Abelardo Fernández

Abelardo

Abelardo training with Barcelona in 2000
Personal information
Full nameAbelardo Fernández Antuña
Date of birth19 April 1970
Place of birthGijón, Spain
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing positionCentre back
Club information
Current team
Sporting Gijón (coach)
Youth career
1985–1986La Braña
1986–1988Estudiantes Somió
1988–1989Sporting Gijón
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1989–1994Sporting Gijón179(13)
1994–2002Barcelona178(11)
2002–2003Alavés28(0)
Total385(24)
National team
1990Spain U201(0)
1990–1991Spain U216(1)
1991–1992Spain U2312(5)
1991–2001Spain54(3)
2002Asturias1(1)
Teams managed
2008–2010Sporting B
2010–2011Candás
2011–2012Tuilla
2012Sporting Gijón (assistant)
2012–2014Sporting B
2014–Sporting Gijón
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).
This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Fernández and the second or maternal family name is Antuña.

Abelardo Fernández Antuña (Spanish pronunciation: [aβeˈlarðo ferˈnandeθ anˈtuɲa]; born 19 April 1970), simply known as Abelardo, is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a central defender, and the current coach of Sporting de Gijón.

A player with good heading and marking ability, he was also known for a distinctive bald head, a style which he adopted from a relatively young age. During his career he was almost exclusively associated with Sporting de Gijón and FC Barcelona, having amassed La Liga totals of 385 games and 24 goals over the course of 14 seasons.

Having won nearly 60 caps for Spain in one full decade, Abelardo represented the nation in two World Cups and as many European Championships.

Club career

Born in Gijón, Asturias, Abelardo started his professional career with local Sporting de Gijón, with which he made his La Liga debuts. Signing with FC Barcelona for the 1994–95 season in a 275 million pesetas deal, he was always an important first team element, helping the Catalans to two leagues, cups and supercups, adding another two European trophies. However, he was greatly hampered by injuries in his final years at the Camp Nou.[1]

Aged 32, Abelardo joined Deportivo Alavés, initially signing a two-year deal[2] but retiring after just one season[3] due to a recurrent knee injury, which had already bothered him at Barcelona.[4]

Subsequently he took up coaching, starting with his first team's B-side in 2008. Midway through his second year he was fired, with the club managing to retain its third division status nonetheless. In the 2010 summer he moved to another club in the region, amateurs Candás CF.

Fernández signed for CD Tuilla for the 2011–12 season – also in Asturias and the fourth level – winning the Copa Federación de España (Asturias tournament). On 10 February 2012, former team Sporting Gijón hired him as an assistant coach after Iñaki Tejada was appointed following the departure of Manolo Preciado.[5]

Abelardo returned to head coach duties and Sporting B for the 2012–13 campaign.[6] Late into the following season he led the team to a 4–1 away win over neighbouring Real Oviedo and, one week later, replaced sacked José Ramón Sandoval at the helm of the main squad.[7]

International career

Abelardo made his debut for the Spanish national team on 4 September 1991, in a friendly against Uruguay in Oviedo.[8] He went on to collect 54 caps with three goals, and was a participant at the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cups and UEFA Euro 1996 and 2000.

He was also an essential member of the squad that won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, netting in both the semifinals (2–0, Ghana) and the final (3–2 over Poland).[9]

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 12 October 1991 Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain  France 1–2 1–2 Euro 1992 qualifying
2. 13 November 1991 Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville, Spain  Czechoslovakia 1–0 2–1 Euro 1992 qualifying
3. 29 March 2000 Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain  Italy 2–0 2–0 Friendly

Honours

Player

Club

Barcelona

Country

Manager

Candás
Tuilla

References

  1. ↑ Injury woe for Abelardo; UEFA.com, 9 January 2002
  2. ↑ Alavés take on Abelardo; UEFA.com, 4 June 2002
  3. ↑ Abelardo ready to say adiós; UEFA.com, 4 June 2003
  4. ↑ Abelardo on the mend; UEFA.com, 22 January 2002
  5. ↑ "Abelardo se incorpora al primer equipo como segundo entrenador" [Abelardo joins first team as assistant coach] (in Spanish). Sporting's official website. 10 February 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  6. ↑ Vega-Arango anuncia que se bajará el precio de los abonos (Vega-Arango announces season tickets will be cheaper); Sporting's official website, 22 May 2012 (Spanish)
  7. ↑ Abelardo Fernández sustituye a Sandoval como entrenador del Sporting (Abelardo Fernández replaces Sandoval as Sporting coach); Sporting's official website, 4 May 2014 (Spanish)
  8. ↑ "Tiempo de llorar, tiempo de soñar" [A time to cry, a time to dream] (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 5 September 1991. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  9. ↑ "El triunfo en el fútbol, broche de oro para España en Barcelona 92" [Football win, icing on the cake for Spain in Barcelona 92] (in Spanish). Dame Un Silbidito. April 2010. Retrieved 20 March 2014.

External links

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