Fernando Edgardo Correa Ayala (born 6 January 1974) is a

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

an retired

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a striker, and is a current

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

. Having represented in his country River Plate and

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (; English: ''Peñarol Athletic Club'') —also known as ''Carboneros'', ''Aurinegros,'' and (familiarly) ''Manyas''— is a Uruguayan sports club from Montevideo. The name "Peñarol" comes from the Peñarol neig ...

, he had a lengthy spell in Spain with

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in ...

. He also competed professionally in China.

Club career

After four seasons with local

Club Atlético River Plate Club Atlético River Plate, commonly known as River Plate, is an Argentine professional sports club based in the Núñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Founded in 1901, the club is named after the English name for the city's estuary, Río de l ...

Montevideo Montevideo () is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern ...

-born Correa moved abroad to

, making his

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

debut on 10 September 1995 against

Racing de Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league syst ...

. Incidentally, he would be loaned for two years to the

Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the ea ...

ns, scoring 27 league goals in that period which was enough to earn a return to the Spanish capital. There, however, he would never be more than a decent attacking backup, at least in the top level; he did form an efficient partnership with compatriot

Diego Alonso Diego Martín Alonso López (; born 16 April 1975) is a Uruguayan professional football head coach and former player who played as a striker. Other than in his own country, he played football in Argentina, Spain, Mexico and China in a 16-year ...

in 2001–02, as the ''Colchoneros'' returned to the top tier after two years, combining for 35 league goals. After a two-year stint with

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, S.A.D. (, ca, Reial Club Deportiu Mallorca , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or just Mallorca is a Spanish professional football club based in Palma on the island of Majorca in ...

and a further six games for

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid () or Valladolid, is a professional football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish league system. The club colo ...

( Segunda División), Correa returned to Uruguay and River Plate, signing for

after a short stint with China's Shanghai Shenhua FC. In 2009, the 35-year-old rejoined his first professional club. Following his retirement, Alonso worked as assistant to Alonso in several teams. He had his first

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other Coach (sport), coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manage ...

experience in January 2018, being appointed at

C.A. Cerro Club Atlético Cerro, usually known simply as Cerro, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo that currently plays in the Uruguayan Segunda División. Founded in 1922, the club plays its home games at Estadio Luis Tróccoli. ...

. In December of the same year, after a spell that included 16

Uruguayan Primera División The Liga Profesional de Primera División (American Spanish , en, First Division Professional League, local: , ''First Division''), named "Torneo Uruguayo Copa Coca-Cola" for sponsorship reasons, is the highest professional football league in Uru ...

matches without one loss, he left.

International career

An intermittent Uruguay full international (one match in 1994, another in 1998 and two in 2004), Correa previously represented the nation at the

1993 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1993 FIFA World Youth Championship, known as the 1993 FIFA/Coca-Cola World Youth Championship for sponsorship purposes, was the 9th edition FIFA World Youth Championship. U20 Brazil defeated Ghana, 2–1 for its third title. It took place a ...

. He made his debut for the senior team on 19 October 1994 (aged 20), in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

with

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

in the Estadio Nacional José Díaz in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of t ...

, replacing

Darío Silva Darío Debray Silva Pereira (born 2 November 1972) is a Uruguayan retired professional footballer who played as a striker. After making a name for himself in his country and in Italy with Cagliari, he spent the following seven years of his care ...

in the 78th minute of the 1–0 win. In 2004, as he was a Mallorca player at the service of the national team, Correa tested positive for

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Am ...

and was suspended for one year, also being immediately released by Atlético. Upon appeal, it was reduced to nine months.

Honours

Atlético Madrid *

: 1995–96 *

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

: 1995–96 * Segunda División: 2001–02

References

External links

*
National team data
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Correa, Fernando 1974 births Living people Footballers from Montevideo Uruguayan footballers Association football forwards Uruguayan Primera División players Club Atlético River Plate (Montevideo) players Peñarol players La Liga players Segunda División players Atlético Madrid footballers Racing de Santander players RCD Mallorca players Real Valladolid players Chinese Super League players Shanghai Shenhua F.C. players Uruguay under-20 international footballers Uruguay international footballers Uruguayan expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in China Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Spain Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in China Uruguayan sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in association football Uruguayan football managers Uruguayan Primera División managers C.A. Cerro managers