Antenor Junior Fernandes da Silva Vitoria (; born 10 April 1988), better known as Junior Fernandes, is a Chilean professional

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 plays 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 ...

for Turkish club

Esenler Erokspor Esenler Erokspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in Esenler, Istanbul. The football team currently plays in the TFF First League The TFF 1. Lig (), currently referred to as Trendyol 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the second level ...

Club career

Cobreloa

The son of Brazilian parents, Fernandes, moved from his native

Tocopilla Tocopilla is a city and commune in the Antofagasta Region, in the north of Chile. It is the capital of the province that bears the same name. Every year Tocopilla celebrates its anniversary on 29 September with a big show the day before, which ...

to Calama at the age of six, where he attended school along with his brother Christian. They participated in sports and music. While he lived in Calama, he joined the lower divisions of

Cobreloa Club de Deportes Cobreloa S.A.D.P. (), commonly referred to as Cobreloa, is a professional Chilean football league system, Chilean football club based in Calama, Chile, Calama, Región de Antofagasta, Chile. They compete in the Primera B de Ch ...

, participating in each of their youth categories, and was integrated into Cobreloa's B team that participated in the Chilean Third Division during the 2006 season. In this period of time, he shared team and home with countryman forward

Alexis Sánchez Alexis Alejandro Sánchez Sánchez (; born 19 December 1988), also known mononymously as Alexis, is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Udinese and the Chile national team. He is often regarded as the ...

. Later, in 2007, he was sent on loan to

Mejillones Mejillones is a Chilean port city and commune in Antofagasta Province in the Antofagasta Region. Its name is the plural form of the Spanish meaning "mussel", referring to a particularly abundant species and preferred staple food of its indigen ...

(another third division team) after

gave up their reserve team. After the request of coach Lewis Sheldon, Fernandes joined Cobreloa's first team to face the

Clausura The ' () and ' () tournaments is a split season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional association football season from August to May is ...

tournament . His professional debut came in the fourth round of the championship, when he replaced striker Felipe Flores in a match that would end with a 2–1 victory over La Serena. His first time as a starter was in a game against

Melipilla Melipilla (Mapudungun for "four Pillans") is a Chilean Communes of Chile, commune and Capital (political), capital List of cities in Chile, city of the Melipilla Province, province of the same name. It is part of the Santiago Metropolitan Region ...

, which ended in a 5–1 victory, with Fernandes scoring a hat trick.

Palestino

In 2010, he played for Magallanes of the

Chilean Tercera División A Tercera División de Chile (Third Division of Chile), is the fourth tier of Chilean football (soccer). It is organized by the Federación de Fútbol de Chile and the Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Amateur de Chile. It is both the fourth level of t ...

where he became the figure of the team that won the championship and was promoted to the

Primera B 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 Ely Rafael Primera Ros ...

. His outstanding performance on Magallanes caught the attention of

Palestino The term ''Palestino'' is the Spanish word for "Palestinian". The word "''Palestino''" is used in Cuba as a disparaging nickname for illegal migrants within the country. The nickname is used as a rhetorical device, that compares illegal migrants ...

, who joined them in 2011. Thanks to his good results, he was later nominated for the Under 25

Chile national football team The Chile national football team (), nicknamed ''La Roja'' (), represents Chile in men's international Association football, football competitions and is controlled by the Football Federation of Chile, Federación de Fútbol de Chile (), which ...

Universidad de Chile

On 2 December 2011, Palestino agreed on the sale of 50% of his pass with a US$700,000 transfer to

Universidad de Chile The University of Chile () is a public research university in Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the co ...

aiming to win the 2012

Apertura The ' () and ' () tournaments is a split season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional association football season from August to May is ...

tournament, and thinking that the team will play

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

next year. On 5 December, he was presented in the offices of "the Blues" Sports Complex with the No. 9 jersey. Fernandes made his debut for the club, scoring and providing an assist in a 3–1 win over

Deportes La Serena Club de Deportes La Serena S.A.D.P., is a Chilean football club based in the city of La Serena, Coquimbo Region. The club was founded 9 December 1955 and plays in the second division of the Chilean football league. Their home games are play ...

on 4 February 2012. In the league, he would score five goals. In the play-offs Apertura, Fernándes scored a hat-trick in a 4–0 win over

Colo-Colo Colo-Colo (), officially Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo, is a Chilean professional football club based in Macul, Santiago. Founded in 1925 by David Arellano, it competes in the Chilean Primera División, from which the club has never been ...

on 24 June 2012. Elsewhere in the

, Fernandes scored a hat-trick, set up a goal in a 5–1 win over Godoy Cruz, and soon scored a brace and provided an assist in a 6–0 win over

Deportivo Quito Sociedad Deportivo Quito is an Ecuadorian club football club based in Quito. For most of its existence, it competed in Serie A, the highest level of the Ecuadorian professional football league. And currently competes in the Second Category of Pi ...

. Soon after scoring goals, he would receive criticism over his performance.

