Augusto Fernández

For the motorcycle racer, see Augusto Fernández (motorcyclist).

Augusto Fernández

Fernández playing for Celta in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Augusto Matías Fernández[1]
Date of birth	(1986-04-10) 10 April 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth	Pergamino, Argentina
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
2005	River Plate
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006–2009	River Plate	79	(3)
2009–2010	Saint-Étienne	12	(1)
2010–2012	Vélez Sarsfield	58	(11)
2012–2015	Celta	114	(10)
2016–2017	Atlético Madrid	21	(0)
2018–2020	Beijing Renhe	33	(3)
2020–2021	Cádiz	16	(0)
Total		333	(28)
International career
2011–2016	Argentina	16	(1)
Medal record  Argentina FIFA World Cup Runner-up 2014 Brazil Team Copa América Runner-up 2016 United States Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Augusto Matías Fernández (Latin American Spanish: [awˈɣusto maˈti.as feɾˈnandes]; born 10 April 1986) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder.[3]

Club career

River Plate

Born in Pergamino, Buenos Aires, Fernández was a River Plate youth graduate. He made his first team debut on 29 January 2006, coming on as a substitute for Jonathan Santana in a 5–0 away routing of Tiro Federal.

Fernández scored his first professional goal on 8 April 2007, netting the equalizer in a 1–1 home draw against Belgrano. With River he won the 2008 Clausura under Diego Simeone's coaching, playing on 15 of the 19 games (9 starts).[4]

Saint-Etienne

On 28 August 2009, after fellow Argentine Gonzalo Bergessio joined AS Saint-Étienne, Fernández arrived to the aforementioned French club.[5] He was loaned to the French club by a third-party owner of his rights, Israeli businessman Pinhas Zahavi.

Fernández made his Ligue 1 debut on 13 September 2009, starting in a 0–1 loss at Stade Rennais, and scored his first goal in the category roughly a month later in a 3–1 home win against FC Girondins de Bordeaux. However, he only appeared in 12 matches during the campaign, as his side narrowly avoided relegation.

Vélez Sarsfield

On 9 July 2010, Fernández signed a three-year deal with Argentine Primera División side Vélez Sarsfield, who bought 100% of his rights from Pinhas Zahavi for a fee of US$1.5 million.[6][7] In his first tournament with his new club, the 2010 Apertura, he played 12 games (all as a starter) on Vélez' runner-up campaign.[8]

Fernández totalled 17 games (over 19) and 4 goals in his team's 2011 Clausura-winning campaign,[9] and 10 games (over 12) and 4 goals in their Copa Libertadores semi-finalist campaign. During the semester, he scored in 57 days twice as many goals as he had during his entire professional career: 3 in the Copa Libertadores and another 3 in the Argentine league.[10][11] Against L.D.U. Quito in the Copa Libertadores round of 16, he also scored his first double.[12]

Celta

On 8 August 2012, Fernández joined newly promoted La Liga club Celta de Vigo on a four-year deal.[13] He made his debut in the category ten days later, starting in a 0–1 home loss against Málaga CF.

Fernández scored his first goal in the main category of Spanish football on 22 September 2012, netting the first in a 2–1 home success over Getafe CF. He finished the season as an ever-present figure for the Galicians, appearing in 36 matches and scoring six goals as his side narrowly avoided relegation.

Fernández was still a first-choice in the following campaigns, with the side now finishing in mid-table positions. On 3 October 2014, he was appointed captain of the club, replacing Borja Oubiña.[14]

Atlético Madrid

On 1 January 2016, Fernández joined Atlético Madrid on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee, mainly as a cover to the injured Tiago.[15] He made his debut 5 days later, playing 57 minutes of a Copa del Rey draw away to Rayo Vallecano before being replaced by Luciano Vietto; he made his first league appearance for the club on 11 January, against Celta, his former team. Later, he started in the 2016 Champions League final, although he was substituted off at half-time. He only made 8 appearances in the following seasons with the Rojiblancos.

Beijing Renhe

On 31 January 2018, Fernández signed with Chinese Super League club Beijing Renhe on an undisclosed fee.[16]

Cádiz

On 23 June 2020, Fernández returned to Spain and joined Segunda División side Cádiz CF for the remainder of the season.[17] He signed an extension for the following season later, with the club achieving promotion to the La Liga. On 21 May 2021, after securing first division football for the upcoming season, Fernández announced his retirement from football.[18]

International career

Fernández made his full international debut for Argentina on 15 September 2011, starting in a 0–0 Superclásico de las Américas home draw against Brazil. On 2 June 2014 he was included in Alejandro Sabella's final 23-man squad for the year's FIFA World Cup,[19] but was only an unused substitute during the whole tournament. In May 2016, he was included in Gerardo Martino's 23-man Argentina squad for the Copa América Centenario, being a starter for most of the tournament before missing the final after getting injured in the semifinal match.[20]

Club statistics

As of match played 22 May 2021[21]

