Raúl Fernández (footballer, born 1985)

For other uses, see Raul Fernandez.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Fernández and the second or maternal family name is Valverde.

Raúl Omar Fernández Valverde (Spanish pronunciation: [ɾaˈul feɾˈnandeθ βalˈβeɾðe]; born 6 October 1985) is a Peruvian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He works as a goalkeeper coach for at Columbia Premier SC in the United States.

Raúl Fernández

Fernández warming up for the 2013 MLS All-Star Game
Personal information
Full name	Raúl Omar Fernández Valverde
Date of birth	(1985-10-06) 6 October 1985 (age 39)[1]
Place of birth	Lima, Peru
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
2000–2005	Universitario
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005–2006	Universitario	5	(0)
2006	Sport Áncash	2	(0)
2007–2010	Universitario	130	(0)
2011–2012	Nice	2	(0)
2011	→ Universitario (loan)	10	(0)
2013–2014	FC Dallas	48	(0)
2014	FC Dallas Reserves	3	(0)
2015–2018	Universitario	54	(0)
2019	UCV	27	(0)
2020–2021	Binacional	44	(0)
2022-2023	Atlético Grau	55	(0)
Total		380	(0)
International career
2008–2014	Peru	29	(0)
Medal record Representing  Peru Association football Copa América Argentina 2011
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Universitario

Fernández was born in Lima, Peru. He got his start in the youth system of Universitario de Deportes. He made his professional debut with the club in a 1–1 draw with Unión Huaral on 31 July 2005.

He spent half of the 2006 season playing for Sport Áncash but returned to Universitario the following season.

After Juan Flores left Universitario to sign with Cienciano 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.^{[citation needed]} 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 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.^[2]

In 2009, Universitario won the 2009 Torneo Descentralizado after defeating their local rival, Alianza Lima, 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.^[3]

Nice

Fernández signed with French club OGC Nice in December 2010.^[4] However, Universitario de Deportes 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, in a 1–2 victory against Toulouse.^{[citation needed]} He was Nice's match hero against Dijon when he stopped a penalty during shoot-outs to help his team advance to the semifinals of the same tournament.^{[citation needed]} He had limited appearances during his time with the club, who had David Ospina as their starting goalkeeper.

FC Dallas

Fernández signed with FC Dallas on 10 January 2013.^[5] He made his regular-season debut on the club's opening match for the 2013 season in a 1–0 victory versus Colorado Rapids.^[6] 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.^[7] After two seasons with Dallas, Fernández was released at the end of the 2014 season following the team's acquisition of Dan Kennedy.^[8]

Universitario

Fernández returned to Universitario after signing a four-year contract in January 2015.^[9] In 2016, playing against Juan Aurich, he crashed with a teammate and suffered a knee injury that kept him sidelined for months.^[10] Despite the absence of Fernández, Universitario won the 2016 Torneo Apertura with Carlos Cáceda taking over as the new starting goalkeeper. He was heavily blamed for Universitario's exit from the 2018 Copa Libertadores after a costly error on the final minutes of the second leg game of the first stage allowed Oriente Petrolero to score an away goal that would eliminate the team from advancing to the second stage.^[11]

UCV

In January 2019, Fernández signed for the recently promoted Universidad César Vallejo and reunited with former head coach José del Solar.^[12]

Binacional

On 11 January 2020, Fernández signed for the reigning Peruvian Liga 1 champions Deportivo Binacional.^[13]

International career

Fernández was first called up to play for Peru by José del Solar in March 2008 for a friendly match against Costa Rica. He made his debut in the final minutes of that match, subbing in for George Forsyth.^{[citation needed]} 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 in a 1–2 loss.^{[citation needed]} After Del Solar's departure from the national team, Sergio Markarián 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. He was also part of Peru's squad for the 2011 Copa América in Argentina, in which he helped Peru finish third place.^[14] 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 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, in which Peru lost 0–3.^{[citation needed]} In total, Fernández has made 29 appearances for the national team and has recorded 14 clean sheets.

