Personal information | |||
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Full name | Matías Ariel Fernández Fernández | ||
Date of birth | 15 May 1986 | ||
Place of birth | Buenos Aires, Argentina | ||
Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
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). |
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.
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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.
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.
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]
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]
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]
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]
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