Raúl Omar Fernández Valverde (; born 6 October 1985 in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

, Peru) is a professional Peruvian

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 currently plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for

Atlético Grau Club Atlético Grau is a Peruvian football club, playing in the city of Piura, Peru. The club was founded in 1919 and play in the Liga 1 tournament. History Founding The club was founded on June 5, 1919 as Club Miguel Grau by Guillermo Herrera ...

in the Peruvian first division league.

Club career

Universitario de Deportes

Fernández got his start in the youth system of

Universitario de Deportes Club Universitario de Deportes, popularly known as Universitario or simply as La "U", is a Peruvian football club located in Lima. The club was founded in 1924 under the name Federación Universitaria by students of the National University of S ...

. He made his professional debut with the club in a 1–1 draw with

Unión Huaral Club Unión Huaral is a Peruvian football club, from the city of Huaral. It was founded in 1947 and plays in Peru's Segunda División. History The club was the 1976 and 1989 Peruvian Primera División champion. They were the first club to tak ...

on 31 July 2005. He spent half of the 2006 season playing for

Sport Áncash Club Sport Áncash is a Peruvian football club, playing in the city of Huaraz. Sport Áncash was founded on April 22, 1967. The team plays its home games at Rosas Pampa stadium. History Beginnings The club was founded in 1960 by a group of youn ...

but returned to Universitario the following season. After Juan Flores left Universitario to sign with

Cienciano Club Sportivo Cienciano is a professional football club based in Cusco, Peru that currently plays in the Peruvian Primera División. The club was founded in 1901 by a group of students of the ''Colegio Nacional Ciencias del Cusco'' (National S ...

for the 2007 season, José Carvallo took over as the team's starting goalkeeper over Fernández. On 22 September 2007, the coach, Julio Gómez, decided to give Fernández his first start of the season against

Total Clean Total Chalaco was a professional Peruvian football club based in Callao. The club last played in the Peruvian Primera División in 2010. They placed last and were relegated and subsequently dissolved. The club was founded as Total Clean FBC, and ...

. Universitario won the match 0–1 and Fernández became the starting goalkeeper for the team after that game. In 2008, Fernández helped his team win the Torneo Apertura 2008, with

Ricardo Gareca Ricardo Alberto Gareca Nardi (; born 10 February 1958), nicknamed ''el Tigre'' and ''el Flaco'' ("Tiger " and "Slim"), is an Argentine football manager and former player. Gareca was the manager of the Peru national team, with his contract endi ...

as his coach. His strong performances earned him the nickname 'Superman' and he was chosen as the Goalkeeper of the Year for the 2008 season. In 2009, Universitario won the

2009 Torneo Descentralizado The 2009 Torneo Descentralizado de Fútbol Profesional (known as the Copa Cable Mágico for sponsorship reasons) was the 93rd season of Association Peruvian football. A total of 16 teams competed in the tournament. The season began on February 14 ...

after defeating their local rival,

Alianza Lima Club Alianza Lima, popularly known as Alianza Lima or simply Alianza, is a Peruvian professional sports club based in La Victoria District of Lima, Peru. It is widely known for having one of the most historical and successful football teams i ...

, in a playoff series to conclude a season where Fernández was considered a key factor for the team's success. His performances throughout the year, especially in the first playoff game against Alianza Lima got the attention of international scouts who would later contact him from various clubs in Europe. He was named the Goalkeeper of the Year and Player of the Year for the 2009 Peruvian domestic league.

OGC Nice

Fernández signed with French club

OGC Nice Olympique Gymnaste Club Nice Côte d'Azur (), commonly referred to as OGC Nice or simply Nice, is a French professional football club based in Nice. The club was founded in 1904 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the top tier of French football. ...

in December 2010. However,

opted to take him on loan for the first six months of his deal. He made his debut for Nice in the third round of the

2011–12 Coupe de la Ligue The 2011–12 Coupe de la Ligue was the 18th edition of the French league cup competition. The defending champions were Marseille, who defeated Montpellier 1–0 in the 2010–11 edition of the final. The competition was organized by the Ligue de ...

, in a 1–2 victory against

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

. He was Nice's match hero against

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

when he stopped a penalty during shoot-outs to help his team advance to the semifinals of the same tournament. He had limited appearances during his time with the club, who had

David Ospina David Ospina Ramírez (born 31 August 1988) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Saudi Professional League club Al Nassr and the Colombia national team. Ospina began his career at Atlético Nacional, making his ...

as their starting goalkeeper.

FC Dallas

Fernández signed with FC Dallas on 10 January 2013. He made his regular-season debut on the club's opening match for the 2013 season in a 1–0 victory versus

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, la ...

. Due to his good performances for the club, he was voted by the fans to be the starting goalkeeper for the MLS All-Stars roster in the

2013 MLS All-Star Game The 2013 Major League Soccer All-Star Game, held on July 31, 2013, was the 18th annual Major League Soccer All-Star Game, a soccer match involving all-stars from Major League Soccer. The game was played at Sporting Park, now known as Children's ...

