Rowen Fernández

Football player infobox
playername = Rowen Fernández


fullname = Rowen Fernández
nickname = Spider
height = height|m=1.89
weight =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1978|2|28
cityofbirth = Springs
countryofbirth = South Africa
currentclub = Arminia Bielefeld
clubnumber = 1
position = Goalkeeper
youthyears =
youthclubs = Benoni Northerns
years = 1996–2001 2001–2007 2007–
clubs = Wits University Kaizer Chiefs Arminia Bielefeld
caps(goals) = 100 (0)
114 (2)
015 (0)
nationalyears = 2004–
nationalteam = South Africa
nationalcaps(goals) = 16 (0)
pcupdate = 22 May, 2008
ntupdate = 29 July, 2008

Rowen Fernández (born February 28, 1978 in Springs, Gauteng) is a South African football (soccer) player who plays as a Goalkeeper for Arminia Bielefeld in the German Bundesliga and South Africa. He is known for his ability to save penalties and his accurate goal kicks.

Rowen Fernández was signed from Wits University along with midfielder Stanton Fredericks by Kaizer Chiefs in 2001 following a great season with "The Students". Rowen was to be an understudy to Brian Baloyi who was on the verge of landing a lucrative contract in Europe.

Fernández initially struggled to break into the first team, as Baloyi put up solid performances week in and week out. The big break finally came, when he made his debut Vodacom Challenge against Ghanaian side Hearts of Oak at Royal Bafokeng Stadium on June 30, 2001. Chiefs won the game 2–0. He made his PSL debut for Chiefs in a 2–1 win against Classic on August 22, 2001.

“Spider”, as he is known due to his amazing love for creepy crawlies (snakes and spiders), was hospitalized in April 2003 after he was bitten by one of his spiders. He had also battled to command a first team place in the same season and only got a run in the 5–0 ABSA Cup first round victory against Sporting at Ellis Park.

However, the 2003–04 season started off very well for Fernández who was handed the number one jersey as Baloyi struggled with a niggling injury.

The former national under-23 star began his playing career at Benoni amateur side "Benoni Northerns" before joining Wits where he caught the eye of the under-23 selectors. He has six under-23 caps under his belt.

He made his full international debut in a 2–0 win against Tunisia in August 2004. He has a high probability of participating at the 2010 FIFA World Cup to be held in South Africa.

During the 2006–2007 season he scored two goals.He kicked his way into the history books in February 2007 when he pounced on the rebound, after Brian Baloyi of Mamelodi Sundowns could only parry his retaken spot kick and knocked the ball home from close range. The fact that Rowen had missed the kick and scored on the rebound meant that his thirty second minute equalizer against Sundowns was not classified as a penalty, but instead it was recorded as a goal scored from open play. [cite web | url = http://www.kaizerchiefs.com/default.asp?AID=203916 | title = Fernandez joy turns to despair | date = 2007-02-05 | accessdate = 2008-05-22 | publisher = www.kaizerchiefs.com] The other goal resulted from a spot kick in a match against his former club Wits in September 2006. [cite web | url =http://www.kaizerchiefs.com/default.asp?AID=191392| title = Clever Boys outwit Chiefs | date = 2006-09-20 | accessdate = 2008-05-22 | publisher = www.kaizerchiefs.com]

Rowen Fernández joined German Bundesliga side Arminia Bielefeld in June 2007 on a free transfer after being out of contract with Chiefs to team up with former Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp who then coached Arminia.

References