Fernando Cavenaghi

Fernando Ezequiel Cavenaghi (Spanish pronunciation: [kaveˈnaɡi]; born 21 September 1983 in O'Brien) is a retired Argentine professional footballer. He played as a striker who was efficient in front of goal with either foot and from any range.

Club career

Cavenaghi made his professional debut for River Plate in the 2000–01 season in which he scored one goal in five appearances. In his first full season he scored 17 goals in 23 appearances, including a hat-trick against Estudiantes. He left River at the beginning of the 2004–05 season, joining Spartak Moscow for a fee of £6.5 million. During his time at River he scored 55 times in 88 league appearances.

In the 2005 season, playing for Spartak Moscow, Cavenaghi scored 7 goals in 26 appearances (compared with 14 for Dmitri Kirichenko – the season's top-scorer) and played his part in helping Spartak win a UEFA Champions League place. It was a difficult first season for Cavenaghi, however, as he struggled to cope with an unfamiliar style of play, the artificial pitches and the Russian language. Although he started the 2006 season better than the previous one, he faded in the second half and transfer rumors began to surface. On 22 January 2007, Cavenaghi was sold to French division club Girondins de Bordeaux for an undisclosed fee, although the Russian media speculated that the deal was worth approximately €11 million with possible future fees.

On 3 February 2007 he played his first Ligue 1 match for Bordeaux against Nice. During the 2007–08 season enjoyed great success as he scored 22 goals in 35 appearances for Bordeaux. This form also brought him to the attention of Alfio Basile who called him up for the Argentina national team and gave him his debut against Egypt on 26 March 2008. The following season Cavenaghi helped Girondins de Bordeaux to its first Ligue 1 title in ten years scoring 13 goals in 29 league matches. The following seasons his role with the club diminished and in 2010 he was sent on loan to La Liga side Mallorca. Cavenaghi was with the Spanish club for only a short time but did manage to score 6 goals in 13 appearances.

On 25 January 2011 it was announced that Cavenaghi would join Brazil's Internacional on loan along with fellow Argentine Mario Bolatti. Due to foreign player restrictions in the Brazilian league Cavenaghi did not have a major role with the squad. He scored his first goal with Internacional on 10 April 2011 in a 6–2 victory over Canoas. He also helped the club capture the 2011 Campeonato Gaúcho title.

In the summer of 2011, Fernando returned to his childhood club River Plate following the club's historic relegation to the second division. Cavenaghi, who had great success in River Plate during the early years of his career, was appointed captain upon his return to the team. Throughout the season he had fantastic scoring form with 19 goals in 37 matches in league play, including a notable performance against Gimnasia de Jujuy where he scored four goals. In his one season back with River Plate he helped the club capture the 2011-12 Primera B Nacional and gain promotion back to the first division.

On 9 August 2012, it was announced that Cavenaghi would return to European football, signing with recently relegated Spanish side Villarreal. In his debut, he scored two goals in a 2–1 victory against Real Madrid Castilla. However, his second spell in Spain was again short-lived and in January 2013 Cavenaghi signed for Pachuca of the Mexican Liga MX.

In early 2014, Cavenaghi again re-joined River Plate. His third spell with the club. He would wear his number 9 throughout his 3rd stay. River Plate became Champion in Argentina's Primera División 2014, making them eligible to several continental/international tournaments in 2014-15.

As 1st club captain, Cavenaghi led River Plate to achieve a sweep of all three international championships: 2014 Copa Sudamericana, 2015 Recopa Sudamericana, & 2015 Copa Libertadores. Included in these campaigns were two eliminations of arch-rival Boca Juniors, first in the Sudamericana and later in Libertadores, with the infamous pepper spray incident at La Bombonera. Winning the Copa Libertadores would make River Plate eligible to play in the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan representing CONMEBOL against European Powerhouse: FC Barcelona.

Locally, He was the 2nd top goal scorer in Argentina's Primera División 2015 with 11 goals. After the return leg final of the Copa Libertadores in Buenos Aires, "Captain Fernando" expressed the end of his career at River Plate and exited the team at the best possible moment; as Club Champion of the South American Continent. "El Torito" played 211 official games with the club and won 8 titles overall, surpassing two club legends; Enzo Francescoli & Ariel Ortega.

On 25 August 2015, he moved back to Europe signing a two-year contract with Cypriot club APOEL FC. On 30 August 2015, he scored twice on his APOEL debut — including an amazing back-heel goal — in his team's 6–2 home victory against Pafos FC for the Cypriot First Division. He had an impressive start with APOEL, scoring in every match on his first seven league appearances and snatching a total of twelve goals. He helped APOEL to win the Cypriot First Division title, and despite of he played his last match on 10 February 2016, missing the last three months of the season (which ended on 15 May 2016) due to his injury, he managed to win also the Cypriot First Division top goalscorer award after topping the division's scoring charts with 19 goals in only 18 league appearances. Cavenaghi appeared in 26 matches and scored 23 goals in all competitions with APOEL, before a serious knee injury forced him to mutually terminate his contract with the club on 2 April 2016, as his recovery from the knee surgery was estimated to take more than eight months to complete.

His serious knee injury eventually forced Cavenaghi to retire from the professional scene, making the official announcement through a YouTube video on 27 December 2016. His retirement was filmed in his childhood club River Plate in the stadium El Monumental in Buenos Aires. He is remembered as one of the great players in River Plate's History.

International career

Cavenaghi was a part of the Argentina Under-20 squad that finished fourth in the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship.

His play with Bordeaux brought him to the attention of Alfio Basile who called him up for the Argentina national team and gave him his debut against Egypt on 26 March 2008..

Career statistics

As of 10 February 2016

Honours

Club

River Plate

• Argentina Primera Division (4): 2002 Clausura, 2003 Clausura, 2004 Clausura, 2014 Final
• Primera B Nacional (1): 2011–12 Primera B Nacional
• Copa Sudamericana (1): 2014
• Recopa Sudamericana (1): 2015
• Copa Libertadores (1): 2015

Internacional

• Campeonato Gaúcho (1): 2011

FC Girondins de Bordeaux

• Ligue 1 (1): 2008–09
• Trophée des Champions (2): 2008, 2009
• Coupe de la Ligue (1): 2007, 2009

APOEL

• Cypriot First Division (1): 2015–16

International

Argentina Under-20

• South American Youth Championship (1): 2003

Individual

• Argentine Primera División top scorer: 2001–02 Clausura
• Cypriot First Division top scorer: 2015–16