. After two seasons with Dallas, Fernández was released at the end of the 2014 season following the team's acquisition of Dan Kennedy.

Universitario de Deportes

Fernández returned to Universitario after signing a four-year contract in January 2015. In 2016, playing against

Juan Aurich Club Juan Aurich S. A., commonly known as Juan Aurich, is a professional football club based in Chiclayo, Peru. The original Juan Aurich club was founded in 1922, this incarnation however was founded in 2005; they play in the Torneo Descentral ...

, he crashed with a teammate and suffered a knee injury that kept him sidelined for months. Despite the absence of Fernández, Universitario won the 2016 Torneo Apertura with

Carlos Cáceda Carlos Alberto Cáceda Ollaguez (born 27 September 1991) is a Peruvian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Melgar. Cáceda is known as a secured goal-stopper with quick reflexes and a speedy pace to rush off his line. He played all games ...

taking over as the new starting goalkeeper. He was heavily blamed for Universitario's exit from the

2018 Copa Libertadores The 2018 Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores was the 59th edition of the CONMEBOL Libertadores (also referred to as the ''Copa Libertadores''), South America's premier club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. River Plate defeated Boca Juniors in ...

after a costly error on the final minutes of the second leg game of the first stage allowed

Oriente Petrolero Club Deportivo Oriente Petrolero () is a Bolivian football club based in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. They play at the 38,000-capacity Estadio Tahuichi Aguilera. Oriente have been Bolivian champions five times, Copa Aerosur winners two ti ...

to score an away goal that would eliminate the team from advancing to the second stage.

Universidad César Vallejo

In January 2019, Fernández signed for the recently promoted

Universidad César Vallejo Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to: Places * Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico * Universidad (Madrid) Football clubs * Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ...

and reunited with former head coach

José del Solar José Guillermo del Solar Alvarez-Calderón (born 28 November 1967) is a Peruvian football manager and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. During his playing career, spent in four countries – mainly in Spain, where he amassed ...

Deportivo Binacional

On 11 January 2020, Fernández signed for the reigning Peruvian Liga 1 champions

Deportivo Binacional Deportivo Binacional Fútbol Club, formerly Escuela Municipal Deportivo Binacional, known as just Binacional, is a Peruvian football club from Desaguadero District in the Puno Region who currently plays its home games in the city of Juliaca. The ...

International career

Fernández was first called up to play for

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

in March 2008 for a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

. He made his debut in the final minutes of that match, subbing in for George Forsyth. Del Solar called up Fernández for some of Peru's 2010 FIFA World Cup CONMEBOL qualification campaign but only used him for one match, against

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

in a 1–2 loss. After Del Solar's departure from the national team,

Sergio Markarian Sergio may refer to: * Sergio (given name), for people with the given name Sergio * Sergio (carbonado), the largest rough diamond ever found * ''Sergio'' (album), a 1994 album by Sergio Blass * ''Sergio'' (2009 film), a documentary film * ''Se ...

was appointed as the new manager. Fernández was called up by Markarian for a series of friendly games in 2010 and 2011, including the 2011 Kirin Cup in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. He was also part of Peru's squad for the

2011 Copa América The 2011 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, better known as the 2011 Copa América or the Copa América 2011 Argentina, was the 43rd edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South Americ ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, in which he helped Peru finish third place. For the 2014 FIFA World Cup CONMEBOL qualification campaign, Fernández played in 11 of Peru's matches. After Markarian left the national team, new interim head coach

Pablo Bengoechea Pablo Javier Bengoechea Dutra (born 27 June 1965) is a Uruguayan former professional footballer, who is currently a manager. A midfielder of exquisite technique, he played for several clubs in Uruguay and Spain. He was the captain of the club C. ...

called up Fernández for some of Peru's friendly matches in 2014. Fernández's last appearance for Peru was in a friendly match against

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 ...

, in which Peru lost 0–3. In total, Fernández has made 29 appearances for the national team and has recorded 14 clean sheets.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Club

* Torneo Apertura:

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

;

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

* Torneo Descentralizado:

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

Country

Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...

''Third place – Bronze medal'':

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Individual

Peruvian First Division Peruvians ( es, peruanos) are the citizens of Peru. There were Andean and coastal ancient civilizations like Caral, which inhabited what is now Peruvian territory for several millennia before the Spanish conquest of Peru, Spanish conquest in th ...

Goalkeeper of the Year:

;

Player of the Year:

MLS All-Star The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual Association football, soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from Liga MX. MLS initially adopted a tr ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

References

External links

* *
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez, Raul 1985 births Living people Footballers from Lima Association football goalkeepers Peruvian footballers Peru international footballers Peruvian expatriate footballers Club Universitario de Deportes footballers Sport Áncash footballers OGC Nice players Club Deportivo Universidad César Vallejo footballers Peruvian Primera División players Ligue 1 players Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate soccer players in the United States 2011 Copa América players Peruvian expatriate sportspeople in France Peruvian expatriate sportspeople in the United States FC Dallas players