Club	Season	League			National Cup		International		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
River Plate	2005–06	Argentine Primera División	13	0	—		2[a]	0	15	0
	2006–07	Argentine Primera División	13	2	—		6[b]	0	19	2
	2007–08	Argentine Primera División	31	1	—		8[c]	0	39	1
	2008–09	Argentine Primera División	21	0	—		2[d]	0	23	0
	2009–10	Argentine Primera División	1	0	—		—		1	0
	Total		79	3	0	0	18	0	97	3
Saint-Étienne	2009–10	Ligue 1	12	1	2	0	—		14	1
Vélez Sarsfield	2010–11	Argentine Primera División	29	4	0	0	11[e]	4	40	8
	2011–12	Argentine Primera División	29	7	0	0	17[f]	3	46	10
	Total		58	11	0	0	28	7	86	18
Celta de Vigo	2012–13	La Liga	36	6	3	0	—		39	3
	2013–14	La Liga	33	2	0	0	—		33	2
	2014–15	La Liga	30	1	4	0	—		34	1
	2015–16	La Liga	15	1	1	0	—		16	1
	Total		114	10	8	0	0	0	122	10
Atlético Madrid	2015–16	La Liga	13	0	2	0	6[g]	0	21	0
	2016–17	La Liga	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	2017–18	La Liga	5	0	4	0	1[g]	0	10	0
	Total		21	0	6	0	7	0	34	0
Beijing Renhe	2018	Chinese Super League	22	2	1	0	—		23	2
	2019	Chinese Super League	11	1	0	0	—		11	1
	Total		33	3	1	0	0	0	34	3
Cádiz	2019–20	Segunda División	4	0	0	0	—		4	0
	2020–21	La Liga	12	0	0	0	—		12	0
	Total		16	0	0	0	0	0	16	0
Career Total			333	28	17	0	53	7	403	35

1. One appearance in Copa Libertadores,One appearance in Copa Sudamericana
2. Three appearances in Copa Libertadores, Three appearances in Copa Sudamericana
3. Five appearances in Copa Libertadores, Three appearances in Copa Sudamericana
4. Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores
5. One appearance in Copa Sudamericana, Ten appearances and one goal in Copa Libertadores
6. Eight appearances and one goal in Copa Sudamericana, Nine appearances and two goals in Copa Libertadores
7. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 21 June 2016[22]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Argentina	2011	2	0
	2012	1	0
	2013	4	1
	2014	3	0
	2016	6	0
Total		16	1

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	14 June 2013	Estadio Mateo Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala	Guatemala	2–0	4–0	Friendly

Honours

Club

River Plate

• Argentine Primera División: 2008 Clausura

Vélez Sársfield

• Argentine Primera División: 2011 Clausura

Atletico Madrid

• UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2015–16

International

Argentina

• FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2014
• Copa América runner-up: 2016

References

1. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of players: Argentina" (PDF). FIFA. 14 July 2014. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
2. "Official Atlético de Madrid Website". En.atleticodemadrid.com.
3. "Augusto Fernández". Whoscored.com. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
4. "Closing '08 statistics". Argentine Soccer. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
5. "Augusto Fernandez en Vert" (in French). AS Saint-Étienne website. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
6. "Vine para ser campeón" [I came to become a champion] (in Spanish). Olé. 11 July 2010. Archived from the original on 6 May 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
7. Gabriel Martínez (9 July 2010). "El Primer Refuerzo" (in Spanish). Vélez Sársfield official website. Archived from the original on 11 July 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
8. "Opening '10 statistics". Argentine Soccer. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
9. "Closing '11 statistics". Argentine Soccer. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
10. "El mágico presente de Augusto Fernández". La Nación (in Spanish). 27 April 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
11. "Match report". Argentine Soccer. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
12. Guillermo Tagliaferri (27 April 2011). "Augusto Fernández fue el goleador menos pensado". Clarín (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 May 2011.
13. "Augusto Fernández ficha por el Celta" [Augusto Fernández signs for Celta]. Marca (in Spanish). 8 August 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
14. "Augusto sucede a Oubiña como primer capitán del equipo" [Augusto succeeds Oubiña as the first captain of the team] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 3 October 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
15. "Augusto Fernández ya es rojiblanco" [Augusto Fernández already is rojiblanco] (in Spanish). Atlético's official website. 1 January 2016. Archived from the original on 2 January 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
16. "Atletico Madrid sell Augusto Fernandez to CSL's Beijing Renhe". ESPN. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
17. "Augusto Fernández refuerza al equipo en el tramo final" [Augusto Fernández bolsters the team in the final rounds] (in Spanish). Cádiz CF. 23 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
18. "Augusto Fernández se retira del fútbol: "Detecto, según mi sentir, que es el momento"" [Augusto Fernández retires from football: "I detect, according to my feeling, it is time"]. Marca (in Spanish). 20 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
19. "World Cup 2014: Ever Banega excluded from Argentina squad". BBC Sport. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
20. "Carlos Tevez, Paulo Dybala left off Argentina's Copa America squad". ESPN FC. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
21. "Augusto Fernández » Club matches". Worldfootball.net. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
22. Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Augusto Fernández". National-football-teams.com. Retrieved 11 January 2021.

External links

• Augusto Fernández at BDFutbol
• Augusto Fernández at National-Football-Teams.com
• Augusto Fernández at ESPN FC
• Augusto Fernández at Soccerway
• Argentine Primera statistics at Fútbol XXI at the Wayback Machine (archived 21 February 2015) (in Spanish)