Víctor Salvador Bernárdez Blanco (Spanish pronunciation: ; born 24 May 1982), also known as Muma, is a Honduran former footballer who most recently played as a defender for Oakland Roots SC.
Bernárdez was raised in La Ceiba, living with his mother, sisters, and extended family in a single house. He grew up relatively poor and endured hardships, including having his home damaged because of Hurricane Mitch in 1998. He started playing soccer in his youth with the other children of his neighborhood. Bernárdez earned the nickname of "Muma" from teammates of Vida and Honduran national player Rene “Pupa” Martinez. They noticed him following Martinez at every chance he got, so he was the Muma to Pupa. Eventually he was able to join CDS Vida, who his grandfather had played for as well as coached.
He made his debut for Honduras in a March 2004 friendly match against Venezuela and has earned, as of June 2012, a total of 64 caps, scoring 4 goals. He has represented his country in 23 FIFA World Cup qualification matches and played one match at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He also featured at the 2007 UNCAF Nations Cup as well as at the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Bernárdez announced before the 2014 World Cup that he would retire after Honduras' last match in the tournament. Bernárdez played in every one of Honduras' group stage matches at the 2014 tournament including what was his final appearance for the team, a 3–0 defeat to Switzerland. The following year Bernárdez reconfirmed his decision to retire from international play, citing the need for him to move on so that new players could get their chance with the side. He also stated that his best memories playing with the national team were his participation in two World Cups as well as helping Honduras to beat Mexico in Estadio Azteca in 2013.
Bernárdez is married to Wendy Salgado, who represented Honduras at Miss Universe 2007. They have two children, Ananda and Megan. He also has a daughter named Victoria who lives with his mother in Honduras.
Bernárdez has spoken out on quite a few occasions about the violence in Honduras, using his position as a national team player to shine a light on the situation. Before the 2014 World Cup he and fellow national team representatives partnered with the U.S. Agency for International Development and held a small conference entitled The Power of Soccer to Combat Youth Violence in Honduras. After retiring from soccer, he will likely stay in Honduras and try to make a difference through soccer in a similar way that it helped him escape from violence.
2004-2009 |
2009-2011 |
2012-2018 |
2019-2020 |