Football is a sport of personalities, of heroes. Fans on the terraces want to cheer for their heroes on that big bit of green in front of them. And while Leeds fans up to their 30s and even 40s might have pretty poor memories of the clubs glory days, they are probably also sick of hearing about heroes they never saw play in the flesh. One player who is the definition of a modern Leeds icon, though, is Gaetano Berardi.
Want to celebrate our Swiss Lion? Then read on to learn more about him.
Early Life & Background
Berardi was born in Sorengo on the 21st August 1988, and he came through at Lugano, a Swiss club. However, he soon moved to Italy, joining Brescia then in the second tier of Italian football. He made his debut for them in June 2007, beating Pescara 3-1 away from home. He started slowly at the club, before becoming a regular in the first team in the 2009-10 season under Giuseppe Iachini.
In Serie A, he made 26 starts for Brescia though the club did unfortunately get relegated at the end of the season. He played well enough, though, to gain the attention of Sampdoria. Samp were relegated to Serie B also, but they had the funds, the prestige, and the squad to return immediately.
They did so, beating Varese 4-2 to gain promotion via the playoff. In Serie A, he made 21 appearances, beating out Italian international Lorenzo De Silvestri at times. He only made 5 appearances in the 2013-14 season, though, as the late and former Samp hero Sinisa Mihajlovic preferred other players.
His time in Italy was quite the success overall, and it was also during his time at Brescia that he managed to capture a senior cap for Switzerland. Though he might only have seen one cap for his country, it would no doubt have been an honour to pull on the red and white shirt of his home nation. Sadly, a high standard of competition in the position meant he never got the chance of build on that singular cap.
In Serie A, he made 26 starts for Brescia though the club did unfortunately get relegated at the end of the season. He played well enough, though, to gain the attention of Sampdoria. Samp were relegated to Serie B also, but they had the funds, the prestige, and the squad to return immediately.
They did so, beating Varese 4-2 to gain promotion via the playoff. In Serie A, he made 21 appearances, beating out Italian international Lorenzo De Silvestri at times. He only made 5 appearances in the 2013-14 season, though, as the late and former Samp hero Sinisa Mihajlovic preferred other players.
His time in Italy was quite the success overall, and it was also during his time at Brescia that he managed to capture a senior cap for Switzerland. Though he might only have seen one cap for his country, it would no doubt have been an honour to pull on the red and white shirt of his home nation. Sadly, a high standard of competition in the position meant he never got the chance of build on that singular cap.
Gaetano Berardi Leeds Career
A lack of game time in Genoa saw Berardi seek pastures new, and he arrived at Elland Road on a two-year deal in July 2014. His Leeds career began crazily, as he was sent off for a wild tackle in a game against Accrington Stanley. Fans, naturally, feared the worst: was this another Massimo Cellino masterclass?
He made his full league debut in September 2014, in a draw at Birmingham City. He became a regular at left-back during 2015, though, and started 10 of the final 11 games of the season as he cemented his place in the hearts of the fans for his aggressive, full-blooded performances.
He signed a new deal with the club, lasting until 2018, in September 2015. By this point, he was a fans favourite – a real well-loved player. One of his most iconic moments arrived that season, too, when he got into a fight with Leon Best. Elbowed in the face and left bloodied by the striker, ‘The Lion’ hit back and both were suspended. He suffered a similar injury from an elbow via Matt Derbyshire, too – ironically, against Rotherham United, the same place he had been elbowed by Best.
Nominated as one of the clubs Player of the Year for the season, voted for his by his teammates, Berardi came second in both in-house club voting and the Yorkshire Evening Post’s POTY awards. His time at Leeds prior to the arrival of Marcelo Bielsa was one of uncontained aggression and suspensions galore – in the 2017-18 season alone, he missed ten games through suspension in total and he was committed to improving that side of his conduct.
The Bielsa Era
Under Bielsa, he started to play as a central defender alongside Liam Cooper. Sadly, injuries returned and a knee injury against Middlesbrough left him out of the first-team picture for a matter of weeks. He got injured again shortly after returning, tearing his hamstring completely which meant he was out for much of the campaign. In total, he played only 13 games of the first year under Bielsa.
His low point came in a sending off against Derby County in the Play-Offs; it was his seventh red card, matching Alan Smith for a club record of red cards. That energy, though, only further endeared him to the support. He would ‘beat’ that record with an 8th red card against Millwall in the following season – it was, though, overturned.
Leeds went up, as we all know, in the 2019-20 season – though things were postponed due to the COVID pandemic. Berardi, though, missed much of the first season back up after suffering a cruciate injury against Derby County 3-1 in July 2020. He was ruled out for nine months, and missed the vast majority of the Premier League debut campaign.
A new one-year deal with the club was signed in October of 2020, and he finally made his Premier League debut for the club in May 2021 shortly before departing. His final game was a 3-1 home victory against West Bromwich Albion, as he and fellow Bielsa-era icon Pablo Hernandez said their goodbyes to the club.
How Did He Earn The Title ‘The Lion’?
Football players can get nicknames for all manner of reasons, and in truth it can be hard to find the real reason most of the time. For Gaetano, though, the Lion nickname has come from a few places. The most prominent, though, arguably comes from another reason why Leeds fans adore him.
In 2017, Berardi was having to fill-in at left-back for the club due to a lack of options. Primarily a right-sided player, he gave admirable performances but it was clearly not his best position. Berardi himself at the time admitted that the club ‘probably needs a better player than me’ in the position, which led to his teammate, Pontus Jansson, to come out in his defence.
On his own Twitter account, Jansson noted that you “can’t find a person like this one” regarding the Swiss full-back and finished the tweet by saying “Un Vero Leone” – A Real Lion. Naturally, the name stuck, and for that reason – and many more – Gaetano stands with the lifelong respect of the Leeds faithful. He spent many a game battered, bruised, out of position, and simply doing everything he could to get Leeds back to where they belong.
Gaetano Berardi’s Leeds & Career Stats So Far
Unlike many legends of our famous club, Berardi is still plying his trade – though not in Leeds. He is currently playing back in Switzerland, having played with FC Sion after his time at Leeds.
Across his career at the time of writing, Berardi has played 310 league games and also made one solitary appearance for his nation, Switzerland, back in 2011. However, it has to be said that his most fruitful spell came with Leeds, where he spent seven seasons, playing over 20 games a season in all but two. His final season, the clubs first back in the top-flight, brought only two appearances thanks to the injury suffered before the club went back up.
He also played 108 times for Brescia, his first club, and then 35 games across three years for Sampdoria. He arrived at Leeds from the Genovese club, and history was written. After his time at Leeds, he signed for FC Sion, playing a handful of games before leaving and joining his current side in AC Bellinzona, When the time comes for him to hang up his boots, Leeds fans will never forget The Lion. Who knows? Like many other greats, we might see him in the dugout or the directors’ box in some capacity.
Want to represent one of the greater names in modern Leeds history? Then take a look at our fantastic range of Fight Club products. Few players to wear the famous white have epitomised this aggressive, take-no-prisoners energy quite like Berardi did. Walk around Leeds, or wherever you are, and let other Whites know that you are aware of the Lion’s importance to our modern history and revival!
