Roberto Júnior Fernández Torres (born 29 March 1988), better known as Gatito Fernández, is a Paraguayan footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Paraguayan Primera División club Cerro Porteño and the Paraguay national team.
.png) Fernández with Cerro Porteño in 2014 | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Roberto Júnior Fernández Torres[1] | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 29 March 1988 | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Asunción, Paraguay | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | |||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | |||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||
Current team | Cerro Porteño | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| 2000–2007 | Cerro Porteño | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 2007–2014 | Cerro Porteño | 122 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | → Estudiantes (loan) | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | → Racing Club (loan) | 15 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | → Utrecht (loan) | 13 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Vitória | 39 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2016 | Figueirense | 28 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2017–2024 | Botafogo | 114 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2025– | Cerro Porteño | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||
| 2007 | Paraguay U20 | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2011– | Paraguay | 24 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2024 | Paraguay Olympic (O.P.) | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 26 December 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 November 2024 | ||||||||||||||
He is known as Gatito (English: little cat or kitten) for being the son of former Paraguayan 1986 World Cup goalkeeper Roberto Fernández, nicknamed Gato (English: cat). Because of his father, who was a goalkeeper at Brazilian clubs, such as Internacional and Palmeiras, Gatito had lived in Brazil before his professional days.[2]
Club career
editEarlier career
editFernández started his professional career with Paraguayan Primera División club Cerro Porteño in 2007. He became Paraguayan champion with the club in the 2009 Apertura. Following the achievement, he joined Argentine Primera División side Estudiantes de La Plata. After a season in the club without any first team appearance, he joined Racing.[3]
Utrecht (loan)
editIn August 2011, FC Utrecht announced to have signed Fernández on loan for one year to cover a possible departure of Michel Vorm. [4]
Botafogo
editOn 26 November 2016 Fernandéz signed with Botafogo, on a free transfer, a two-year contract until December 2018.[5]
On 9 April 2018, after good performances in the 2017 Copa Libertadores and 2018 Campeonato Carioca, Botafogo extended contract with Fernandéz until December 2021.[6][7]
On 6 October 2022, he became the foreign player with the most appearances for Botafogo, surpassing his teammate Joel Carli with 188 games.[8]
On February 2, 2023, Gatito Fernández signed a contract renewal until the end of 2024 with Botafogo.[9]
On July 19, Gatito Fernández returned to play for Botafogo in a 1-1 draw against the Argentine team Patronato, a game valid for the Copa Sudamericana.[10] The game marked Gatito's return after eight months without playing. Although the goalkeeper had been fully recovered for months from the injury suffered in a game against Atlético Minero at the end of the previous year, his return to the field took a while to happen due to the good performances of his teammate Lucas Perri, who ended up taking over as the starting goalkeeper for Botafogo.
At the end of the season his contract was not renewed, so during his time at the Rio de Janeiro club, he played 218 matches, becoming the sixth goalkeeper with the most games in Botafogo's history.[11]
International career
editHe debuted with the Paraguayan U20 national team in the 2007 South American Youth Championship replacing injured Blas Hermosilla. He was selected for Paraguay senior squad for the 2011 Copa América. He was an un-used substitute for the squad as they finished the tournament as the runner-up.
Career statistics
editClub
edit| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | State League | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Cerro Porteño | 2007 | Paraguayan Primera División | 12 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | ||||
| 2008 | 35 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 35 | 0 | ||||||
| 2009 | 22 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 22 | 0 | ||||||
| 2012 | 5 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||||
| 2013 | 37 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | — | — | 39 | 0 | |||||
| 2014 | 11 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 122 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | — | — | 134 | 0 | |||||
| Estudiantes (loan) | 2009–10 | Argentine Primera División | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Racing Club (loan) | 2010–11 | 15 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 15 | 0 | |||||
| Utrecht (loan) | 2011–12 | Eredivisie | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| Vitória | 2014 | Série A | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | |
| 2015 | Série B | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 24 | 0 | |||
| Total | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 43 | 0 | |||
| Figueirense | 2016 | Série A | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 16[b] | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 49 | 0 |
| Botafogo | 2017 | 31 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 13[d] | 0 | 9[e] | 0 | 1 | 0 | 60 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 9[e] | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | |||
| 2019 | 30 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6[a] | 0 | 8[e] | 0 | — | 48 | 0 | |||
| 2020 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 8[e] | 0 | 3 | 0 | 25 | 0 | |||
| 2021 | Série B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0[e] | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2022 | Série A | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 10[e] | 0 | — | 44 | 0 | |||
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | ||
| Total | 114 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 57 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 222 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 331 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 71 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 476 | 0 | ||
- ^ a b c d e f Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana.
- ^ Appearance(s) in Campeonato Catarinense.
- ^ Appearance(s) in Primeira Liga.
- ^ Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores.
- ^ a b c d e f Appearance(s) in friendly games.
International
edit- As of match played 19 November 2024.
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paraguay | 2013 | 1 | 0 |
| 2014 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 6 | 0 | |
| Total | 24 | 0 | |
Honours
editClub
editCerro Porteño
Estudiantes de la Plata
- FIFA Club World Cup Runner-up: 2009
Botafogo
- Copa Libertadores: 2024
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2024
- Campeonato Carioca: 2018
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série B: 2021
- Taça Rio: 2023, 2024
International
editParaguay
- Copa América Runner-up: 2011
Individual
edit- Copa do Brasil Best Goalkeeper: 2017
- Troféu EFE Brasil: 2017 [14]
References
edit- ^ "Men's Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024 – Squad List: Paraguay (PAR)" (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
- ^ Inquieto, Gatito dava problema na escola e morou no RS por causa do pai
- ^ "Llegó el arquero Fernández a Racing". ESPN Deportes (in Spanish). 16 July 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
- ^ FC Utrecht rondt komst van doelman Fernández af - Voetbal International (in Dutch)
- ^ "Gatito Fernández assina por dois anos e acerta com o Botafogo até 2018". Globoesporte.com. 26 November 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
- ^ "Um dos heróis do título, Gatito renova com o Botafogo por mais três anos". Globoesporte.com. 9 April 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
- ^ "Botafogo renova com Gatito Fernández até o final de 2021". ESPN.com.br. 9 April 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
- ^ "Gatito bate recorde de jogos de um estrangeiro pelo Botafogo". Globoesporte.com. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- ^ Redação (2 February 2023). "Botafogo anuncia renovação de Gatito Fernández; novo contrato vale até 2024". Fogo na Rede (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 6 April 2024.
- ^ "Gatito comemora 'estreia' pelo Botafogo contra Patronato: 'Estava ansioso para o jogo'". Fogo na Rede (in Brazilian Portuguese). 20 July 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
- ^ https://jovempan.com.br/esportes/futebol/cerro-porteno-anuncia-contratacao-de-gatito-fernandez-e-surpreende-torcedores-do-botafogo.html
- ^ "Gatito Fernández :: Roberto Júnior Fernández Torres :: Botafogo". www.ogol.com.br. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
- ^ Gatito Fernández at Soccerway
- ^ [1] - UOL (in Portuguese)
External links
edit- Argentine Primera statistics at Fútbol XXI (in Spanish) at the Wayback Machine (archived 31 August 2012)
- Roberto Junior Fernandez at BDFA (in Spanish)
- Roberto Junior Fernandez at Soccerway