Fabián Ángel

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Ángel and the second or maternal family name is Bernal.
Fabián Ángel
Personal information
Full name Fabián Steven Ángel Bernal
Date of birth (2001-01-10) 10 January 2001 (age 23)
Place of birth Sogamoso, Boyacá, Colombia
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Atlético Junior
Youth career
Valle del Sol
Barranquilla
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2019 Barranquilla 42 (0)
2019 → Atlético Junior (loan) 0 (0)
2020– Atlético Junior 50 (1)
2020 → Barranquilla (loan) 6 (0)
2022–2023 → Newell's Old Boys (loan) 1 (0)
International career
2017 Colombia U17 10 (1)
2019 Colombia U18
2023 Colombia U23 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:13, 21 July 2023 (UTC)

Fabián Steven Ángel Bernal (born 10 January 2001) is a Colombian footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Atlético Junior.

Early life

Ángel was born in the small city of Sogamoso in the Boyacá Department of Colombia, to a father who played futsal for Saeta FSC [es] and the Colombia national futsal team.[1] As a child, his father would take him to play football in the Magdalena neighbourhood.[2]

Club career

Early career

Ángel began his career in Sogamoso, playing with local sides under the tutelage of coaches Nelson Castillo and Fernando López, where his performances earned him a place in the representative team of the Boyacá Department.[2] He captained the provincial side for three years before travelling to Barranquilla in 2015 to trial with Atlético Junior.[1] He eventually joined the academy of Atlético Junior's affiliate side, Barranquilla, and also represented the Atlántico Department.[2]

Atlético Junior

2019–2020: Initial loan and breakthrough

Having spent two seasons with Barranquilla, Ángel was loaned to parent club Atlético Junior in 2019, alongside teammate Stiwart Acuña, ahead of the 2019 Torneo Finalización.[3][4] After one appearance in the Copa Colombia, Ángel joined the side permanently for the 2020 season, making his Categoría Primera A debut and a handful of appearances for the side across all competitions.[5][6] He renewed his contract with the club in January 2021, signing on until 2023.[7]

2021–2022: Establishing first team football

He established himself in the first team during the 2021 season, and his performances reportedly drew interest from Argentine side River Plate.[8] In an interview with Argentine radio show ¿Cómo te va? (How are you doing?), Ángel stated that he would "love to go to River".[9] On 23 September 2021, during a game against Atlético Huila, both Ángel and teammate Willer Ditta appeared to snort an unknown substance on the pitch. Ángel explained on his Instagram account that the substance was a form of ammonia used to open the nostrils in order to breathe better.[10] Atlético Junior issued a statement saying that, while Ángel and Ditta did not have permission from the medical staff to use the substance, it was not an illegal product, nor did it breach doping rules.[11]

2022: Loan to Newell's Old Boys

The following season, Ángel scored his first goal for Atlético Junior, opening the scoring in an eventual 4–0 win against Envigado in the Categoría Primera A on 1 May 2022.[12] Just a month later, he moved to Argentina, signing with Argentine Primera División side Newell's Old Boys on a one-year loan deal with a purchase option, joining teammate Willer Ditta, who had also joined on a similar loan deal, in the process.[13] Having made his debut in the 0–0 draw against Racing Club on 16 July, he would have to wait until 8 August to feature again, coming on as a late substitute for Guillermo Balzi in a 4–2 Copa Argentina win over Aldosivi. Two weeks later, he suffered what was diagnosed a bone bruise in his left knee by Newell's medical staff, after an injury in training.[14] After being initially ruled out for five weeks, he had still not featured by the end of the 2022 season, with Newell's issuing a new diagnosis in November, stating that Ángel had suffered a sprained knee with advanced partial injury of the posterior cruciate ligament.[15] He underwent surgery on his knee in December, keeping him out for eight months.[16]

2023: Return to Colombia for treatment

Having been ruled out of the entirety of the 2023 season by Newell's manager Gabriel Heinze, Ángel returned to Colombia for the surgery and rehabilitation.[15] He criticised the medical staff at Newell's Old Boys for their misdiagnosis, stating that he had "never felt 100%" after the injury, and that he was not "undergoing adequate rehabilitation" during his time in Argentina.[15] He denied reports that he had returned to Colombia without the permission of Newell's Old Boys, and clarified that the club had paid for his treatment.[15] He also criticised the statement Newell's had released, which had claimed Ángel decided to undergo surgery with other professionals, claiming that his return to Colombia had been agreed by all three parties: himself, Atlético Junior and Newell's Old Boys.[15]

Newell's Old Boys requested that Ángel be removed from their foreign players quota, with clubs in Argentina only being allowed six foreign players in the squad, and the Argentine Football Association accepted this request.[17] Ángel posted an update in May 2023, announcing that the MRI scans he had undergone "showed constant improvements".[18] Later the same month, in an interview with Barranquilla-based newspaper El Heraldo, he stated that Newell's Old Boys had yet to make a decision on the purchase option, and if he were to return to Atlético Junior, he would help them fight for the Colombian league title.[19]

International career

Ángel was called up to represent the Colombian under-17 side at the 2017 Bolivarian Games, where he starred in the final as Colombia beat Ecuador 5–4 in a penalty shoot-out after a 2–2 draw.[20] Having also represented Colombia at under-18 level, Ángel was called up to the under-20 and senior squads without featuring.[21]

