Santiago Nicolás Fernández (born 3 March 1988) 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 ...

who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Career

Early career

Born in Olivos, in the

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...

, Fernández began his career with local sides 12 de Octubre and Novena de Excursio.

''Camino a la Gloria''

Fernández decided to try out for ''Camino a la Gloria'' (Road to Glory), a show broadcast in 2002 on Canal 13 looking for the next young Argentine footballing star, with the prize being a trial with Spanish side

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

. He was one of over 12,000 young footballers between the ages of fourteen and seventeen to try out, and was notably almost removed from the competition by his mother, as she was upset that, if he won, he would move away from home. After player advisor, and former Brazilian international footballer,

Delém Vladem Lázaro Ruiz Quevedo (April 15, 1935 – March 28, 2007), known as "Delém", was a Brazilian footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of foo ...

was able to convince her to let him compete, he eventually finished second to Aimar Centeno.

Professional career

Fernández states that he was told trials with

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...

and River Plate would follow the show, but these did not materialise, and he instead went on to join

Excursionistas Club Atlético Excursionistas is an Argentine sports club based in the Belgrano neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mainly known for their football team. It currently plays in the Primera C Metropolitana, the fourth level of the Argentine f ...

. He later received a call from agent, and then-manager of

Ferro Carril Oeste Club Ferro Carril Oeste, known simply as Ferro Carril Oeste or familiarly, Ferro, is an Argentine sports club from the neighbourhood of Caballito, Buenos Aires. Although many activities are hosted by the club, Ferro is mostly known for its footb ...

, Gustavo Mascardi, who invited him to trial with the

Caballito Caballito (; Spanish for "little horse") is a ''barrio'' (neighborhood) of the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. It is the only ''barrio'' in the administrative division ''Comuna'' 6. It is located in the geographical centre of the city, limited ...

-based club. He joined the club and progressed through the academy, going on to make his debut in March 2008 and spending three-and-a-half years, accumulating sixty-six appearances and scoring five goals. After spending a half a year in Brazil with Olaria, he moved back to Argentina, joining

Torneo Argentino B Torneo Argentino B was one of two leagues that form the fourth level of the Argentine football league system, made up of 100+ teams playing within eight regional zones across Argentina. The other league at level four wasand still isthe Primera C ...

side

Tiro Federal Club Atlético Tiro Federal Argentino (mostly known just as Tiro Federal or Tiro Federal de Rosario) is an Argentine football club from the city of Rosario, in Santa Fe Province. The team currently fun plays in Torneo Argentino A, the third divis ...

. He returned to professional football in 2013, joining

Chacarita Juniors Club Atlético Chacarita Juniors (usually known simply as Chacarita) is an Argentine football club headquartered in Villa Crespo, Buenos Aires, while the stadium is located in Villa Maipú, General San Martín Partido of Greater Buenos Aires. ...

on a season-long loan deal from Agropecuario, but would have to undergo surgery for a hernia in September of the same year. Ahead of the 2015 season, Fernández signed with Juventud Unida, and this would prove to be his last professional club; spells with Unión Aconquija and Racing de Colon followed before he retired in 2018 following an injury.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernández, Santiago 1988 births Living people Footballers from Buenos Aires Province Argentine men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Primera Nacional players Primera B Metropolitana players Torneo Federal A players CA Excursionistas players Ferro Carril Oeste footballers Olaria Atlético Clube players Tiro Federal footballers Chacarita Juniors footballers Juventud Unida de Gualeguaychú players Argentine expatriate men's footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil