Gatito Fernández

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

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
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)
2009–2010 → Estudiantes (loan) 0 (0)
2010–2011 → Racing Club (loan) 15 (0)
2011–2012 → Utrecht (loan) 13 (0)
2014–2015 Vitória 39 (0)
2016 Figueirense 44 (0)
2017– Botafogo 155 (0)
International career‡
2007 Paraguay U20 4 (0)
2011– Paraguay 18 (0)
Medal record
Representing  Paraguay
Copa América
Runner-up2011 ArgentinaTeam
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11 January 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 December 2022
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Fernández and the second or maternal family name is Torres.

He is known as Gatito (English: little cat) 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]

Career

Club 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, 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]

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 4 August 2023.[9][10]
Club Season League Cup Continental State League Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Cerro Porteño 2007 Paraguayan Primera División 120————120
2008 350————350
2009 220————220
2012 50—2[lower-alpha 1]0——70
2013 370—2[lower-alpha 1]0——390
2014 110—80——190
Total 1220—120——1340
Estudiantes (loan) 2009–10 Argentine Primera División 00———0000
Racing Club (loan) 2010–11 150————150
Utrecht (loan) 2011–12 Eredivisie 13000———130
Vitória 2014 Série A 150004[lower-alpha 1]000—190
2015 Série B 24000—00—240
Total 390004000—430
Figueirense 2016 Série A 280102[lower-alpha 1]016[lower-alpha 2]02[lower-alpha 3]0490
Botafogo 2017 Série A 3105013[lower-alpha 4]09[lower-alpha 5]0—580
2018 80001[lower-alpha 1]09[lower-alpha 5]0—180
2019 300406[lower-alpha 1]08[lower-alpha 5]0—480
2020 8060—8[lower-alpha 5]0—220
2021 Série B 0000—0[lower-alpha 5]0—00
2022 Série A 32020—10[lower-alpha 5]0—440
2023 00002000—20
Total 1090170220460—1920
Career total 3260180400600204460
  1. Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana.
  2. Appearance(s) in Campeonato Catarinense.
  3. Appearance(s) in Primeira Liga.
  4. Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores.
  5. Appearance(s) in Campeonato Carioca.

International
As of match played 23 September 2022.
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Paraguay 201100
201200
201310
201430
201500
201600
201710
201810
2019100
202010
202100
202210
Total180

Honours

Club

Cerro Porteño

Estudiantes de la Plata

Botafogo

International

Paraguay

Individual

References
  1. "FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2009 presented by Toyota: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 9 December 2009. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2012.
  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. "Gatito Fernández :: Roberto Júnior Fernández Torres :: Botafogo". www.ogol.com.br. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  10. Gatito Fernández at Soccerway
  11. - UOL (in Portuguese)
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