The Portland Timbers announced today the re-signing of forward/midfielder Gastón Fernández. While this deal been expected since the end of the 2014 season, nothing is ever certain in MLS, and Fernandez’ signing will be a relief to Timbers faithful. Despite not starting consistently throughout the 2014 season for Portland, Fernandez appeared in 32 of the teams 34 games in MLS and was an important contributor to the attack. La Gata, as Fernandez is known, as also a mainstay in the Timbers CONCACAF Champions League campaign.
Perhaps most importantly, Fernandez proved himself to be an able replacement for Diego Valeri as the creative force in the middle of Caleb Porter’s attack. His ability to step in for Valeri will certainly be on display early in the 2015 season, as Valeri continues to recover from a late season torn ACL and is not expected to be ready for the beginning of the season. After scoring seven goals and contributing two assists in MLS play in 2014 as he adjusted to the league, the Timbers will be hoping that La Gata can become a more consistent contributor going forward.
Not only is Fernandez an able replacement for Valeri, he’s proven that he can contribute from any of the three attacking midfield positions in Porter’s system, as well as in the forward position at times. Fernandez made starts at forward, winger, and in the Number 10 role, a flexibility that is valuable in Porter’s system, which routinely involves positional rotation mid-game among the attacking players.
While the Timbers have made a number of moves already this off-season to bolster their back line which surrendered far too many goals in 2014 and also to improve their depth, re-signing Fernandez may end up being one of the most important moves of their offseason. While Valeri is only expected to miss the beginning of the season, setbacks can happen, and he may not return in the same form as before. Fernandez is one of, if not the best backups in the league and fills Valeri’s role almost perfectly. I’d go so far as to say that Fernandez would start in the creative attacking role on most teams in MLS. With a full MLS season under his belt, improved chemistry with his teammates developed over the course of last season, and an improved defense behind him, there’s no reason Fernandez shouldn’t be able to help Portland avoid their slow start of 2014 and begin the season as many expected to after their run to the Western Conference Finals in 2013.
The following is the press release from the team.
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers have re-signed forward Gastón Fernández, it was announced today. Per MLS and club policy, terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Fernández, 31, returns for a second season with the Timbers in 2015. He played in 38 matches across all competitions for Portland during the 2014 campaign, ranking among club leaders with 12 goals and three assists. Fernández was the team’s leader in goals during the 2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, notching a pair of braces in Portland’s first two matches in the tournament on June 17 (vs. Orlando City U-23s) and June 24 (at Sporting Kansas City). He contributed one goal and one assist in Portland’s inaugural CONCACAF Champions League campaign, scoring a goal in a 6-0 win over Alpha United FC of Guyana on Sept. 23 at Providence Park.
During regular-season play, Fernández appeared in 32 matches (17 starts), tallying seven goals and two assists in his debut MLS season. He became the first Timbers MLS player to register goals in consecutive matches twice during the regular season, scoring in back-to-back matches to start the season in home draws against Philadelphia (March 8) and Chicago (March 16), followed by goals in consecutive matches against Houston (April 27) and D.C. United (May 3). Against D.C. United, Fernández set the Timbers MLS record for the fastest goal to start a match, scoring the opening goal of a 3-2 win 34 seconds into the game at Providence Park. The goal was one of just 22 in MLS history scored in 34 seconds or less.
Starting his professional career in 2002, Fernández made 224 appearances (176 starts), scoring 48 goals in Argentina’s Primera División with clubs Club Atlético River Plate (2002-03; 2004-2006), Racing Club (2003-04), Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro (2007-08) and Estudiantes de la Plata (2008-09; 2010-13). He won season titles with three different clubs and played in four Copa Libertadores tournaments, winning the competition in 2009 with Estudiantes. Fernández tallied 19 goals over 51 league matches over parts of four seasons in Mexico’s Liga MX with clubs Monterrey (2006-07) and Tigres UANL (2008-2009).
He made his professional debut with accomplished Argentine side River Plate in 2002 after coming up through the club’s academy.
Gastón Fernández
Position: Forward
Height: 5-8
Weight: 160
Born: Oct. 12, 1983 in Avellaneda, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Hometown: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Last Club: Estudiantes de la Plata (Argentina)
College: n/a
Citizenship: Argentina
Acquired: Re-signed on Jan. 7, 2015
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