Fernando Forestieri facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Fernando Forestieri

Forestieri training at Watford in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Fernando Martin Forestieri
Date of birth	(1990-01-15) 15 January 1990 (age 35)
Place of birth	Rosario, Argentina
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Forward, winger
Team information
Current team	AEL Limassol
Number	45
Youth career
2003	Newell's Old Boys
2003–2006	Boca Juniors
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006	Genoa	1	(1)
2007–2009	Siena	19	(1)
2009–2010	Vicenza	19	(5)
2010–2011	Málaga	19	(1)
2011	Empoli	19	(3)
2011–2012	Bari	28	(2)
2012–2015	Watford	80	(20)
2015–2020	Sheffield Wednesday	128	(40)
2020–2022	Udinese	23	(3)
2022–2024	Johor Darul Ta'zim	40	(34)
2025–	AEL Limassol	0	(0)
International career
2006–2007	Italy U17	8	(5)
2007–2008	Italy U19	14	(4)
2008–2010	Italy U20	2	(0)
2011–2012	Italy U21	2	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:46, 19 July 2025 (UTC)

Fernando Martin Forestieri, born on January 15, 1990, is a professional football player. He is known for playing as a winger, which is a player who plays on the sides of the field. Currently, he plays for the Cypriot First Division club AEL Limassol.

Fernando Forestieri's Football Journey

Fernando Forestieri was born in Rosario, Argentina. His parents were Italian. He started his football career in 2003 with a team called Newell's Old Boys. Later that same year, when he was only 13, another big club, Boca Juniors, signed him. They paid $50,000 for him.

When his parents decided to move back to Italy, Fernando left Boca Juniors. He joined the Italian club Genoa when he was 16 years old.

Starting at Genoa

In January 2006, Genoa officially signed Forestieri to a three-year contract. Boca Juniors tried to keep him, but they couldn't. Boca Juniors even complained about the transfer, but Genoa refused to pay more money.

That summer, Fernando played in some friendly matches for Genoa. In one of these games, the president of Torino saw him play. He offered Genoa €500,000 for Fernando, but Genoa said no.

Fernando made his first official appearance for Genoa on November 8, 2006. It was in a Coppa Italia match against Empoli, which Genoa lost. On January 13, 2007, he made his league debut in Serie B. He scored a goal for Genoa in a 2–1 loss to Pescara. He also played regularly for Genoa's youth team, which won a big youth tournament called the 2007 International Viareggio trophy.

Moving to Siena

On July 25, 2007, Siena announced that they had signed Forestieri from Genoa. He made his Serie A debut on September 26, coming on as a substitute against Atalanta. On January 13, 2008, Fernando scored his first goal for Siena. This happened after he came on as a substitute against Internazionale in a game they lost 3–2.

In June 2008, Genoa bought all of his transfer rights back. They then loaned him back to Siena for another season. However, he only played in two games during the first part of that season. In January 2009, he was loaned to Vicenza in Serie B. There, he scored 5 goals in 19 games.

Time at Udinese and Loans

In July 2009, Forestieri agreed to move to La Liga in Spain. He joined Málaga on loan from Genoa and Udinese. He was later sold to Udinese in a shared ownership deal. He scored his only goal for Málaga on December 20, 2009, in a 2–1 win against Mallorca.

In the summer of 2010, he stayed with Udinese's youth team because he couldn't find a new club. In January 2011, he was sent to Serie B club Empoli. On July 15, 2011, he joined Bari, another Serie B team.

Playing for Watford

On August 31, 2012, Watford signed Forestieri on loan from Udinese. He scored his first goal for Watford against Huddersfield Town on September 29. Three days later, he was sent off (given a red card) in a game against Charlton Athletic. Watford's goalkeeper, Manuel Almunia, said that Fernando reminded him of Lionel Messi. He believed Fernando had a bright future but needed to avoid problems with referees. Fernando scored his second Watford goal against Leicester City in November, which helped Watford win 2–1.

