Teodoro "Lolo" Fernández Meyzán (20 May 1913 – 17 September 1996) was a Peruvian professional footballer who played as forward. All his football work was carried out as a player of the Universitario de Deportes of the Peruvian First Division. He was champion, best player and top scorer in the 1939 Copa América. He is the top idol of Universitario de Deportes and Peruvian First Division.[2]

Teodoro Fernández
Fernández with the Peru national team in 1937
Personal information
Full name Teodoro Fernández Meyzán
Date of birth 20 May 1913
Place of birth Cañete, Peru
Date of death 17 September 1996(1996-09-17) (aged 83)
Place of death Lima, Peru
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
Universitario
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1931–1953 Universitario[1] 180 (156)
International career
1935–1947 Peru 32 (24)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Peru
Bolivarian Games
Gold medal – first place 1938 Bogotá
Copa América
Winner 1939 Lima
Third place 1935 Lima
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Fernández is the most emblematic player in the history of club Universitario de Deportes for which he played his whole career, winning six times the Primera División Peruana. Although he sporadically reinforced other clubs in friendly matches, clubs such as Alianza Lima and Colo-Colo, Fernández never represented a club other than Universitario in official competitions. Known as "El Cañonero" ("The Cannoneer") due to his excellence as a centre-forward and his strong shooting, Fernández was the Primera División Peruana top-scorer seven times.

Club career

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Fernandez in his last professional match with Universitario de Deportes in 1953

Lolo was the seventh of Raymunda Meyzán and Tomas Fernández's eight children. He learned to play football in primary school and was soon picked up by local club Huracán de Hualcará where he immediately stood out. At the age of 16, his parents sent him to Lima to continue his studies. Lolo stayed with his brother Arturo Fernandez who was the goalkeeper for Ciclista Lima. When Arturo transferred to first-division Universitario de Deportes, he brought Lolo along to play a bit of football in training and introduced him to the club's president, former 1930 World Cup player Placido Galindo, who decided to sign him. Lolo would remain with the club during his 22 years as a professional footballer.[3]

He made his professional debut with Universitario de Deportes in a friendly match against Club Deportivo Magallanes of Chile on 29 November 1931, scoring the game's only goal. In his first season (1932) he became Peruvian top scorer, the team finished second. The following year, the same feat was repeated.

The 1934 season saw Lolo lead the division in scoring, winning the Primera División Peruana trophy for the only second time in its history. Lolo obtained 6 local leagues as player in total, all with Universitario de Deportes: 1934, 1939, 1941, 1945, 1946 and 1949.

Several times during his career he rejected offers from teams such as in Chile, Argentina and Europe. Rumor has it Chile offered him a "blank check", for he to write in what he wished to be paid. He did not go with Chile. However, he represented Colo-Colo in friendly matches against the Argentine club Independiente in October 1940, alongside his compatriots César Socarraz, Pablo Pasache and his brother Arturo.[4]

Lolo played his last game for Universitario on 30 August 1953 at the age of 40 in the Peruvian Super Classic during which he scored a hat-trick for a 4–2 win.

Lolo is the top goalscorer for Universitario with 161 goals in 180 matches.

International career

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Peru football team that took part in the 1936 Summer Olympics. Front Row: Magallanes, Alcalde, Teodoro Fernández, Morales, and Villanueva. Back Row: Tovar, Lavalle, Valdivieso, Arturo Fernández, Castillo, Jordán, and Coach Alberto Denegri.

Lolo played for the Peru national football team from 1935 to 1947, and scored 24 goals in 32 matches. He is the fourth top scorer in history for his country.

In 1936, he represented Peru at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.[5] Peru made its way into the quarterfinals after defeating Finland (7–2) and went on to beat Austria (4–2). Lolo Fernandez scored a total of 6 goals in the two games.[6]

In the 1938 Bolivarian Games in Bogotá, Team Peru won gold.[7]

In 1939, he won the Copa America with the national team.[8] The final was played against Uruguay (2–1) which was arguably the best team in the world at the time, as Uruguay had won gold in the 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics and had won the first World Cup in 1930.[9]

Lolo was top scorer of the tournament with 7 goals.

