Roberto Fernández (footballer, born 1954) explained

Roberto Fernández
Fullname:Roberto Eladio Fernández Roa
Birth Date:9 July 1954
Height:1.91m (06.27feet)
Years1:1973–1976
Years2:1976
Years3:1976–1978
Years4:1978–1984
Years5:1984–1986
Years6:1988
Years7:1989–1991
Years8:1991–1993
Years9:1994
Years10:1995–1997
Clubs1:River Plate Asunción
Caps2:2
Goals2:0
Caps3:31
Goals3:0
Caps4:182
Goals4:0
Caps5:32
Goals5:0
Clubs6:Libertad
Clubs7:Cerro Porteño
Caps8:38
Goals8:0
Caps9:4
Goals9:0
Nationalyears1:1976–1989
Nationalcaps1:78
Nationalgoals1:0
Pcupdate:April 2008

Roberto Eladio Fernández Roa, also known as Gato Fernández, (born 9 July 1954) is a retired football goalkeeper from Paraguay. He was capped 78 times for the Paraguay national football team in an international career that lasted from 1976 to 1989.[1] He was also a member of the Paraguayan team that won the 1979 Copa América.[2] He earned the nickname "El Gato" (The Cat) for his outstanding stretching saves.

Club career

Fernández began his career, debuting professionally, at the age of 17 for Club River Plate of Paraguay. Some of his clubs include Cerro Porteño, Deportivo Cali, RCD Espanyol, Internacional and Palmeiras. He made his international debut for the Paraguay national football team on 10 March 1976 in a Copa del Atlántico match against Uruguay (2–2).

Fernández played his final professional game in 1997 (Cerro Porteño vs. Sportivo Luqueño) at the age of 43, making him the oldest goalkeeper to play professionally in Paraguayan football history.

International career

During the late 1970s to the mid to late 1980s, his only challenger in goal for the Paraguay national team was Ever Hugo Almeida. Finally, in the late 1980s, Fernández became the back-up to Jose Luis Chilavert.

During the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, Fernández started for Paraguay in all four games. He stopped a penalty kick from Mexican Hugo Sánchez to hold the host team to a 1–1 draw.

Retirement

After retiring, Fernández dedicated himself to working as a board of director at his original club (River Plate of Paraguay), and representing other footballers. His son, Gatito Fernández, is a professional goalkeeper, currently in the registry of Botafogo in Brazil.

Honours

Club

Cerro Porteño

1990, 1996

Internacional

1991, 1992

1992

Palmeiras

1994

1994

International

Paraguay

1979

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/para-recintlp.html rsssf: Paraguay record international footballers
  2. https://www.rsssf.org/tables/79safull.html rsssf: Copa América 1979