On January 14, 2013, Fernando signed a permanent five-and-a-half-year contract with Watford. He scored his first goals as a permanent Watford player against Sheffield Wednesday on March 5, 2013. He scored two goals in an emotional 2–1 win. He was seen crying and kissing the Watford badge after the game. Three weeks later, he scored another two goals against Burnley on March 29, 2013.

Time at Sheffield Wednesday

After the 2014–15 season, where Watford was promoted to the Premier League, Forestieri found himself playing less. He had scored only 5 goals in 25 games. Many clubs in the Championship were interested in him, including Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday.

On August 29, 2015, Sheffield Wednesday signed Forestieri on a four-year deal. The fee was believed to be around £3,000,000. He made his debut for Wednesday on September 12 in a 3–1 loss to Burnley. He became Wednesday's top goalscorer that season with 15 goals in all competitions.

Forestieri won the Player of the Year award at the end of the 2015–16 season. On January 9, 2017, he extended his contract with Sheffield Wednesday until the summer of 2020. On June 24, 2020, it was announced that he would be leaving the club on June 30, as he did not accept a new contract.

Second Spell at Udinese

On September 8, 2020, Forestieri returned to Udinese on a two-year deal. During the 2021–22 season, he played 6 times, scoring 2 goals and providing 1 assist. Despite scoring a great free-kick goal for Udinese in November 2021 against Torino, he had limited chances to play. Fernando was released from his Udinese contract by agreement in December 2021. He had scored 4 goals in 27 games during his second time at the club.

Playing in Malaysia with Johor Darul Ta'zim

In January 2022, Forestieri left Udinese and moved to Asia. He joined the big Malaysian club Johor Darul Ta'zim on a two-year contract. He won his first ever trophy in club football shortly after joining. JDT defeated Kuala Lumpur City 3–0 to win the Piala Sumbangsih (Charity Shield). Forestieri scored one of the goals on his debut.

On March 13, 2022, he scored his first hat-trick (three goals in one game) for the club in a Malaysia FA Cup match against BRM F.C.. JDT won that game 10–0. On May 11, 2022, during a match against Negeri Sembilan, Forestieri helped JDT win by scoring an amazing goal in the 90+10th minute. It seemed to be the very last touch of the match.

Forestieri renewed his contract with Johor Darul Ta'zim on February 6, 2024, for the 2024–25 Malaysia Super League season.

International Career

Fernando Forestieri was asked to play for Argentina's under-17 team, but he chose not to. Instead, he was called up to play for Italy's U-17, U-19, and U-20 football teams. On April 13, 2011, he made his debut for the Italy U-21 team in a friendly game against Russia.

How Fernando Forestieri Plays

Fernando Forestieri is a very skilled and adaptable player. He is often called a trequartista, which means he plays behind the main strikers and helps create goals. He can also play as a second striker or as a winger on either side of the field. He is fast and very good at dribbling the ball past opponents. He can also shoot well from a distance.

Throughout his career, he has shown that he can play many different roles on the field. This makes him a valuable "wild card" player in attack. He is also good at taking penalty kicks. Because he has a low center of gravity, he can easily get past defenders in one-on-one situations. For example, his coach Jos Luhukay at Sheffield Wednesday often played him as a right winger or a wide midfielder. Sometimes, he played as a second forward to link up with a bigger, stronger striker.

Career Statistics

Football Achievements

Club Trophies

Johor Darul Ta'zim

• Malaysia Super League: 2022, 2023
• Malaysia FA Cup: 2022, 2023, 2024
• Malaysia Cup: 2022, 2023
• Malaysia Charity Shield: 2022, 2023, 2024

Individual Awards

• PFA Fans' Player of the Month Award: March 2016
• Malaysia FA Cup Top Scorer: 2022

See also

In Spanish: Fernando Forestieri para niños