Roberto Junior Fernández #1

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Junior by (middle) name, Paraguay’s oldest player by nature, Fernández is widely known as Gatito, the Kitten. His father, also Roberto Fernández, won 78 caps in goal for Paraguay and became El Gato. Both players also made more than 100 appearances for Cerro Porteño, the Asunción-based club where Fernández is currently in his second spell. He has fought his way back into the national team after a long-term knee injury almost ended his career: “I used to go to Botafogo matches to watch my teammates,” he recalled. “They would go onto the pitch and I would go to the bathroom to cry. I couldn’t cope with everything I was going through. I couldn’t see a light at the end of the tunnel.” Soon after he finally came back from that injury, he broke his shoulder. He returned to the Paraguay side in 2024 after a four-year absence and was a key part of the side that won qualification, though Orlando Gill has been preferred in recent friendlies.

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