Federico Fernández (footballer)

Federico Fernández (American Spanish: [feðeˈɾiko feɾˈnandes]; born 21 February 1989) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Newcastle United.

Federico Fernández
Fernández playing for Argentina in 2012
Personal information
Full name Federico Fernández[1]
Date of birth (1989-02-21) 21 February 1989
Place of birth Tres Algarrobos, Argentina
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Club information
Current team
 Newcastle United
Number 18
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2011 Estudiantes 59 (4)
2011–2014 Napoli 44 (0)
2013 → Getafe (loan) 14 (1)
2014–2018 Swansea City 118 (2)
2018– Newcastle United 67 (2)
National team‡
2009 Argentina U20 2 (0)
2011–2014 Argentina 32 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:58, 12 January 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:52, 3 September 2014 (UTC)

He began his career at Estudiantes de La Plata, where he reached the final of the Copa Sudamericana and won the Copa Libertadores, before moving to Napoli in 2011. He was used sparingly by the Serie A club, and spent time on loan at Getafe, before joining Swansea City in 2014.

Fernández made his full international debut in 2009 and has since earned over 30 international caps, scoring three goals. He was part of the Argentine squad which reached the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final.

Biography

Federico has Italian origins: his maternal great-grandfather was a native of Lacedonia, in the Province of Avellino.[3] As a result, he has an Italian passport.[4]

Club career

Estudiantes

Fernández made his league debut for Estudiantes de La Plata on 14 September 2008 during the 2008 Apertura tournament in a 1–0 defeat to Vélez Sársfield. He played two games in Estudiantes' run to the final of Copa Sudamericana 2008.

Fernández scored his first goal with the squad in an away match against Lanús on 2 May 2009, following an assist by teammate Juan Sebastián Verón. Later that year, Estudiantes won the 2009 Copa Libertadores, although Fernández's only contributions were two substitute appearances against Defensor Sporting Club in the quarter-finals.

Napoli

Fernández was signed by Serie A club Napoli in December 2010 for a reported fee of about €2.5 million.[5] Due to his lack of a European Union passport, however, he arrived in Italy only in July 2011.[6]

On 2 November 2011, Fernández scored his first two goals for Napoli, against Bayern Munich in a Champions League group stage away tie.[7] Both headers came after Napoli had conceded three times in the first half, although Napoli lost the match 3–2.[8]

Having only made nine appearances across all competitions for Napoli that season, on 31 January 2013 Fernández was loaned to Spanish La Liga club Getafe for the remainder of the campaign, bolstering the club's defence following the sale of David Abraham to 1899 Hoffenheim.[9]

Fernández played the full 90 minutes of the 2014 Coppa Italia Final, which Napoli won 3–1 against Fiorentina.[10]

Swansea City

On 20 August 2014, it was announced that Fernández had signed for Premier League side Swansea City on a four-year contract for €10 million.[11] Six days later, he made his debut for the club, playing the entirety of a 1–0 win over Rotherham United in the second round of the League Cup.[12] His first Premier League appearance for Swansea was on 13 September, replacing Jordi Amat at half-time in a 4–2 defeat away to Chelsea.[13]

Fernández was given a straight red card for a foul on Philippe Coutinho in added time at the end of Swansea's League Cup fourth-round match against Liverpool at Anfield on 28 October; minutes later, Dejan Lovren scored the winner to knock Swansea out of the tournament.[14] Two days later, however, the FA rescinded the red card on appeal from Swansea, thus avoiding a three-match ban for Fernández.[15] On the opening day of the 2015–16 season, he scored an own goal vs Chelsea, in a match that ended 2–2 at Stamford Bridge.[16] He scored his first goal for Swansea on 19 March 2016 in a 1–0 victory over Aston Villa at the Liberty Stadium.[17]

Newcastle United

On 9 August 2018, Fernández joined Newcastle United on a two-year contract. The move reunited him with Rafa Benítez, his manager when both were at Napoli.[18] He scored his first Premier League goal on 2 November 2019 in a 3–2 away win at West Ham United. His second Newcastle goal came in a 2–1 Premier League home win against Southampton.

