Washington Spirit traded Sierra to the Boston Breakers in exchange for forward and Australian international Lisa De Vanna and an international roster spot until the end of the 2014 NWSL season.[7]
Toppserien
editSierra joined the first division Norwegian club Arna-Bjørnar in March 2016.[8]
Úrvalsdeild
editSierra signed for Icelandic Úrvalsdeild kvenna team Þór/KA in March 2017.[9] She played 18 games during the 2017 Úrvalsdeild kvenna season, scoring two goals and helping the club to the national championship. In November 2017, Sierra signed with Þór/KA again for the 2018 season.[10]
Mexico women's national soccer team
editSierra was a member of the Under-20 Mexico women's national football team from 2009 to 2012. She played in all eight matches for Mexico in the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Germany and the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Japan. Her teams advanced to the quarterfinals in both events.[11]
In 2013 Sierra was selected to be a member of the Mexico women's national football team and played in friendly matches against Canada and the United States. In 2014, she was on the roster of the Mexico team at the Four Nations Tournament in China.[12]
Personal life
editIn June 2016, Sierra announced publicly she was in a relationship with fellow Mexico women's national teammate Stephany Mayor. Sierra and Mayor are believed to be the first openly gay athletes in Mexico history. In 2015, Mexican coach, Leonardo Cuellar, had warned Sierra and Mayor to avoid any "stunts" or "holding hands." In 2016, Mayor was not selected by Cuellar to play for the Mexico national team and Sierra declined to play on the national team. Mayor departed Mexico to play in Iceland. Sierra later joined her in Iceland.[4]
Mayor rejoined the Mexico national team, under new coach Roberto Medina, for a match against Venezuela on 10 June 2017.[13] Sierra rejoined the national team shortly thereafter.[14]
References
edit- ^ a b c "List of Players – 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
- ^ "Las Defensas de la Selección Nacional Femenil que Participarán en la Copa Mundial de Canadá 2015". Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación, A.C. (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
- ^ "Profile". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
- ^ a b Vilchis, Raúl (6 July 2017). "For Teammates in Love, Island Oasis". New York Times. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- ^ a b "Bianca Sierra" Auburn Soccer http://www.auburntigers.com/sports/w-soccer/mtt/sierra_bianca00.html, accessed 10 April 2014
- ^ "Washington Spirit sign Midfielder Jordan Angeli and Mexico Women's National Team Defender Bianca Sierra" http://washingtonspirit.com/pro/washington-spirit-sign-midfielder-jordan-angeli-and-mexican-womens-national-team-defender-bianca-sierra/, accessed 10 April 2014
- ^ "Boston Breakers Acquire Bianca Sierra From Washington Spirit" http://www.bostonbreakerssoccer.com/home/818252.html Archived 17 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 21 June 2014
- ^ "¡Otra futbolista mexicana a Europa! | Talacheros FC". Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- ^ Arnar Geir Halldórsson (9 November 2016). "Tekur kærustuna með sér til Þór/KA". kaffid.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 4 March 2018.
- ^ "Stephany og Bianca áfram með Þór/KA". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 1 October 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
- ^ FIFA Player Statistics: Bianca SIERRA – FIFA.com [1], accessed 10 April 2014
- ^ "Mexico WNT Names Roster for Yongchuan Cup" http://www.nwslsoccer.com/home/783261.html Archived 7 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 10 April 2014
- ^ Mexico squad announced for International friendly against Venezuela on 10 June", http://www.womenssoccerunited.com/mexico-squad-v-venezuela, accessed 4 March 2018
- ^ "Cuando la homofobia aparecio en el futbol femenil", http://laaficion.milenio.com/futbol/homofobia-futbol-femenil-bianca_sierra-stephany_mayor-2016-relacion-twitter-milenio_0_980302073.html, accessed 4 March 2018
External links
edit- Bianca Sierra at Soccerway.com
- Bianca Sierra at FBref.com
- Bianca Sierra at the Norway Football Association (in Norwegian)
- Bianca Sierra at Liga MX Femenil (archive) (in Spanish)
- Bianca Sierra – FIFA competition record (archived)
- Profile at Mexican Football Federation (in Spanish) at the Wayback Machine (archived 22 June 2015)
- Bianca Sierra at the Football Association of Iceland (in Icelandic)
