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Gatito Fernández

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Gatito Fernández
Fernández with Cerro Porteño in 2014
Personal information
Full name Roberto Júnior Fernández Torres[1]
Date of birth (1988-03-29) 29 March 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth Asunción, Paraguay
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
Botafogo
Number 1
Youth career
2000–2007 Cerro Porteño
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2014 Cerro Porteño 122 (0)
2009–2010Estudiantes (loan) 0 (0)
2010–2011Racing Club (loan) 15 (0)
2011–2012Utrecht (loan) 13 (0)
2014–2015 Vitória 39 (0)
2016 Figueirense 28 (0)
2017– Botafogo 113 (0)
International career
2007 Paraguay U20 4 (0)
2011– Paraguay 24 (0)
2024 Paraguay Olympic (O.P.) 5 (0)
Medal record
Representing  Paraguay
Copa América
Runner-up 2011 Argentina Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 July 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 November 2024

Roberto Júnior Fernández Torres (born 29 March 1988), better known as Gatito Fernández, is a Paraguayan footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Botafogo.

He is known as Gatito (English: little cat or kitten) for being the son of former Paraguayan 1986 World Cup goalkeeper Roberto Fernández, nicknamed Gato (English: cat). Because of his father, who was a goalkeeper at Brazilian clubs, such as Internacional and Palmeiras, Gatito had lived in Brazil before his professional days.[2]

Club career

Earlier career

Fernández started his professional career with Paraguayan Primera División club Cerro Porteño in 2007. He became Paraguayan champion with the club in the 2009 Apertura. Following the achievement, he joined Argentine Primera División side Estudiantes de La Plata. After a season in the club without any first team appearance, he joined Racing.[3]

Utrecht (loan)

In August 2011, FC Utrecht announced to have signed Fernández on loan for one year to cover a possible departure of Michel Vorm. [4]

Botafogo

On 26 November 2016 Fernandéz signed with Botafogo, on a free transfer, a two-year contract until December 2018.[5]

On 9 April 2018, after good performances in the 2017 Copa Libertadores and 2018 Campeonato Carioca, Botafogo extended contract with Fernandéz until December 2021.[6][7]

On 6 October 2022, he became the foreign player with the most appearances for Botafogo, surpassing his teammate Joel Carli with 188 games.[8]

On February 2, 2023, Gatito Fernández signed a contract renewal until the end of 2024 with Botafogo.[9]

On July 19, Gatito Fernández returned to play for Botafogo in a 1-1 draw against the Argentine team Patronato, a game valid for the Copa Sudamericana.[10] The game marked Gatito's return after eight months without playing. Although the goalkeeper had been fully recovered for months from the injury suffered in a game against Atlético Minero at the end of the previous year, his return to the field took a while to happen due to the good performances of his teammate Lucas Perri, who ended up taking over as the starting goalkeeper for Botafogo.

International career

He debuted with the Paraguayan U20 national team in the 2007 South American Youth Championship replacing injured Blas Hermosilla. He was selected for Paraguay senior squad for the 2011 Copa América. He was an un-used substitute for the squad as they finished the tournament as the runner-up.

Career statistics

Club

As of 13 July 2024.[11][12]
Club Season League Cup Continental State League Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Cerro Porteño 2007 Paraguayan Primera División 12 0 12 0
2008 35 0 35 0
2009 22 0 22 0
2012 5 0 2[a] 0 7 0
2013 37 0 2[a] 0 39 0
2014 11 0 8 0 19 0
Total 122 0 12 0 134 0
Estudiantes (loan) 2009–10 Argentine Primera División 0 0 0 0 0 0
Racing Club (loan) 2010–11 15 0 15 0
Utrecht (loan) 2011–12 Eredivisie 13 0 0 0 13 0
Vitória 2014 Série A 15 0 0 0 4[a] 0 0 0 19 0
2015 Série B 24 0 0 0 0 0 24 0
Total 39 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 43 0
Figueirense 2016 Série A 28 0 1 0 2[a] 0 16[b] 0 2[c] 0 49 0
Botafogo 2017 31 0 5 0 13[d] 0 9[e] 0 1 0 60 0
2018 8 0 0 0 1[a] 0 9[e] 0 18 0
2019 30 0 4 0 6[a] 0 8[e] 0 48 0
2020 8 0 6 0 8[e] 0 3 0 25 0
2021 Série B 0 0 0 0 0[e] 0 0 0
2022 Série A 32 0 2 0 10[e] 0 44 0
2023 1 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 6 0
2024 3 0 0 0 7 0 11 0 0 0 21 0
Total 113 0 17 0 32 0 57 0 4 0 221 0
Career total 330 0 18 0 50 0 71 0 6 0 463 0
  1. ^ a b c d e f Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana.
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in Campeonato Catarinense.
  3. ^ Appearance(s) in Primeira Liga.
  4. ^ Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Appearance(s) in friendly games.

International

As of match played 19 November 2024.
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Paraguay 2013 1 0
2014 3 0
2017 1 0
2018 1 0
2019 10 0
2020 1 0
2022 1 0
2024 6 0
Total 24 0

Honours

Club

Cerro Porteño

Estudiantes de la Plata

Botafogo

International

Paraguay

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Men's Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024 – Squad List: Paraguay (PAR)" (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  2. ^ Inquieto, Gatito dava problema na escola e morou no RS por causa do pai
  3. ^ "Llegó el arquero Fernández a Racing". ESPN Deportes (in Spanish). 16 July 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  4. ^ FC Utrecht rondt komst van doelman Fernández af - Voetbal International (in Dutch)
  5. ^ "Gatito Fernández assina por dois anos e acerta com o Botafogo até 2018". Globoesporte.com. 26 November 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  6. ^ "Um dos heróis do título, Gatito renova com o Botafogo por mais três anos". Globoesporte.com. 9 April 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  7. ^ "Botafogo renova com Gatito Fernández até o final de 2021". ESPN.com.br. 9 April 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  8. ^ "Gatito bate recorde de jogos de um estrangeiro pelo Botafogo". Globoesporte.com. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  9. ^ Redação (2 February 2023). "Botafogo anuncia renovação de Gatito Fernández; novo contrato vale até 2024". Fogo na Rede (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  10. ^ "Gatito comemora 'estreia' pelo Botafogo contra Patronato: 'Estava ansioso para o jogo'". Fogo na Rede (in Brazilian Portuguese). 20 July 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  11. ^ "Gatito Fernández :: Roberto Júnior Fernández Torres :: Botafogo". www.ogol.com.br. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  12. ^ Gatito Fernández at Soccerway
  13. ^ [1] - UOL (in Portuguese)