Coaching career

Fernández was appointed "Director of Goalkeeper Development" at Columbia Premier SC in the United States in April 2024.^[15]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^[1][16]

Club	Season	League			National cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Universitario	2005	Torneo Descentralizado	2	0					2	0
	2006		3	0					3	0
	Total		5	0					5	0
Sport Áncash	2006	Torneo Descentralizado	2	0					2	0
Universitario	2007	Torneo Descentralizado	15	0					15	0
	2008		45	0			2	0	47	0
	2009		35	0			6	0	41	0
	2010		35	0			6	0	41	0
	Total		130	0			14	0	144	0
Nice	2011–12	Ligue 1	2	0	5	0			7	0
Universitario (loan)	2011	Torneo Descentralizado	10	0					10	0
FC Dallas	2013	MLS	26	0					26	0
	2014		22	0	2	0			24	0
	Total		48	0	2	0			50	0
FC Dallas Reserves	2014	USL Championship	3	0					3	0
Universitario	2015	Torneo Descentralizado	15	0	8	0	2	0	25	0
	2016		9	0					9	0
	2017		5	0					5	0
	2018		25	0			2	0	27	0
	Total		54	0	8	0	4	0	66	0
César Vallejo	2019	Liga 1	27	0					27	0
Binacional	2020	Liga 1	24	0	1	0	6	0	31	0
	2021		19	0	0	0	0	0	20	0
	Total		44	0	1	0	6	0	51	0
Atlético Grau	2022	Liga 1	33	0	0	0	0	0	33	0
	2023		22	0	0	0	0	0	22	0
	Total		55	0	0	0	0	0	55	0
Career total			380	0	16	0	24	0	420	0

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[16]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Peru	2008	1	0
	2009	3	0
	2010	2	0
	2011	10	0
	2012	5	0
	2013	6	0
	2014	2	0
Total		29	0

Honours

Universitario

• Torneo Apertura: 2008; 2016
• Torneo Descentralizado: 2009

Peru

• Copa América third place: 2011^[14]

Individual

• Peruvian Primera División Goalkeeper of the Year: 2008;^[2] 2009^[3]
• Peruvian Primera División Player of the Year: 2009^[3]
• MLS All-Star: 2013^[7]

References

1. Raúl Fernández at Soccerway
2. "ADFP premió a los mejores del 2008 y San Martín se llevó el trofeo como campeón nacional" (in Spanish). El Bocón. 10 February 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
3. Eaerle Córdova, Jaime. "Universitario de Deportes gana seis premios por el Torneo Descentralizado 2009" (in Spanish). Netjoven.
4. "Nice To Complete Move For Peru International Goalkeeper Raul Fernandez". Goal. 19 May 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
5. "FC Dallas signs goalkeeper Raúl Fernández". FC Dallas. 10 January 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
6. Robertson, Daniel (2 March 2013). "MLS Match Recap: FC Dallas 1, Colorado Rapids 0". MLS soccer. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
7. Epperley, Drew (7 July 2013). "Raul Fernandez Named To 2013 MLS All Star Game Fan XI". Big D Soccer. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
8. Lindstrom, Kevin (3 December 2014). "FC Dallas technical director Fernando Clavijo opens up about decisions on Chris Seitz, Raul Fernandez". MLS soccer. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
9. "Universitario de Deportes: Raúl Fernández firmó y ya es crema" (in Spanish). El Comercio. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
10. "Universitario: Fernández se lesionó y será baja varios meses" (in Spanish). El Comercio. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
11. "Universitario: el error de Raúl Fernández que costó la clasificación" (in Spanish). El Comercio. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
12. "Confirmado: Raúl Fernández atajará por César Vallejo de Trujillo" (in Spanish). Perú21. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
13. "Raúl Fernández se convirtió en nuevo refuerzo de Binacional para el 2020" (in Spanish). El Comercio. 11 January 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
14. "Peru claim third place". EuroSport. 23 July 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
15. Tovar, Marco (8 April 2024). "Raúl Fernández fue anunciado como flamante contratación de club de Estados Unidos" [Raul Fernandez announced as a new signing for US club]. El Diez Perú (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 February 2025.
16. Raúl Fernández at National-Football-Teams.com

External links

• Raúl Fernández at Major League Soccer
• Raul Fernandez at BDFA (in Spanish)
• Facebook (in Spanish)