Lucas Bernardi · Biography

In the summer of 2001, AS Monaco signed Lucas Ademar Bernardi from Olympique de Marseille. He was a central midfielder from Rosario who had played only eight league games in France. That transfer set the course of his career: he spent seven seasons in the Principality, played in a Champions League final and earned a call-up to the Argentina national team. Born in Rosario on 27 September 1977, Bernardi came through the youth system at Newell's Old Boys, the club he later returned to as a player, sporting director and coach.

Youth career and debut at Newell's

Bernardi came up through the Newell's academy and made his debut in the Argentine Primera División in 1998. By 2000 he had played 74 league games for the Rosario club and scored three goals. He was a defensive midfielder who tackled hard and moved the ball on cleanly. European clubs noticed, and in 2000 Olympique de Marseille signed him. His time at the Vélodrome was short: eight appearances in 2000-01, with no goals, before his move to Monaco.

Seven seasons at Monaco

At the Stade Louis II he got the regular football he had lacked in Marseille. Between 2001 and 2008 he played 216 competitive games for Monaco, 178 of them in Ligue 1, and scored three goals. In 2003 he won the Coupe de la Ligue, his first trophy as a professional. The following season, under Didier Deschamps, Monaco reached the Champions League final. On 26 May 2004 in Gelsenkirchen, Bernardi started in central midfield as Monaco lost 3-0 to José Mourinho's Porto. The French players' union (UNFP) named him in the 2003-04 Ligue 1 Team of the Year.

Argentina national team

His form in France earned him an Argentina call-up. He made his debut in 2004 against Japan and won six caps, one in 2004 and five in 2005, without scoring. He was in the squad for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany, where Argentina finished runners-up after losing the final 4-1 to Brazil. He also played in qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup.

Return to Rosario and the 2013 title

In January 2009 he went back to Newell's. He played six more seasons there and made more than 220 competitive appearances. He captained Gerardo Martino's side to the 2013 Torneo Final of the Primera División, the last trophy of his career. That season also brought a doping case: in late 2012 he tested positive for pseudoephedrine and was banned for three months. He played again on 27 March 2013, in a Copa Argentina match against Deportivo Armenio. He retired in November 2014 with more than 500 competitive appearances in all.

Coaching career

He took charge of Newell's for the first time in July 2015. He started with a 3-0 win over Racing Club and left in February 2016 after a 2-0 defeat to Rosario Central in the Rosario derby. His record was five wins, five draws and eight defeats in 18 games. He then coached Arsenal de Sarandí in November and December 2016, Godoy Cruz from December 2016 to July 2017, Estudiantes de La Plata from September 2017 to May 2018 and Belgrano from May to October 2018. In 2019 he went back to Godoy Cruz and stayed until August that year.

Back at Newell's

In 2021 he was sporting director at Newell's, and in December 2024 he took over the reserve team. From that role he was named interim first-team coach in October 2025, after Cristian Fabbiani's exit, for the last three games of the tournament, with the team close to the relegation places on the average table. On 22 February 2026, after the coaching duo of Favio Orsi and Sergio Gómez left, the club gave him the first team again on an interim basis.