Matías Fernández

Matías Fernández

Personal information
Full name	Matías Ariel Fernández Fernández
Date of birth	15 May 1986 (1986-05-15) (age 25)
Place of birth	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Sporting CP
Number	14
Youth career
1996–1998	Unión La Calera
1998–2003	Colo-Colo
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2004–2006	Colo-Colo	82	(37)
2006–2009	Villarreal	71	(7)
2009–	Sporting CP	80	(15)
National team‡
2005	Chile U20	13	(5)
2005–	Chile	45	(11)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 May 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 October 2011

Matías Ariel Fernández Fernández (born 15 May 1986) is a Chilean footballer who plays for Sporting Clube de Portugal in Portugal.

An attacking midfielder with playmaking and dribbling skills, also being a free-kick specialist, he is known by several nicknames: Mati, El Pelusa and Matigol.

Fernández was elected South American Footballer of the Year in 2006, and also appeared for the Chilean national team in the 2010 World Cup and two Copa América tournaments.

Early life

Fernández was born in the Caballito neighbourhood in Buenos Aires to Argentine mother Mirtha and Chilean father Humberto, and moved to La Calera, Chile, at just four.

Fernández has two brothers, Ezequiel and Nazareno. He considers himself Chilean, having moved out of his birth nation very early, without having formed a vivid memory of those years.

Club career

Colo-Colo

Fernández began with the youth squads of Colo-Colo at the age of 12. His debut in the first division came on 1 August 2004, against archrival Universidad de Chile. A week later he scored his first two goals against Club de Deportes Cobresal. In the same season, "Matigol" scored a spectacular goal against C.D. O'Higgins, which immortalized him to fans.^[1]

He would go on to score a total of eight goals in the 2004 Clausura, and was named best young player of the season. In the 2006 Apertura, Fernández helped Colo-Colo capture their 24th title. In December of the same year he helped it reach the final of the 2006 Southamerican Cup, where they lost to Club Pachuca of Mexico, scoring nine goals in six games for the tournament. He left Colo-Colo on a high note, winning the 2006 Clausura tournament and the South American Footballer of the Year award.

Villarreal

In late October 2006, Fernández was signed by Spanish side Villarreal CF for a fee of €8.7 million, joining compatriot Manuel Pellegrini, the club's coach.^[2] The transaction was made before he received the "South American Player of the Year" award and, despite reports that Real Madrid and Chelsea were also interested, he agreed to terms with Villarreal and arrived at the Valencia airport on 27 December. On 7 January 2007, Fernández made his La Liga debut against neighbours Valencia CF, in a 0–1 away loss, scoring his first goal for the club three months later, in a 3–0 league win at Gimnàstic de Tarragona.

Despite having had a buyout clause of €50 million inserted in his contract, Fernández failed to achieve significant playing time during his first three seasons, but still contributed with 30 games and three goals in 2007–08, as Villarreal finished a club-best runner-up. On 10 May 2009, he scored from a penalty kick in a 3–3 away draw against eventual champions FC Barcelona.^[3]

Sporting

On 1 July 2009, after being deemed surplus to requirements by new Villarreal coach Ernesto Valverde, Fernández moved to Sporting Clube de Portugal on a four-year contract, for €3.65 million,^[4] with a further €500,000 payable depending on appearances. Villarreal would retain 20% of the profit on any future sale of the player.^[5]

On October 27, Fernández scored his first goal for the club, in a 1–1 draw at Vitória de Guimarães, adding another the following week, also in the league, at home against C.S. Marítimo (again 1–1); in the UEFA Europa League, he added another, in injury time of the Lions' 3–0 win against Everton, in the competition's round of 16 (4–2 on aggregate).^[6]

International career

Fernández captained Chile at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, scoring a goal in the 7–0 victory over Honduras. Despite a second-round exit to the Netherlands, Fernández displayed overall good football, playing alongside Nicolás Canales, Carlos Villanueva and José Pedro Fuenzalida.

Also a former under-17 international, Fernández quickly established as an integral part of the main side, scoring five goals and appearing for the nation at the 2007 Copa América.

After figuring prominently in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, Fernández was selected for the finals in South Africa, playing - and starting - in the group stage against Honduras and Switzerland (both 1–0 wins), in an eventual last-16 exit.^[7]

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	8 October 2006	Estadio Sausalito, Viña del Mar, Chile	Peru	1–1	3–2	Pacific Cup
2.	8 October 2006	Estadio Sausalito, Viña del Mar, Chile	Peru	2–1	3–2	Pacific Cup
3.	7 February 2007	Estadio José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo, Venezuela	Venezuela	0–1	0–1	Friendly
4.	17 October 2007	Estadio Nacional de Chile, Santiago, Chile	Peru	2–0	2–0	2010 World Cup qualification
5.	10 September 2008	Estadio Nacional de Chile, Santiago, Chile	Colombia	4–0	4–0	2010 World Cup qualification
6.	29 March 2009	Estadio Monumental "U", Lima, Peru	Peru	1–3	1–3	2010 World Cup qualification
7.	6 June 2009	Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay	Paraguay	0–1	0–2	2010 World Cup qualification
8.	26 March 2011	Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, Leiria, Portugal	Portugal	1–1	1–1	Friendly
9.	29 March 2011	Kyocera Stadion, The Hague, Netherlands	Colombia	0–1	0–2	Friendly
10.	19 June 2011	Estadio Monumental, Santiago, Chile	Estonia	1–0	4–0	Friendly
11.	7 October 2011	Estadio El Monumental de River, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Argentina	3–1	4–1	2014 World Cup qualification

Honours

Team

• Colo-Colo:
  • Chilean League: Apertura 2006, Clausura 2006

Individual

• South American Footballer of the Year: 2006

Personal life

Fernández has a Chilean girlfriend; the couple's first child was born in late 2008. He was fined for speeding when he was driving from Santiago to Viña del Mar, to witness his child's birth.^[8]

Before moving to Europe he was often compared to compatriot David Pizarro, who spent most of his professional career in Serie A of Italy.^[9]

References

1. ^ Goal against O'Higgins, at YouTube
2. ^ Villarreal sign Chilean starlet; UEFA.com, 28 December 2006
3. ^ La Liga round-up: Villarreal put Barcelona's celebrations on hold; Inside World Soccer, 11 May 2009
4. ^ Sporting give Fernández a chance; UEFA.com, 1 July 2009
5. ^ "Comunicado [Announcement]" (in Portuguese). CMVM. 1 July 2009. http://web3.cmvm.pt/english/sdi2004/emitentes/docs/FR24492.pdf. Retrieved 4 October 2010. 
6. ^ Sporting 3-0 Everton (agg 4-2); BBC Sport, 25 February 2010
7. ^ Matías Fernández – FIFA competition record
8. ^ Matías Fernández became a father and was fined ESPNdeportes (Spanish)
9. ^ Matías Fernández: Genius, scorer and presence (Spanish)

External links

• Statistics at Irish Times
• BDFutbol profile
• Stats and profile at Zerozero
• Matías Fernández at National-Football-Teams.com

Persondata
Name	Fernandez, Matias
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	15 May 1986
Place of birth	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Date of death
Place of death