Dani Fernández (footballer, born 1983)

Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Fernández was the youngest of three brothers, seven and nine years older.[1] He started his football career at the cantera of local FC Barcelona, starting as a striker, then midfielder and finally defender.[2]

In the summer of 2002, Fernández joined FC Barcelona B, where he played during the next four years, always in the third division. In the 2004–05 pre-season he was invited to the first team by manager Frank Rijkaard, and appeared in friendlies with CD Banyoles, UE Figueres and Palamós CF, adding one official match on 15 November 2005, the Copa Catalunya semi-final against Gimnàstic de Tarragona.[3][4]

After playing for Barcelona for 14 years, Fernández was ready for a new challenge. In June 2006, he signed a three-year deal with Ukrainian club FC Metalurh Donetsk.[5] The defender followed former Barcelona player Jordi Cruyff and manager Pichi Alonso to Donetsk, and made his official debut on 19 August in the Premier League game against FC Shakhtar Donetsk (0–0).[6]

Due to disappointing results, Alonso was replaced by Dutch Co Adriaanse in December 2006, and Fernández was not a big fan of the new manager: "It was not easy to get along with him. It really took some time to get used to him."[7] In December 2007 Metalurh Donetsk found itself in a crisis, and decided to seize all operations with the club's vice president, Dmitry Selyuk; this led to the departure of almost all foreign players.

Selyuk turned out to be the owner of various player's transfer rights, including Fernández's, and the former placed the latter at another Ukrainian team, FC Arsenal Kyiv. However, the player did not appear in a single match for them as both he and his wife were having a hard time adjusting to the country's lifestyle; after one and a half year, he requested a transfer.[2]

On 17 January 2008, Fernández joined Eredivisie side N.E.C. Nijmegen on loan.[8] Manager Mario Been had been tipped by former Feyenoord youth coach Henk van Stee, the manager of Shakhtar's youth academy;[2] however, due to N.E.C.'s good performances after the winter break, the player had a hard time fighting himself into the first team,[7] and only played four league games.

Despite Fernández's position on the bench, Been was very satisfied with the progress the Spanish made. After the departure of starting right-back Muslu Nalbantoğlu to Kayserispor at the end of 2007–08, N.E.C. decided to offer him an extended loan deal for another season.[7] He quickly became a first-team regular, appearing in 30 matches during the campaign.

In early June 2009, Fernández followed former manager Been to Feyenoord,[9] where he only played five games before suffering two serious knee injuries, which kept him off the pitch for nearly two years.[10]