Championship Venue Position Matches played Goals scored
1935 Copa América   Peru 3º place 3 1
1936 Summer Olympics   Germany Quarter-final 2 6
1937 Copa América   Argentina 6º place 4 2
1938 Bolivarian Games   Colombia Gold medal 4 3
1939 Copa América   Peru Champion 4 7
1941 Copa América   Chile 4º place 4 3
1942 Copa América   Uruguay 5º place 6 2
1947 Copa América   Ecuador 5º place 3 0
Total 32 24

Peru-Chile XI (Combinado del Pacífico)

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Fernández was part of the "Combinado del Pacífico" (Peru-Chile XI) a squad of Peruvian and Chilean footballers of Alianza Lima, Atlético Chalaco, Colo-Colo and Universitario de Deportes that played 39 friendly matches in Europe between September 1933 and March 1934 against teams such as FC Barcelona, Celtic FC, Hearts FC, Newcastle United FC, West Ham United FC and FC Bayern Munich. With 48 goals, Fernández was the team's main goalscorer during the European tour.[10]

Teodoro Fernández
Medal record
  1938 Bolivarian Games NA

Club

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Season Team Title
1934 Universitario Peruvian League
1939 Universitario Peruvian League
1941 Universitario Peruvian League
1945 Universitario Peruvian League
1946 Universitario Peruvian League
1949 Universitario Peruvian League

Country

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Peru national team
Season Title
1938 Bolivarian Games
1939 South American Championship

Individual awards

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Records

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Personal life

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He was the middle brother of the professional footballers Arturo, also a Peruvian international, and Eduardo Fernández.[15] They also were the uncles of the footballers José, Jorge and Carlos Fernández.[16]

Statistics

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Career

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Team Goals Matches Goal average
Universitario de Deportes 161 180 0.87
Pacific All-Stars Team 48 39 1.23
Peru National Team 24 32 0.75
Total 228 251 0.91

International goals

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Scores and results table. Peru's goal tally first:
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 20 January 1935 Lima, Peru   Argentina 1–0 1–4 1935 Copa America
2. 4 August 1936 Berlin, Germany   Finland 1–0 7–3 1936 Summer Olympics
3. 4 August 1936 Berlin, Germany   Finland 2–0 7–3 1936 Summer Olympics
4. 4 August 1936 Berlin, Germany   Finland 3–0 7–3 1936 Summer Olympics
5. 4 August 1936 Berlin, Germany   Finland 4–1 7–3 1936 Summer Olympics
6. 4 August 1936 Berlin, Germany   Finland 6–1 7–3 1936 Summer Olympics
7. 8 August 1936 Berlin, Germany   Austria 1–0 4–2 1936 Summer Olympics
8. 27 December 1936 Buenos Aires, Argentina   Brazil 1–2 2–3 1937 Copa America
9. 6 January 1937 Buenos Aires, Argentina   Uruguay 1–1 2–4 1937 Copa America
10. 16 April 1938 Bogota, Colombia   Colombia 1–0 4–2 1938 Bolivarian Games
11. 10 May 1938 Bogota, Colombia   Colombia 3–1 4–2 1938 Bolivarian Games
12. 21 May 1938 Bogota, Colombia   Bolivia 1–0 3–0 1938 Bolivarian Games
13. 15 January 1939 Lima, Peru   Ecuador 1–0 5–2 1939 Copa America
14. 15 January 1939 Lima, Peru   Ecuador 3–0 5–2 1939 Copa America
15. 15 January 1939 Lima, Peru   Ecuador 5–1 5–2 1939 Copa America
16. 22 January 1939 Lima, Peru   Chile 1–0 3–1 1939 Copa America
17. 22 January 1939 Lima, Peru   Chile 2–1 3–1 1939 Copa America
18. 29 January 1939 Lima, Peru   Paraguay 1–0 3–0 1939 Copa America
19. 29 January 1939 Lima, Peru   Paraguay 2–0 3–0 1939 Copa America
20. 23 February 1941 Santiago, Chile   Ecuador 1–0 4–0 1941 Copa America
21. 23 February 1941 Santiago, Chile   Ecuador 2–0 4–0 1941 Copa America
22. 23 February 1941 Santiago, Chile   Ecuador 4–0 4–0 1941 Copa America
23. 21 January 1942 Montevideo, Uruguay   Brazil 1–2 1–2 1942 Copa America
24. 25 January 1942 Montevideo, Uruguay   Argentina 1–1 1–3 1942 Copa America

