Esteban Óscar Fuertes (born 26 December 1972) is an Argentine former
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
.
Club career
In July 1999, Fuertes was purchased for £2.3m by
Jim Smith, manager of
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 1884 ...
in England. He scored two early goals, the winner against Everton in the league and another against
Swansea City in the League Cup. However, weeks later, he was
refused entry back into Britain when immigration officials discovered that his Italian passport was forged. Derby were able to sell him on to
Lens
A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...
in France for £2.8m.
Fuertes retired from professional football on 25 June 2012 in a match against
Banfield scoring two goals. A year following his retirement, Fuertes signed a six-month contract for Bolivian side
Sport Boys Warnes
Club Sport Boys Warnes is a professional football team based in Warnes, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia that competes in the Bolivian Primera División.
History
The club was founded on 17 August 1954. The club reached in 2013 the second pla ...
which had been recently promoted to the
Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano
Liga or LIGA may refer to:
People
* Līga (name), a Latvian female given name
* Luciano Ligabue, more commonly known as Ligabue or ''Liga'', Italian rock singer-songwriter
Sports
* Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain
* Liga ...
. He officially retired on 6 December 2013 after 11 appearances and 3 goals scored for the club.
International career
On 20 May 2009 Fuertes made his international debut in a friendly match against
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
aged 36, making him the oldest player ever to make his debut for the
Argentina national team.
El "Bichi" Fuertes se convirtió en el jugador "más viejo" en debutar en la Selección
at El Argento The Argentina team made up of players based in the Primera División Argentina
Primera may refer to
* Nissan Primera, a car
* Primera Air, a former airline
* Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues
* Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas
* Alí Primera, Venezuelan musician, compos ...
won the game 3–1.
References
External links
Statistics
at Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
BDFA profile
Esteban Fuertes – Argentine Primera statistics
at Fútbol XXI
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuertes, Esteban
Living people
1972 births
Argentine footballers
Argentine expatriate footballers
Argentina international footballers
Argentine Primera División players
Club Atlético Independiente footballers
El Porvenir footballers
Club Atlético Los Andes footballers
Club Atlético Platense footballers
Racing Club de Avellaneda footballers
Club Atlético Colón footballers
Club Atlético River Plate footballers
Premier League players
Derby County F.C. players
RC Lens players
Ligue 1 players
La Liga players
CD Tenerife players
Club Deportivo Universidad Católica footballers
Sportspeople from Buenos Aires Province
Expatriate footballers in England
Expatriate footballers in France
Expatriate footballers in Chile
Expatriate footballers in Spain
Expatriate football managers in Chile
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in France
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in England
Association football forwards
Argentine football managers
Club Atlético Colón managers