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
