 Fernández playing forCelta in 2013 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Augusto Matías Fernández[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1986-04-10)10 April 1986 (age 39) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Pergamino, Argentina | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Midfielder | |||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005 | River Plate | |||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2009 | River Plate | 79 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Saint-Étienne | 12 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2012 | Vélez Sarsfield | 58 | (11) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2015 | Celta | 114 | (10) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Atlético Madrid | 21 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2020 | Beijing Renhe | 33 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Cádiz | 16 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| Total | 333 | (28) | ||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2016 | Argentina | 16 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||
Augusto Matías Fernández (Latin American Spanish:[awˈɣustomaˈti.asfeɾˈnandes]; born 10 April 1986) is an Argentine former professionalfootballer who played as acentral midfielder.[3]
Born inPergamino, Buenos Aires, Fernández was aRiver Plate youth graduate. He made his first team debut on 29 January 2006, coming on as asubstitute forJonathan Santana in a 5–0 away routing ofTiro Federal.
Fernández scored his first professional goal on 8 April 2007, netting the equalizer in a 1–1 home draw againstBelgrano. With River he won the2008 Clausura underDiego Simeone's coaching, playing on 15 of the 19 games (9 starts).[4]
On 28 August 2009, after fellow ArgentineGonzalo Bergessio joinedAS Saint-Étienne, Fernández arrived to the aforementioned French club.[5] He was loaned to the French club by athird-party owner of his rights, Israeli businessman Pinhas Zahavi.
Fernández made hisLigue 1 debut on 13 September 2009, starting in a 0–1 loss atStade Rennais, and scored his first goal in the category roughly a month later in a 3–1 home win againstFC Girondins de Bordeaux. However, he only appeared in 12 matches duringthe campaign, as his side narrowly avoided relegation.
On 9 July 2010, Fernández signed a three-year deal withArgentine Primera División sideVélez Sarsfield, who bought 100% of his rights from Pinhas Zahavi for a fee ofUS$1.5 million.[6][7] In his first tournament with his new club, the2010 Apertura, he played 12 games (all as a starter) on Vélez' runner-up campaign.[8]
Fernández totalled 17 games (over 19) and 4 goals in his team's2011 Clausura-winning campaign,[9] and 10 games (over 12) and 4 goals in theirCopa Libertadores semi-finalist campaign. During the semester, he scored in 57 days twice as many goals as he had during his entire professional career: 3 in the Copa Libertadores and another 3 in the Argentine league.[10][11] AgainstL.D.U. Quito in the Copa Libertadores round of 16, he also scored his first double.[12]
On 8 August 2012, Fernández joined newly promotedLa Liga clubCelta de Vigo on a four-year deal.[13] He made his debut in the category ten days later, starting in a 0–1 home loss againstMálaga CF.
Fernández scored his first goal in the main category of Spanish football on 22 September 2012, netting the first in a 2–1 home success overGetafe CF. He finishedthe season as an ever-present figure for theGalicians, appearing in 36 matches and scoring six goals as his side narrowly avoided relegation.
Fernández was still a first-choice in the following campaigns, with the side now finishing in mid-table positions. On 3 October 2014, he was appointedcaptain of the club, replacingBorja Oubiña.[14]
On 1 January 2016, Fernández joinedAtlético Madrid on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee, mainly as a cover to the injuredTiago.[15] He made his debut 5 days later, playing 57 minutes of aCopa del Rey draw away toRayo Vallecano before being replaced byLuciano Vietto; he made his first league appearance for the club on 11 January, against Celta, his former team. Later, he started in the2016 Champions League final, although he was substituted off at half-time. He only made 8 appearances in the following seasons with theRojiblancos.
On 31 January 2018, Fernández signed withChinese Super League clubBeijing Renhe on an undisclosed fee.[16]
On 23 June 2020, Fernández returned to Spain and joinedSegunda División sideCádiz CF for the remainder ofthe season.[17] He signed an extension for thefollowing season later, with the club achieving promotion to the La Liga. On 21 May 2021, after securing first division football for the upcoming season, Fernández announced his retirement from football.[18]
Fernández made his full international debut forArgentina on 15 September 2011, starting in a 0–0Superclásico de las Américas home draw againstBrazil. On 2 June 2014 he was included inAlejandro Sabella's final 23-man squad forthe year'sFIFA World Cup,[19] but was only an unused substitute during the whole tournament. In May 2016, he was included inGerardo Martino's 23-man Argentina squad for theCopa América Centenario, being a starter for most of the tournament before missing the final after getting injured in the semifinal match.[20]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | International | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| River Plate | 2005–06 | Argentine Primera División | 13 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
| 2006–07 | Argentine Primera División | 13 | 2 | — | 6[b] | 0 | 19 | 2 | ||
| 2007–08 | Argentine Primera División | 31 | 1 | — | 8[c] | 0 | 39 | 1 | ||
| 2008–09 | Argentine Primera División | 21 | 0 | — | 2[d] | 0 | 23 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | Argentine Primera División | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 79 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 97 | 3 | ||
| Saint-Étienne | 2009–10 | Ligue 1 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 14 | 1 | |
| Vélez Sarsfield | 2010–11 | Argentine Primera División | 29 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11[e] | 4 | 40 | 8 |
| 2011–12 | Argentine Primera División | 29 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 17[f] | 3 | 46 | 10 | |
| Total | 58 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 7 | 86 | 18 | ||
| Celta de Vigo | 2012–13 | La Liga | 36 | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | 39 | 3 | |
| 2013–14 | La Liga | 33 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 33 | 2 | ||
| 2014–15 | La Liga | 30 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 34 | 1 | ||
| 2015–16 | La Liga | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 16 | 1 | ||
| Total | 114 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 122 | 10 | ||
| Atlético Madrid | 2015–16 | La Liga | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6[g] | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| 2016–17 | La Liga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2017–18 | La Liga | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1[g] | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| Total | 21 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 34 | 0 | ||
| Beijing Renhe | 2018 | Chinese Super League | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 23 | 2 | |
| 2019 | Chinese Super League | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 11 | 1 | ||
| Total | 33 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 3 | ||
| Cádiz | 2019–20 | Segunda División | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
| 2020–21 | La Liga | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | ||
| Total | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||
| Career Total | 333 | 28 | 17 | 0 | 53 | 7 | 403 | 35 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 2011 | 2 | 0 |
| 2012 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 6 | 0 | |
| Total | 16 | 1 | |
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 14 June 2013 | Estadio Mateo Flores,Guatemala City,Guatemala |  Guatemala | 2–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
River Plate
Vélez Sársfield
Atletico Madrid
Argentina
Argentina squads | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
