Rubén Evaristo Fernández Real (2 May 1931 – 9 October 2015) was a Paraguayan

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 lea ...

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) ** Smal ...

. He captained the Paraguay national team which won the

1953 South American Championship The South American Championship 1953 was a football tournament held in Peru and won by Paraguay with Brazil second. Argentina, and Colombia withdrew from the tournament. Francisco Molina from Chile became top scorer of the tournament with 7 go ...

Club career

Fernández was born in

Villarrica, Paraguay Villarrica del Espíritu Santo (), is a city in Paraguay. Located in the middle of the Eastern Region of Paraguay, it is the capital and most populous city of Guairá Department. It is located to the center west of Guairá and is bordered to th ...

. He started his career around 1946 in the youth divisions of Club Estero Bellaco in Villarrica. In 1950, he moved to

Club Libertad Club Libertad is a Paraguayan professional football club based in Asunción that currently plays in the Paraguayan Primera División. The club plays its home games at Estadio Tigo La Huerta; which holds 10,100 people. Founded in 1905, Liber ...

. After winning the South American Championship with Paraguay, Fernández moved to Argentine club

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...

, where he played from 1953 to 1956 and won the 1954 Argentine championship. He ended his career at

San Lorenzo de Almagro Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro is an Argentine professional sports club based in the Boedo neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its football team, which plays in the Primera División, the first tier of the Argentine foot ...

, having played there from 1957 to 1958.

International career

Fernández was part of Paraguay’s

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...

for the

, playing all seven games and scoring four goals, including the third Paraguayan goal in the final against

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, enabling Paraguay to win the competition. Those were his only caps and goals with Paraguay.

Personal life

After being forced to retire from football at the age of 27 due to injuries, Fernández became a

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental doctor, dental physician, dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry, the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. The dentist's supporting team aids in provi ...

. He died aged 84 on 9 October 2015 in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

References

External links

Profile at Albirroja.com
1931 births 2015 deaths Paraguayan men's footballers Men's association football forwards Club Libertad footballers Boca Juniors footballers San Lorenzo de Almagro footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina Paraguayan expatriate men's footballers Paraguay men's international footballers Copa América–winning players People from Villarrica, Paraguay Sportspeople from Guairá Department {{Paraguay-footy-forward-stub