Ezequiel Fernández: Who is the midfield fighter with Boca DNA?

Born in San Miguel in the metropolitan area of the Argentine capital Buenos Aires, Fernández came up through the youth ranks of local giants Boca Juniors. At the 35-time champions, he made the step up to the second team at the beginning of 2020 and finally made his professional debut in the first division in May 2021. He had previously been included in the senior squad for the first time in March of the same year in the first round of the national cup, which Boca went on to win that year.

Supercopa victory after returning from loan

At the beginning of 2022, Fernández moved to league rivals Tigre on a one-year loan to gain more playing experience. There, the robust and combative midfielder immediately became a regular and played a total of 42 competitive matches, starting an impressive 38 times.

After returning to Boca, Fernández became an integral part of the first-team squad from 2023 onwards and won the Argentine Supercopa in his very first game. Boca, who had won the league title while Fernández was on loan at Tigre, faced cup winners Patronato. The new Leverkusen signing, who is known for his accurate passing and intelligent play, was in the starting line-up for the 3-0 win and played a total of 78 minutes.

Derby duel with Echeverri in Argentina

Before moving to Saudi Arabia in August 2024, where he played 38 times for Al-Qadsiah, he played another 63 competitive matches for Boca. This included an appearance in South America's biggest and most heated derby, the Superclásico between Boca and River Plate. One of his opponents in the 1-1 draw was his now new Werkself teammate Claudio Echeverri.

U17 South American champions and Olympic participation

Fernández also has some experience at national team level. He won the South American U17 Championship in 2019. Last year, while playing in Saudi Arabia, he was selected for the Argentine squad for the Summer Olympics in Paris. There he once again met Echeverri, this time as a teammate. Together, the duo advanced to the quarter-finals, where they narrowly lost 1-0 to hosts France.

The paths of the two new Werkself Argentinians will now cross once again in Leverkusen. Fernández is very much looking forward to this new chapter: “Now I want to further my career in Europe at an internationally renowned club. Bayer 04 currently has three of my Argentinian colleagues in its squad: Exequiel Palacios, Alejo Sarco and Claudio Echeverri. They told me about the club culture and the high sporting standards here in Leverkusen. I am very confident that we will all achieve significant victories together.”