Career statistics

Club

As of 21 July 2023.[22]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Barranquilla 2018 Categoría Primera B 26 0 5[a] 0 0 0 0 0 31 0
2019 16 0 5[a] 0 0 0 0 0 21 0
Total 42 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 52 0
Atlético Junior (loan) 2019 Categoría Primera A 0 0 1[a] 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Atlético Junior 2020 7 0 2[a] 0 2[b] 0 0 0 11 0
2021 32 0 0 0 4[c] 0 0 0 36 0
2022 11 1 1[a] 0 3[b] 0 0 0 15 1
2023 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 50 1 4 0 9 0 0 0 63 1
Barranquilla (loan) 2020 Categoría Primera B 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
Newell's Old Boys (loan) 2022 Argentine Primera División 1 0 1[d] 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
2023 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Career total 99 1 15 0 9 0 0 0 123 1
Notes
  1. ^ a b c d e Appearances in the Copa Colombia
  2. ^ a b Appearances in the Copa Sudamericana
  3. ^ Appearances in the Copa Libertadores
  4. ^ Appearances in the Copa Argentina

References

  1. ^ a b Sotelo, Gianmarco (1 July 2022). "La historia de Fabián Ángel: sus inicios, los sacrificios en el fútbol y su nuevo reto en Newell's" [The story of Fabián Ángel: his beginnings, the sacrifices in football and his new challenge at Newell's]. gol.caracoltv.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Grandes pasos de un niño soñador. Fabian Ángel: un joven con alas de cóndor" [Big steps of a dreaming child. Fabian Ángel: a young man with condor wings]. uniboyaca.edu.co (in Spanish). 1 December 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Fabián Ángel y Stiwart Acuña, nuevas caras del bicampeón" [Fabián Ángel and Stiwart Acuña, new faces of the two-time champion]. app.juniorfc.co (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  4. ^ de la Hoz, George (12 July 2019). "El nuevo Ángel de Junior: Fabián Ángel, nuevo jugador rojiblanco, dialogó con elambito.com" [Junior's new Ángel: Fabián Ángel, a new rojiblanco player, spoke with elambito.com]. elambito.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  5. ^ "Fabián Ángel: "Llegar a Junior fue una decisión que valió la pena"" [Fabián Ángel: "Getting to Junior was a decision that was worth it"]. caracol.com.co (in Spanish). 12 October 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  6. ^ Figueroa Turcios, Francisco (1 December 2020). "Fabián Ángel, bajo la mirada de sus técnicos" [Fabián Ángel, under the gaze of his coaches]. lachachara.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  7. ^ "Fabián Ángel renueva con Junior hasta 2023" [Fabián Ángel renews with Junior until 2023]. colombia.as.com (in Spanish). 20 January 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Quién es Fabián Ángel, el colombiano que quiere River" [Who is Fabián Ángel, the Colombian that River wants]. tycsports.com (in Spanish). 6 December 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  9. ^ "Fabián Ángel confirma los rumores: ya se pronunció sobre su fichaje con River Plate" [Fabián Ángel confirms the rumors: he has already ruled on his signing with River Plate]. semana.com (in Spanish). 16 December 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  10. ^ "El jugador boyacense que está en un escándalo por aspirar 'veneno' en el partido Junior-Huila" [The Boyacá player who is in a scandal for inhaling 'poison' in the Junior-Huila match]. boyaca7dias.com.co (in Spanish). 25 September 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Comunicado de Junior: "No es una sustancia considerada dopante"" [Junior's statement: "It is not a substance considered doping"]. ole.com.ar (in Spanish). 24 September 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  12. ^ Ibáñez Sánchez, Juan Diego (1 May 2022). "Junior vapuleó a Envigado y se aseguró dentro de los ocho" [Junior thrashed Envigado and made sure within eight]. futbolalinstante.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  13. ^ Vallejo, Sebastián (26 June 2022). "Oficial: Fabián Ángel se fue del Junior y ya viste la camiseta de Newell's" [Official: Fabián Ángel left Junior and already wears the Newell's shirt]. publimetro.co (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  14. ^ Cantillo, Santiago (31 August 2022). "¿Cómo le está yendo a Fabián Ángel en Newell's?" [How is Fabián Ángel doing at Newell's?]. futbolete.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  15. ^ a b c d e "Fabián Ángel expuso su situación: «No desinformen a la gente con cosas que no ocurrieron»" [Fabián Ángel explained his situation: "Do not misinform people with things that did not happen"]. conclusion.com.ar (in Spanish). 13 January 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  16. ^ "Fabián Ángel se operará los ligamentos cruzados en Colombia" [Fabián Ángel will undergo surgery on his cruciate ligaments in Colombia]. rosarioplus.com (in Spanish). 1 December 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  17. ^ Odisio, José (23 January 2023). "¡Cupo liberado! AFA aceptó que Fabián Ángel no ocupe plaza de extranjero" [Quota released! AFA accepted that Fabián Ángel not occupy a foreign position]. elciudadanoweb.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  18. ^ "Newell's: reapareció Fabián Ángel en las redes sociales realizando la rehabilitación" [Newell's: Fabián Ángel reappeared on social networks carrying out the rehabilitation]. lacapital.com.ar (in Spanish). 12 May 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  19. ^ Barrios Martínez, Isaac (26 May 2023). ""Si vuelvo a Junior es para ser campeón": Fabián Ángel" ["If I go back to Junior it's to be champion": Fabián Ángel]. elheraldo.co (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  20. ^ Jiménez Alfaro, Alberto (24 November 2017). "Un 'ángel' le dio a Colombia el oro en fútbol masculino" [An 'angel' gave Colombia gold in men's soccer]. seguimiento.co (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  21. ^ "Fabian Ángel convocado a la Selección Colombia" [Fabian Ángel summoned to the Colombian National Team]. app.juniorfc.co (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  22. ^ Fabián Ángel at Soccerway. Retrieved 15 December 2019.


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