Sergio Fernández González (born 23 May 1977), known simply as Sergio, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a central defender.
In 18 years as a senior, he played mainly for Celta and Osasuna, starting and ending his career with Sporting de Gijón. He appeared in 295 La Liga matches over 15 seasons, scoring nine goals.El 'honesto' adiós de Sergio (Sergio's 'honest' farewell); Atlántico Diario, 23 October 2012 (in Spanish)
Club career Sergio was born in Avilés, Asturias, and emerged through Sporting de Gijón's youth system, making his first appearance for the main squad on 7 January 1996 in a 3–2 home win against UD Salamanca.El Sporting respira (Sporting breathe); Mundo Deportivo, 8 January 1996 (in Spanish) He would play three further seasons as first choice, with the club being relegated from La Liga in 1998.Objetivo: ascenso inmediato cuarenta años después (Goal: immediate promotion forty years later); La Voz de Asturias, 4 July 2017 (in Spanish)
Sergio joined RC Celta de Vigo in the summer of 1999, being a somewhat important defensive figure in the Galicians' domestic and European consolidation. After relegation at the end of the 2003–04 campaign (19 games played), he contributed one goal in a 2–1 home victory over Xerez CD on 9 January 2005 as the side eventually returned to the top division, and continued to appear prominently as they immediately achieved a UEFA Cup position.Sergio Fernández; Yo Jugué en el Celta, 1 May 2008 (in Spanish)
Sergio moved to Real Zaragoza for 2006–07, reuniting with former Celta manager Víctor Fernández and teammate JuanfranFernández lands former charges; UEFA, 3 July 2006 and playing 28 matches en route to another sixth place in the league, which again qualified for the UEFA Cup. However, in spite of his late equaliser against Real Madrid on 11 May 2008, in a 2–2 home draw, the Aragonese were relegated at the end of his second year.; ESPN Soccernet, 11 May 2008El proyecto de Champions del Zaragoza se convierte en el descenso más amargo (Zaragoza's Champions League project becomes the bitterest relegation); RTVE, 19 May 2008 (in Spanish)
In mid-November 2008, Sergio signed with CA Osasuna until the end of the top-flight season, as the Navarrese lost Rovérsio for its duration due to a serious knee injury in a Copa del Rey tie against Getafe CF.Roversio, otra rodilla destrozada (Rovérsio, another shattered knee); El Mundo, 14 November 2008 (in Spanish) He received the Brazilian's No. 16 jersey.Osasuna llega a un acuerdo por Sergio Fernández (Osasuna reach agreement for Sergio Fernández); CA Osasuna, 19 November 2008 (in Spanish)Sergio ya es rojillo (Sergio is already red); Diario de Navarra, 20 November 2008 (in Spanish)
The veteran continued to be regularly used the following years, under both José Antonio Camacho and his successor José Luis Mendilibar.Sergio: "Mendilibar unió a afición y equipo" (Sergio: "Mendilibar united fans and team"); Marca, 20 October 2011 (in Spanish) On 6 March 2011, he headed home a 92nd-minute corner kick in a 1–0 away defeat of Málaga CF in what was his team's first away win of the campaign.; ESPN Soccernet, 6 March 2011
On 20 June 2012, after having scored onceEl Reyno de la alegría (Kingdom ("Reyno" in English, pun on ground's name) of joy); Marca, 18 December 2011 (in Spanish) from 20 appearances to help Osasuna retain their league status, the 35-year-old Sergio signed for two years with his former employers Sporting, in turn relegated to the Segunda División.Sergio vuelve a su casa (Sergio returns to his home); Noticias de Navarra, 21 June 2012 (in Spanish)Sergio Fernández presentado oficialmente en Mareo (Sergio Fernández officially presented in Mareo) ; Sporting Gijón, 26 June 2012 (in Spanish) Only four months later, however, he decided to retire due to a chronic injury.Sergio Fernández decide dejar el fútbol (Sergio Fernández decides to quit football) ; Sporting Gijón, 21 October 2012 (in Spanish)Sergio Fernández decide retirarse debido a las lesiones (Sergio Fernández decides to retire due to injuries); Diario AS, 21 June 2012 (in Spanish)
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