Fernando is a life-long Athlético Madrid fan, born in working class Fuenlabrada to Flori and José. He has an older brother called Israel and an older sister called Mari Paz. He inherited his passion for Athlético from his grandfather. His first football team was Parque Four, which he joined as a fresh and innocent five year old, and his second team was called Mario's Holland, a neighborhood club which he joined when he was just seven years old. Then, aged ten, he joined a club called Rayo 13, for which he scored 55 times in a single season. He was one of the three players to earn a trial for Athlético Madrid; he joined the club, still aged just eleven, in 1995. During his debut season for the senior team, Fernando broke his leg, but still went on to play as part of the Spain Under-16s which won the Algarve Tournament in 2001. His first team debut for Athlético was on the 27th of May of that year against Leganés, and a week later he scored his first goal against Albacete. In 2003, Fernando was honored with being made the youngest ever captain of Athlético, at just 19 years of age. In the 2006 World Cup, Fernando scored the final goal against Ukraine, and fired two past Tunisia before making his hat trick by converting a penalty in the 90th minute. Back home in Spain, speculation was surrounding his transfer status. In total, Fernando scored 82 goals in 214 appearances for Athlético, and it was a huge wrench, after giving countless other big clubs the cold shoulder because they just weren't his beloved Athlético, to finally move to Liverpool for a confirmed £20m. He hated leaving his family and friends, and could speak hardly any English, but scored within 15 minutes of his debut game against Chelsea and things just got better and better for the player the Athlético fans had affectionately dubbed 'El Niño'. He has since become the first ever Liverpool player to score seven times in seven consecutive games in the Premier League at Anfield, and has scored, so far, a total of 30 goals in his debut season for the club. The Liverpool fans have a special chant, with which they only honor a few players, and they have put Fernando's name where they once put Anfield legends Kenny Dalglish and Robbie Fowler's. Fernando has been hailed as the best striker in the world, and looking at his unbelievable record, it's not difficult to see why. Show less «