Danny Bergara

Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Bergara began his playing career at the age of 16, playing for Racing Club in the Uruguayan First Division, picking up a handful of under-21 caps for Uruguay, before moving to Spain in 1962 where he was top scorer for Real Mallorca for four seasons and Sevilla for two seasons. While playing in Spain Bergara married an English travel guide, Jan, and when he retired from playing football they moved to England.

Bergara coached the reserve teams at Luton Town and Sheffield United before getting his first managerial job at Rochdale in August 1988. Bergara is often wrongly referred to as the first foreign manager in English football – he was in fact preceded by managers such as the South African Peter Hauser, who managed Chester City between 1963 and 1968. Bergara was the first manager born outside the British Isles to lead an English club out at Wembley, when he took Stockport County to the 1992 Autoglass Trophy final.

Stockport County

In March 1989, after just seven months at Rochdale, he took over as manager of Stockport County, also in the Fourth Division. He ensured their Fourth Division survival that season and prevented them from slipping into the GM Vauxhall Conference. They reached the playoffs in 1989–90, only to suffer a heavy defeat by Chesterfield in the semi-final. In 1990–91 he guided County to promotion from the Fourth Division, missing out on the title by a single point. In 1991–92, County took the Third Division by storm by beating Swansea City 5–0 on the opening day, and quickly became contenders in the race for promotion. County reached Wembley twice in the space of ten days in the Play-Offs and Autoglass Trophy that season, losing 2–1 to Peterborough United in the play-offs and 1–0 to Stoke City in the Football League Trophy. 1992–93 brought a similar season for Bergara and Stockport County. The club lost in a semi-final play-off 2–1 to Port Vale.…

During the close season before the start of the 2012–13 season, it was announced that Stockport County had renamed the Hardcastle Road Stand (commonly known as the Main Stand) of Edgeley Park "The Danny Bergara Stand", in addition to this the club also fly the Uruguayan flag during every home game, above the Railway End. In June 2021, the Stockport County Supporters Co-operative and Help the Hatters launched a fundraising campaign to commission a bronze statue of Danny Bergara. Award-winning, Sussex based sculptor, Hannah Stewart was chosen. On 8 May 2023 the statue was unveiled by the Uruguayan ambassador to the UK, Mr Cesar Rodriguez Zavalla, the statue now proudly stands located outside the Cheadle End at Edgeley Park.

As a manager

Stockport County

Associate Members' Cup / Football League Trophy runner-up: 1991–92, 1992–93