Fernando Hierro is an ex-football player of Real Madrid and the Spanish national team, one of the best defenders in the history of the Royal Club. He was distinguished by a tough, confident game on the back line, as well as leadership qualities on the field and in the dressing room.
Fernando Hierro: biography and facts from life
The future football star was born in March 1968 in the small Spanish town of Velez-Malaga. Fernando was destined to become a footballer, because from childhood he watched the success in this sport of his older brother Manolo, who defended the colors of Valladolid, Barcelona, Tenerife and other Spanish clubs at a professional level.
What about Fernando? For seven years, the young man defended the colors of the local youth team, and in 1987 he signed his first professional contract with the Valladolid football club.
In total, Hierro spent eighteen years in big-time sports, during which he managed to play in four clubs and in three countries.
It is noteworthy that with 29 goals, the Spanish defender is fourth in the history of the Spanish national team. Despite his role, Fernando Hierro scored a lot in the red shirt, especially with headers.
Career start
In his first team, Valladolid, the football player played two seasons and quickly turned from a young and promising player into the first team. In total, Hierro spent two seasons for the White-Purple and took part in 57 matches for his club.
It's a common practice for the Spanish Championship when a young and talented footballer "gets on the radar" of one of the two giants - Real Madrid or Barcelona. This happened in the case of a native of the suburbs of Malaga. Fernando was noticed in the Madrid club and at the beginning of the next season, Hierro tried on a creamy T-shirt.
Legend
For Fernando Hierro, Real Madrid became the team in which the defender spent the next fourteen years of his career. For the Spanish defender, these were truly golden times, in every sense of the word. As part of the “creamy” Big Captain, as the fans of the capital club called him, won the prestigious UEFA Champions League three times and once the European Super Cup. In the national draws, Hierro became the champion of Spain five times and once again raised the country's Cup over his head. In the summer of 2003, Fernando brought tears to the Royal Club's thousands of Torsida when his departure was announced at the Santiago Bernabeo.
With the completion of the defender's performances for Real Madrid, an entire era in the history of the Royal Club has ended. "Big Captain", without exaggeration, has become its symbol, and the audience at the "SantiagoBernabeu never forgets its legends such as Alfredo di Stefano, Raul Gonzalez, Roberto Carlos, Fernando Hierro. Photos of the Spanish defender can still be found on different pages of the history of the Madrid club, and you can be sure that the employees of the Real Madrid club museum have something to tell about this person.
At sunset
In 2003, the football veteran moved for one season to the Qatari side Al Rayyan, where he performed well, scoring three goals. At the end of his career, Hierro managed to play in the English Premier League, where he defended the colors of Bolton for one season.
In the national team
Just like for Real Madrid, Fernando Hierro is a cult figure for Spain fans. His debut as part of the "Red Fury" took place back in 1989 in a duel against the national team of Poland. At the end of the next year, the defender scored the first goal scored. This happened in the qualifying match for the European Championship against the Albanian team.
The Spaniard took part in three world championships (in 1994, 1998 and 2002). It is noteworthy that at each of his world championships, Fernando Hierro was distinguished by goals scored. Another interesting fact, if we take into account only the official games of the Spanish national team, in sixty matches, Fernando Hierro scored 25 goals against opponents. This is a phenomenal result with an eye on the role of the Big Captain.
In June 2002, the Spanish defender spent his last match in a T-shirt"Red Fury". Hierro scored with an excellent masterful shot in the post-match pen alty shootout against the South Korean national team, but one of Fernando's teammates blundered and it was the Koreans who went to the next stage. The Spanish national team has since had a lot of great top-level defenders, but Fernando Hierro will forever remain in the hearts of Furies fans as the “big captain”. Today, the ex-footballer's career is still associated with Real Madrid, where he assists the club's head coach.
