Leonardo Fernández (Bolivian footballer)

For the Uruguayan footballer, see Leonardo Fernández (Uruguayan footballer).

Leonardo Fernández

Personal information
Full name	Leonardo Alberto Fernandez Napollitano
Date of birth	(1974-01-13) January 13, 1974 (age 49)
Place of birth	Avellaneda, Argentina
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
	Argentinos Juniors
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1994–1995	Argentinos Juniors	2	(0)
1996	Defensores	9	(0)
1997–2000	Oriente Petrolero	201 total	(0)
2000–2001	Independiente	0	(0)
2001	Extremadura	1	(0)
2001	Unión Santa Fe	10	(0)
2002–2003	Oriente Petrolero	(see above)
2004	Chacarita Juniors	16	(0)
2004	Oriente Petrolero	(see above)
2005	Atlético Nacional	8	(0)
2005	Tiro Federal	2	(0)
2006	Palestino	10	(0)
2006	Aucas	9	(0)
2007	Oriente Petrolero	(see above)
2009	Real Mamoré	11	(0)
2009	La Paz	8	(0)
International career
2003–2005	Bolivia	17	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of September 28, 2009

Leonardo Alberto Fernandez Napollitano (born January 13, 1974) is a retired Argentine-born Bolivian football goalkeeper. He played for 13 professional clubs in six countries.

Club career

Fernández has an extensive career in football. He started out at Argentinos Juniors, where he was promoted to the first team in 1994. He then transferred to Defensores de Belgrano. After a short spell, he moved to Bolivia in 1997 to join Oriente Petrolero, a club which acquired his playing rights shortly thereafter. Fernández spent a good portion of his career at Oriente, playing there on four occasions. During his first period with Oriente he had a series of impressive displays, a situation that encouraged him to apply for Bolivian citizenship in hopes of getting a call from the Bolivia national team. Fernández also played professionally for Independiente, Unión de Santa Fe, Chacarita Juniors and Tiro Federal in the Argentine Primera, CF Extremadura of the Spanish second division, Atlético Nacional in the Copa Mustang and Sociedad Deportiva Aucas of the Serie A de Ecuador. ^[1]

In April 2007, while playing for Oriente, Fernández tested positive for marijuana consumption after a league game's doping control test. He appealed for a second test, and after the results came positive again the league decided to suspend him for a two-year period. ^[2]

In 2009, Fernández returned to professional football with Bolivian first division club Real Mamoré. ^[3] Later in the year, he joined La Paz F.C., club where he finished his career. ^[4]

Bolivia national team

After his naturalization, Fernández was called up to represent the Bolivia national team. Between 2003 and 2005, he earned 17 caps, including 3 appearances in Copa América 2004. He represented his newly adopted country in 13 FIFA World Cup qualification matches. ^[5]

Club titles

Season	Club	Title
2005-I	Atlético Nacional	Fútbol Profesional Colombiano

References

1. Leo Fernández resguardará el pórtico de Aucas ^{[ permanent dead link ]} eluniverso.com (in Spanish)
2. Fernández dio positivo por cocaina y sería suspendido por dos años 26noticias.com.ar (in Spanish)
3. Leo Fernández es arquero de Real Mamoré Archived 2009-02-10 at the Wayback Machine laprensa.com.bo (in Spanish)
4. La Paz refuerza su arco con Fernández Archived 2009-07-11 at the Wayback Machine laprensa.com.bo (in Spanish)
5. Leonardo Fernández – FIFA competition record (archived)

External links

• Argentine Primera statistics at Fútbol XXI (in Spanish) at the Wayback Machine (archived 26 July 2012)
• Leonardo Fernández at BDFA (in Spanish)
• Leonardo Fernández at National-Football-Teams.com