Fernando Ernesto Espinosa Moreira (1 February 1949 – 16 May 2023), frequently and wrongly named as Fernando Espinoza, was a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

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 ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for clubs in Chile and Guatemala.

Club career

At youth level, Espinosa was with Población Alessandri from

Estación Central Estación Central ((), Spanish for "central station") is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. Its namesake is the Estación Central railway station located in the commune. Demographics According to the ...

Santiago Wanderers Club de Deportes Santiago Wanderers is a football club based in Valparaíso, a founding member of the Chilean Football Federation. Their home ground, Estadio Elías Figueroa Brander, is in the north-west of the city. Wanderers have played their ...

and Universidad Técnica. He made his senior debut with Universidad Técnica in the 1968 Segunda División. In that division, he also played for

Deportes Linares Deportes Linares is a Chilean Football club, their home town is Linares in Chile and play in the 3rd tier of Chilean football, the Segunda División. The club was founded on November 19, 1955 as ''Lister Rossel'' (a famous local pediatrician and ...

in 1979. In the

Chilean Primera División The Chilean Primera División (English: First Division) is the top-tier league of the Chilean football league system. It is organized by the ''Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, ANFP''. The league is known as the Campeonato AFP PlanVital ...

, he played for Magallanes,

Palestino Club Deportivo Palestino is a professional football club based in the city of Santiago, Chile. The club was founded in 1920 and plays in the Primera División de Chile. They play their home games at the Estadio Municipal de La Cisterna stadium ...

and

Naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

, his last club in 1980. He stood out as a player of Magallanes, becoming the league top goalscorer in the 1972 season with 25 goals. Abroad, he played for Guatemalan Liga Nacional side

Tipografía Nacional Tipografía Nacional is a football club based in Guatemala City, Guatemala. It was one of the most traditional teams in the country in the 20th Century, and it remains the fourth-most successful club in the history of Guatemalan football in terms ...

in 1978.

International career

Espinosa made four appearances for the Chile national team during 1972 in A-class matches against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

twice,

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. He also played in the unofficial match against

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

on 14 February 1973, a 10–1 win, scoring five goals.

Personal life

He was nicknamed ''Polilla'' (Moth), an inherited nickname from his older brother, Hernán. He died on 22 May 2023.

References

External links

Fernando Espinosa
at PlaymakerStats.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Espinosa, Fernando 1949 births 2023 deaths Footballers from Santiago Chilean men's footballers Chilean expatriate men's footballers Chile men's international footballers Primera B de Chile players Deportes Linares footballers Chilean Primera División players Deportes Magallanes footballers Club Deportivo Palestino footballers Santiago Wanderers footballers Naval de Talcahuano footballers Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala players Tipografía Nacional players Expatriate men's footballers in Guatemala Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Guatemala Men's association football forwards People from Santiago Province, Chile