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Bernardo Cueva

Bernardo Cueva Martínez (born August 14, 1987) is a Mexican football manager and technical analyst who currently serves as a First Team coach and set-piece coach at Chelsea. Born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Cueva has built a reputation in Europe for his tactical acumen and analytical approach to the game, particularly in dead-ball situations.

Bernardo Cueva Martínez
Cueva with Chelsea in 2024
Personal information
Full name Bernardo Cueva Martínez
Date of birth 14 August 1987 (age 38)
Place of birth Guadalajara, Mexico
Team information
Current team
 Chelsea (set-piece coach)
Managerial career
Years Team
2017–2020 C.D. Guadalajara
2020-2021 Brentford
2021–2022 Norway national team
2022–2024 Brentford
2024– Chelsea

Growing up in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Cueva pursued studies in applied mathematics and strategic planning, setting the foundation for his career as a technical analyst. [1] Cueva previously worked with C.D. Guadalajara from 2017 to 2020, where he won the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League and participated in the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup.[2][3] He then was appointed in 2020 as a First Team Coach of English Championship side Brentford, achieving promotion to the English Premier League, then working with the Norway national football team as a Senior Men’s First Team Coach in 2021 simultaneously before leaving in 2022 to focus on Brentford.[4][5][6] In the 2024, he left Brentford and was to appointed to English Premier League side Chelsea as a First Team Coach, where he won both the 2024-25 UEFA Europa Conference League and the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup his first season.[7][8][9]

Early life

[edit]

Born in August 14, 1987, Cueva is originally from the Providencia neighborhood in Guadalajara, he spent his childhood on Milan Street and played football in the streets like any other child of his time.

From a young age, Cueva was passionate about football and often played with friends. His love for the game developed early, and though he didn't follow a traditional professional player path, he gravitated toward the analytical and tactical side of football. Before entering coaching, he pursued studies in applied mathematics and strategic planning, setting the foundation for his career as a technical analyst. [10]

Career

[edit]

In the 2017-18 season, Cueva was appointed as the Head of Sports Intelligence of Mexican side C.D. Guadalajara.[11] He was part of C.D. Guadalajara when they won the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League and participated in the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup. After 3 years with C.D Guadalajara, He left in the 2019-20 season.[12] Cueva was then appointed as a First Team coach and set-piece coach of English Championship team Brentford in the 2020-21 season.[13] He was part of Brentford when they achieved promotion to the English Premier League.[14] He became the first Mexican to ever be part of the coaching staff of an English Premier League team.[15]

Cueva was appointed Senior Men's First Team coach of the Norway national football team in the 2021-22 season.[16][17][18] He only worked with them during the international breaks, so he was able to work for the Norway national football team and Brentford simultaneously.[19] He later left the Norway national football team in early 2022 to focus his career with Brentford. After 4 years with Brentford, he caught the attention of English side Chelsea and left Brentford in the 2023-24 season.

Cueva joined Chelsea on as a First Team coach and set-piece coach at the start of the 2024–25 season.[20][21] At his first year with the club, Chelsea managed to secure a spot for the UEFA Champions League next season, something the team struggled to achieve in the past 2 seasons, and also the managed to win the 2024-25 UEFA Europa Conference League with a commanding 4–1 victory over Spanish LaLiga side Real Betis in the final.[22][23] That same season, his side also stunned the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain with a dominant 3–0 win in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final, featuring a brace Cole Palmer.[24]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Un tapatío en la Premier League". informador.mx.
  2. ^ "QUIÉN ES BERNARDO CUEVA, EL MEXICANO EN LA PREMIER LEAGUE CON EL BRENTFORD". futboltotal.com.mx.
  3. ^ "Bernardo Cueva, el mexicano que dejó a Chivas y ahora triunfa con el Brentford de Inglaterra". elfinanciero.com.mx.
  4. ^ "¿Quién es Bernardo Cueva, el mexicano que está en la Premier League?". goal.com (Archived). Archived from the original on 2023-04-30. Retrieved 2023-09-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ "Bernardo Cueva: "El Brentford tiene bien vistos a los jugadores mexicanos"". foxsports.com.mx.
  6. ^ "Solbakken gir talknusar makt: – Kan ikkje bli dårlegare". nrk.no.
  7. ^ Kinsella, Nizaar (2024-03-14). "Chelsea poach Brentford specialist Cueva to build set-piece department". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  8. ^ "Real Betis 1-4 Chelsea: The Blues complete set with Conference League success". uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague.
  9. ^ "Chelsea beats PSG 3-0 for Club World Cup title as Palmer scores twice and sets up third goal". apnews.com.
  10. ^ "Un tapatío en la Premier League". informador.mx.
  11. ^ "QUIÉN ES BERNARDO CUEVA, EL MEXICANO EN LA PREMIER LEAGUE CON EL BRENTFORD". futboltotal.com.mx.
  12. ^ "Bernardo Cueva, el mexicano que dejó a Chivas y ahora triunfa con el Brentford de Inglaterra". elfinanciero.com.mx.
  13. ^ "¿Quién es Bernardo Cueva, el mexicano que está en la Premier League?". goal.com (Archived). Archived from the original on 2023-04-30. Retrieved 2023-09-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  14. ^ "Bernardo Cueva: "El Brentford tiene bien vistos a los jugadores mexicanos"". foxsports.com.mx.
  15. ^ "Quién es Bernardo Cueva, el mexicano detrás del éxito del Brentford en la Premier League". infobae.com.
  16. ^ "Solbakken gir talknusar makt: – Kan ikkje bli dårlegare". nrk.no.
  17. ^ "Landslagets hemmelige våpen: – Han får all makt". tv2.no.
  18. ^ "– Hver gang vi får dødball har vi tro på at vi kan straffe motstanderen". tv2.no.
  19. ^ "Bernardo Cueva, de ser rechazado en Chivas a trabajar como auxiliar en Premier League y asesor de Noruega". espn.com.
  20. ^ Kinsella, Nizaar (2024-03-14). "Chelsea poach Brentford specialist Cueva to build set-piece department". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  21. ^ Ornstein, David. "Chelsea to hire Brentford's Cueva as set-piece coach". The Athletic. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  22. ^ "Chelsea and Cole Palmer storm back at Real Betis to win Conference League". theguardian.com.
  23. ^ "Real Betis 1-4 Chelsea: The Blues complete set with Conference League success". uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague.
  24. ^ "Chelsea beats PSG 3-0 for Club World Cup title as Palmer scores twice and sets up third goal". apnews.com.