Honours

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Teodoro Fernández was recognized and honored in his lifetime and afterward. At the 27 October 1952 inauguration of Estadio Nacional del Perú, he received from the government the highest honors bestowed on an athlete. President Manuel Odría (1948–56),[17] bestowed on him the Laureles Deportivos en Primera Clase for his outstanding career in Peruvian soccer.[18] The Club Universitario de Deportes named their stadium after him.[19] This stadium was opened officially 20 July of the same year with a friendly match against the University of Chile. The municipal stadium of the city of San Vicente de Cañete, on the central coast of Peru,[20] is also named after him, along with a section of the Maison de Santé clinic where he spent the last months of his life.[21]

The Peruvian composer Lorenzo Humberto Sotomayor dedicated his work Lolo Fernández[22] to Fernández. Another work in his honor is the dance El Taita Lolo Fernández with music by Alcides Carreño and lyrics by Fernando Soria.[23] In September 1996, one week following his passing, a banner was displayed with the phrase "Lolo Hasta Siempre Alianza Presente"[24] during a match between Ciclista Lima and Alianza Lima, who are known college rivals. On 17 September 1997, during a match against Sporting Cristal in the Clausura tournament of that year, the university's players wore jerseys with Fernández's image printed on the chest.[25] In 2013, during a celebration of the centennial of his birth, the Chermany Inks: La Kasa Roja gallery presented an exposition of paintings done by nine artists in honor of Fernández.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Carrer". Depor.pe. 15 April 2014. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  2. ^ FIFA, ed. (2011). "El primer ídolo de La U y de todo Perú". Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  3. ^ One-club man
  4. ^ "Cheque en falso: Lolo Fernández y un nuevo mito derrumbado". BI (in Spanish). 7 August 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Teodoro Fernández". Olympedia. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  6. ^ XI. Olympiad Berlin 1936 Football Tournament
  7. ^ 1938 Bolivarian Games
  8. ^ Southamerican Championship 1939
  9. ^ "Teodoro "Lolo" Fernandez: The One Club Man That Angered Hitler". bleacherreport.com. 6 October 2008.
  10. ^ "ESPECIALES»COMBINADO DEL PACÍFICO". labandadeodriozola.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 1 June 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  11. ^ "Primera División Peruana: Top Scorer". Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. ^ Copa America; Top Scorers (up to 2007)
  13. ^ Highest individual scoring per Olympic match
  14. ^ Copa America; JUGADORES CON MAS PARTIDOS Archived 15 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ "Eduardo 'Lolín' Fernández: El gran hermano" (in Spanish). De Chalaca. 12 April 2011. Archived from the original on 12 November 2011.
  16. ^ Behr, Raúl (16 June 2012). "José Fernández: El linaje ante todo". dechalaca.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  17. ^ "Manuel A. Odría | president of Peru". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  18. ^ "El Comercio.COM.PE". 29 August 2011. Archived from the original on 29 August 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  19. ^ "Universitario de Deportes". Universitario de Deportes (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  20. ^ Tang, Phillip (2016). Lonely Planet Peru: Top Sights, Authentic Experiences. Lonely Planet Global Limited.
  21. ^ "Lolo Fernández: La leyenda crema". 25 May 2019.
  22. ^ "Lolo Fernández, Historia de la polca de Don Lorenzo Humberto Sotomayor". RPP (in Spanish). 19 May 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  23. ^ "musicacriollacomposiciones". 6 March 2007. Archived from the original on 6 March 2007. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  24. ^ "'Lolo' para el Perú entero – De Chalaca | Futbol para el que la conoce". dechalaca.com. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  25. ^ "Con la leyenda en el pecho – De Chalaca | Futbol para el que la conoce". dechalaca.com. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
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