Rommel Fernández

Rommel Fernández
Personal information
Full name	Rommel Fernández Gutiérrez
Date of birth	15 January 1966
Place of birth	El Chorrillo, Panama
Date of death	6 May 1993 (aged 27)
Place of death	Albacete, Spain
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
	Plaza Amador
	Atlético Panamá
Senior career*
Years	Team
1985–1987	Alianza
1987–1991	Tenerife
1991–1993	Valencia
1992–1993	→ Albacete (loan)
International career
1986–1992	Panama
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Template:Spanish name 2 Rommel Fernández Gutiérrez (15 January 1966 – 6 May 1993) was a Panamanian footballer who played as a striker.

The second Panamanian to play in Europe, he spent almost his entire professional career in Spain, amassing La Liga totals of 104 games and 32 goals – 162/56 both major levels combined – in representation of four different teams. In 1993 he died in a car accident, at the age of just 27.

Club career

Fernández was born in the Panama City neighborhood of El Chorrillo. In 1987 the 21-year-old signed for CD Tenerife in Spain from Alianza, scoring a career-best 18 goals in his second season as the Canary Islands side promoted to La Liga for the second time in its history; in the following years he also netted in double digits as the club retained its top division status – in the 1989–90 campaign he was named Best South American Player in the Spanish League and, the following year, was voted best Ibero-American player in the competition by news agency EFE, receiving the Trofeo EFE.^[1]

Nicknamed The Panzer,^[2] Fernández moved to Valencia CF in 1991, but was used mostly as a backup in his only season, scoring just two goals. Subsequently he joined Albacete Balompié on loan, helping the Castile-La Mancha team retain its first division status in its second season ever and scoring his 50th league goal in the process, against former club Tenerife.

Car accident

On 6 May 1993, after returning from a meal with his Albacete teammates, Fernández died victim of a car accident just outside Albacete, after losing control of his car and hitting his head with a tree. His cousin Ronny Rojo was also travelling with him, but emerged unharmed.^[3]

International career

Fernández represented Panama numerous times, making his debut in the late 80's. In 1986, during a trip with the national team to Spain to participate in the Mundialito de la Emigración, a tournament where Tenerife played a select squad of players with Spanish ancestry, he played well enough to be offered a contract by the hosts.

Fernández's last match with Panama was a 1–5 defeat in Costa Rica for the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, on 23 August 1992.

Legacy

Estadio de la Revolución was renamed Estadio Rommel Fernández, in Fernández's honour.^[4]^[5]

References

^ Forlán, segundo uruguayo que gana el Trofeo EFE (Forlán, second Uruguayan to win the EFE Award); EFE, 24 October 2005 Template:Es icon
^ Rommel Fernández: 22 años sin 'El Panzer' (Rommel Fernández: 22 years without 'El Panzer'); Vavel, 5 May 2015 Template:Es icon
^ Rommel Fernández, trece años fallecimiento en accidente tráfico (Rommel Fernández, thirteen years of fatal traffic accident), Deportes.com, 5 May 2006 Template:Es icon
^ Rivas, Raúl (5 May 2008). "Remodelación del Estadio Rommel Fernández" (in Spanish). Panamagazine. Retrieved 26 July 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
^ Altamirano, Patricio (6 February 2013). "Estadio Rommel Fernández abrirá sus puertas a las 4 p. m." (in Spanish). Al Día. Retrieved 26 July 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)

External links

Rommel Fernández at BDFutbol
Rommel Fernández at National-Football-Teams.com
Rommel Fernández – FIFA competition record (archived)

[1] Forlán, segundo uruguayo que gana el Trofeo EFE (Forlán, second Uruguayan to win the EFE Award); EFE, 24 October 2005 Template:Es icon

[2] Rommel Fernández: 22 años sin 'El Panzer' (Rommel Fernández: 22 years without 'El Panzer'); Vavel, 5 May 2015 Template:Es icon

[3] Rommel Fernández, trece años fallecimiento en accidente tráfico (Rommel Fernández, thirteen years of fatal traffic accident), Deportes.com, 5 May 2006 Template:Es icon

[4] Rivas, Raúl (5 May 2008). "Remodelación del Estadio Rommel Fernández" (in Spanish). Panamagazine. Retrieved 26 July 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)

[5] Altamirano, Patricio (6 February 2013). "Estadio Rommel Fernández abrirá sus puertas a las 4 p. m." (in Spanish). Al Día. Retrieved 26 July 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)

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