Bayer Leverkusen

On 6 July 2012, he signed for

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

squad

Bayer 04 Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional association football, football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. ...

from Universidad de Chile for a transfer fee of €7 million and a five-year contract. Fernandes made his debut for the club, scoring on his debut in first round of

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

in a 4–0 win over Carl Zeiss Jena; seven days later, he made his debut, coming on as a substitute, in a 2–1 loss against

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. However, in his first season, Junior Fernandes playing time was reduced, as well his first team and haven't scored his first goal for the club.

Dinamo Zagreb

On 26 May 2013, it was announced that Fernandes signed a one-year-loan contract with the Croatian club

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb (), commonly referred to as simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Cr ...

. On 23 April 2014, following the end of his loan spell, Fernandes signed a six-year contract with Dinamo Zagreb.

Alanyaspor

In January 2017 he was loaned to

Alanyaspor Alanyaspor Kulübü, known as Corendon Alanyaspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Alanya in Antalya Province. Formed in 1948, the club colours are orange and green. Home matches are play ...

until the end of the 2016–17 season. He returned to Dinamo for the 2017–18 season and scored twice against defending league champion

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

. However, as Dinamo failed to qualify into

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

, losing to

Skënderbeu Korçë Gjergj Kastrioti (17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanian feudal lord and military commander who led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serb ...

in the play-off round, he moved back to Alanyaspor on a permanent transfer.

Ittihad Kalba

On 19 August 2020, Fernandes joined Ittihad Kalba of the

UAE Pro League The UAE Pro League (), also known as the ADNOC Pro League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the highest level of the Emirati football league system. The first team to w ...

İstanbul Başakşehir

On 23 January 2021, Fernandes agreed to a return to Turkey and joined

İstanbul Başakşehir Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

on a free transfer.

Manisa FK

On 16 January 2023, Fernandes agreed to a return to Turkey and joined

Manisa Manisa () is a city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province, lying approximately 40 km northeast of the major city of İzmir. The city forms the urban part of the districts Şehzadeler and Yunusemre, with ...

in the

TFF First League The TFF 1. Lig (), currently referred to as Trendyol 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2001 as the ''Turkish Second League Category A'' after the reorganization ...

on a free transfer.

International career

Fernandes was called up to the

to face friendly matches during the second half of 2011 by team manager Claudio Borghi. He debuted officially in the national team on 11 September 2012, on a qualifying match for the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

against

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. He was named in the preliminary squad for the

2015 Copa América The 2015 Copa América was the 44th edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South America, and took place in Chile between 11 June and 4 July 2015. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, ...

but was omitted from the final squad. He made the final squad for the

2019 Copa América The 2019 Copa América was the 46th edition of the Copa América, the international men's association football championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. It was held in Brazil and took place between 14 June and 7 Ju ...

, his first major tournament.

Honours

Club

Magallanes *

Tercera División de Chile Tercera División de Chile (Third Division of Chile), is the fourth tier of Chilean football (soccer). It is organized by the Federación de Fútbol de Chile and the Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Amateur de Chile. It is both the fourth level of ...

: 2010 Universidad de Chile *

Primera División de Chile 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 ...

: 2012 Apertura Dinamo Zagreb *

Croatian First League The Hrvatska nogometna liga (; ), abbreviated as HNL and also known for sponsorship reasons as the SuperSport HNL, is a professional association football league in Croatia and the highest level of the Croatian football league system. Establish ...

: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18 *

Croatian Cup Croatian Cup may refer to: *Croatian Football Cup *Croatian Football Super Cup *Croatian Women's Football Cup *Croatian Basketball Cup, also known as Krešimir Ćosić Cup *Croatian Handball Cup *Croatian Water Polo Cup The Croatian Water Polo C ...

: 2014–15, 2015–16 * Croatian Super Cup:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Chile *

China Cup The China Cup International Football Championship () is an annual association football tournament organized in China by Wanda Sports Holdings. The Championship was inaugurated in 2017 as a single-elimination tournament A single-elimination kn ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Individual * SIFUP Best Right Forward: 2013 Torneo de Transición

References

External links

*
Junior Fernandes
at Football-Lineups * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandes, Junior 1988 births Living people People from Tocopilla Footballers from Antofagasta Region Chilean people of Brazilian descent Chilean men's footballers 21st-century Chilean sportsmen Chile men's international footballers Chilean Primera División players C.D. Cobreloa footballers Club Deportivo Palestino footballers Club Universidad de Chile footballers Tercera División de Chile players Municipal Mejillones footballers Deportes Magallanes footballers Bundesliga players Bayer 04 Leverkusen players Croatian Football League players GNK Dinamo Zagreb players Süper Lig players Alanyaspor footballers İstanbul Başakşehir F.K. players UAE Pro League players Kalba FC players Manisa F.K. footballers Adanaspor footballers Esenler Erokspor footballers TFF 1. Lig players Men's association football forwards Chilean expatriate men's footballers Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Germany Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Croatia Chilean expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Chilean expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Croatia Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates 2019 Copa América players