International career

In January 2009, Fernández was selected to join the Argentina under-20 squad for the 2009 South American Youth Championship in Venezuela.

Fernández made his debut for the Argentina senior team against Ecuador in April 2011. He established himself as a regular in defence during Argentina's successful FIFA World Cup qualification campaign under head coach Alejandro Sabella.[19]

In June 2014, Fernández was named in Argentina's squad for the 2014 World Cup.[20] He made his World Cup debut in Argentina's 2–1 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Maracanã Stadium, playing the full match in defence.[21]

Career statistics
As of 4 October 2020[22]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Estudiantes 2008–09 Argentine Primera División 14200—50192
2009–10 Argentine Primera División 12100—41162
2010–11 Argentine Primera División 33100—121452
Total 59400—212806
Napoli 2011–12 Serie A 16010—22192
2012–13 Serie A 2010—6090
2013–14 Serie A 26040—60360
Total 44060—142642
Getafe (loan) 2012–13 La Liga 14100—00141
Total 14 1 0 0 — 0 0 14 1
Swansea City 2014–15 Premier League 280103000320
2015–16 Premier League 321000000321
2016–17 Premier League 27 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 29 0
2017–18 Premier League 30 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 33 1
2018–19 Championship 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Total 11824050001272
Newcastle United 2018–19 Premier League 190201000220
2019–20 Premier League 322201000352
2020–21 Premier League 4000100050
Total 552403000622
Career total 290101308035434714

Honours

Club

Estudiantes

Napoli

International

Argentina

References
  1. "Squads for 2016/17 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  2. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 11 June 2014. p. 2. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  3. calcionapoli24.it, ed. (6 April 2012). "LE ORIGINI – 'El Flaco' campano, Fernandez e quel trisavolo di Lacedonia."
  4. calciomercatoweb.it, ed. (8 December 2010). "Calciomercato Napoli / Agente Fernandez conferma interesse".
  5. "Todo esto es un sueño y un premio para mí". Diary Hoy (in Spanish). 21 December 2010. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
  6. "Il Napoli gioca in difesa, ecco Fernandez". Sky Italia (in Italian). 26 December 2010. Archived from the original on 3 October 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
  7. "Bayern Munich 3–2 Napoli". The Guardian. London. 2 November 2011.
  8. "Espn Fc". ESPN FC. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  9. Chesters, Heath (31 January 2013). "Getafe loan Napoli defender Fede Fernández". Inside Spanish Football. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  10. "Partenopei come out on top in Coppa Italia final". Goal.com. 3 May 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  11. "World Cup runner-up Fernandez completes Swans switch". Swansea City A.F.C. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  12. "Swansea 1–0 Rotherham". BBC Sport. 26 August 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  13. "Chelsea 4–2 Swansea". BBC Sport. 13 September 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  14. "Liverpool 2–1 Swansea". BBC Sport. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  15. "Swansea City: Federico Fernandez red card overturned by FA". BBC Sport. 30 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  16. "Chelsea 2–2 Swansea". 8 August 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  17. Dafydd Pritchard. "Swansea 1–0 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  18. "Federico Fernandez: Newcastle sign defender from Swansea". BBC Sport. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  19. "Federico Fernandez". FIFA. Archived from the original on 2 July 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  20. "Demichelis in Argentina squad as trio miss out". FIFA. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  21. "Argentina 2–1 Bos-Herce". BBC. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  22. "F. FERNÁNDEZ". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  23. "Estudiantes venció a Cruzeiro 2–1 en Belo Horizonte y se clasificó campeón". afa.org.ar. 15 July 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  24. "Argentina 2010/11". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  25. "F. Fernández". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  26. "Juventus 0 – 2 Napoli". legaseriea.it. 20 May 2012. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  27. "Coppa Italia 2013–14 Fiorentina – Napoi 1–3". legaseriea.it. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  28. "Germany 1 – 0 Argentina". FIFA. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
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