Fernando Gómez (footballer, born 1965) facts for kids
Fernando in 2016
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Fernando Gómez Colomer | ||
| Date of birth | 11 September 1965 | ||
| Place of birth | Valencia, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Colegio Salgui | |||
| 1980–1983 | Valencia | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1983 | Valencia B | ||
| 1983–1998 | Valencia | 458 | (117) |
| 1998–1999 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 19 | (2) |
| 1999–2000 | Castellón | 35 | (10) |
| Total | 512 | (129) | |
| International career | |||
| 1983–1984 | Spain U18 | 12 | (1) |
| 1985 | Spain U19 | 1 | (1) |
| 1985 | Spain U20 | 6 | (3) |
| 1985–1990 | Spain U21 | 9 | (0) |
| 1989–1992 | Spain | 8 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2016 | Torre Levante | ||
| 2017–2018 | Alzira | ||
| 2020–2021 | Benigànim | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Fernando Gómez Colomer (born on September 11, 1965), known simply as Fernando, is a Spanish former footballer. He played as an attacking midfielder, which means he was a player who helped both defend and attack.
Fernando spent almost his entire professional career with Valencia, a famous football club. He started playing for them when he was just 18 years old. He played in a record 556 games for the club and scored 142 goals. After he stopped playing, he continued to work with the club in different leadership roles.
Fernando also played for the Spanish national team. He represented his country at the 1990 World Cup.
Contents
Fernando's Football Journey
Fernando was born in Valencia, Spain. He spent most of his playing career with his hometown club, Valencia CF. He played for them for 15 seasons as a senior player.
Becoming a Star Player
Fernando became known as an amazing playmaker. A playmaker is a player who helps create scoring chances for their team. He was also great at scoring goals himself, even though he was a midfielder. He scored 14 league goals twice in a season and ten goals three times. He was also the team captain for Valencia.
He holds the club record for playing in the most La Liga matches, with 420 games. La Liga is Spain's top football league. He is also the fourth-highest scorer for Valencia, with 142 goals in all competitions.
Early Career and Promotions
Fernando first played for Valencia's main team on January 15, 1984. This was after he moved up from their reserve team, CD Mestalla. He became a key player in the 1986–87 season. That year, his team won promotion back to the top league, the La Liga, after being in the Segunda División (second division).
He spent almost all his time with Valencia in the top league. During this time, his team finished second in the championship twice. They also reached the final of the Copa del Rey (Spain's main cup competition) in 1995.
Moving to England
Fernando won an award called the Don Balón's Best Spanish Player Award for the 1988–89 season. Later that year, he joined the Spanish national team.
He left Valencia in August 1998. He joined an English team called Wolverhampton Wanderers on a free transfer. A free transfer means a player can move to a new club without the new club paying a fee to the old club. He played for one season at the Molineux Stadium. He scored two goals for them during that time.
Retirement and New Roles
After his time in England, Fernando signed with CD Castellón, another club in Spain. He played for one more season before retiring in 2000, when he was almost 35 years old.
After retiring, he stayed at CD Castellón as their director of football. This role involves managing the club's football operations. Later, he became a sports commentator for radio and television. In July 2008, he returned to Valencia as their sporting director, but he left that job two years later.
Becoming a Manager
Fernando started managing football teams when he was in his 50s. He managed CF Torre Levante in the Tercera División (a lower league in Spain). He later managed UD Alzira in the same league.
He also managed UD Benigànim, another local team. In June 2021, he became the sporting director at Castellón again.
Playing for Spain
Fernando played eight games, called caps, for the Spanish national team. He scored two goals for his country. His first game for Spain was on November 15, 1989. Spain won that game 4–0 against Hungary.
He was chosen to play in the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. He came on as a substitute in one game, helping Spain win 3–1 against South Korea.
Before playing for the senior national team, Fernando also played for Spain's youth teams. He played in the 1985 FIFA World Youth Championship (now called the FIFA U-20 World Cup). He was one of the top scorers in that tournament, scoring three goals as Spain reached the final.
Fernando's Family and Nickname
Fernando comes from a family that valued education. His father was a university department head. His brothers became a law professor and a doctor. Fernando's own sons also played football, but they did not become professional players.
Because of his studious background, people nicknamed him "El Catedrático" (The Professor).
Fernando also got involved in local politics for a short time. In April 2011, he ran for a position in the local government in Chiva, Valencia. He served one term as the councillor in charge of sports. He did not run for re-election in 2015.
Awards and Achievements
Fernando achieved several important things during his football career:
Valencia
- Segunda División: 1986–87 (This means his team won the second division league title)
- Copa del Rey runner-up: 1994–95 (His team reached the final of the main cup competition)
Spain U20
- FIFA U-20 World Cup runner-up: 1985 (His youth national team reached the final of the World Youth Championship)
See also
In Spanish: Fernando Gómez Colomer para niños
- List of La Liga players (400+ appearances)
- List of Valencia CF players (+100 appearances)
