The lost Bhoy
David Fernandez reveals how the struggle to make it at Celtic took a heavy toll
DAVID FERNANDEZ scored one goal for Celtic and was nearly knocked unconscious for his effort. The scene of this painfullymomentous event was the Marijampole Stadium, home to Lithuanian side Suduva and a venue Celtic will revisit this Thursday night on Europa League duty.
Back living in his home town of La Coruna and employed within Manchester City’s scouting operation, the 16-year gap allows Fernandez to reflect honestly on his troubled time in Paradise.
The first Spaniard to play for Celtic, he struggled to cope with his status as back-up to a towering front three of Henrik Larsson, Chris Sutton (below) and John Hartson. He admits he did himself few favours.
He is, however, proud to say he played a part in the run that took Celtic all the way to the 2003 UEFA Cup final in Seville.
Then, as now, Celtic were nursing something of a Champions League hangover after defeat to Swiss side Basel in the qualifiers.
Manager Martin O’Neill was able to forge something special out of adversity, a 10-1 aggregate victory over Suduva the first leg of a journey that took the club close to landing a European trophy.
Fernandez was an unused substitute as Jose Mourinho’s Porto lifted the trophy after extra-time, but his pleasure at being involved in a showpiece occasion on home soil came only after a significant personal struggle.
O’Neill had signed Fernandez a year earlier on the back of his performances for Livingston. The star man as the West Lothian side finished third in their maiden season as a top-flight team, his displays and bubbly personality had lit up the SPL and, at 26, he was primed for a step up.
Signed to augment arguably the finest frontline in the Parkhead club’s history, Fernandez knew he would not start every week.
Trouble is that after a bright pre-season, he struggled to get any game time at all. Suduva represented a rare start and he recalls the goal, if not the aftermath.
‘It’s all a bit blurry because the goalkeeper nearly killed me,’ he recalls. ‘We had won the first leg in Glasgow easily, so the game was already decided and there wasn’t too much pressure on us.
‘I remember it was a pass from John Hartson but it can’t have been the best ball because after I hit it, the goalkeeper clattered me.’
That whack from Gytis Padimanskas just about summed up Fernandez’s season.
He hoped the goal might help him kick on but O’Neill — who was finding it hard enough to keep each of his existing front three happy — was unconvinced.
Celtic kicked on. Suduva gave way to Blackburn Rovers and then it was on to Celta Vigo, Stuttgart, Liverpool and a semi-final against Boavista, with Fernandez appearing for a cameo in the first leg.
By that point, he had been through a fairly harrowing few months.
‘I have no regrets about signing for Celtic because there are some opportunities that only come up once in your life,’ says Fernandez. ‘I was given an opportunity to be part of one of the best teams in Celtic’s history. I could not say no. ‘I knew it was going to be difficult to get into the team. The trouble is I let myself go when I felt it was pointless trying to break through. ‘As a professional, you can’t allow that to happen. I let myself down and I let Celtic down.’ Chirpy by nature, Fernandez started to withdraw. His training regime took a hit and his diet suffered. ‘As a player, I had always prided myself on fitness, but I became down and I stopped looking after myself.
‘I was definitely overweight. Not fat in the normal sense, but in terms of the shape you need to be in to play football. I wasn’t looking after myself and I wasn’t fit enough.
‘My state of mind was bad. I remember the lowest point. There was a game at Aberdeen. Henrik Larsson got injured after a few minutes and I had to go on.
‘I looked at the pictures of that game and did not like what I saw. It was different version of myself. I was out of order. I changed my attitude after that.’
O’Neill had stocked the Parkhead dressing-room with hard-nosed characters like Sutton, Neil Lennon and Alan Thompson, but Fernandez remembers nothing but benevolence from his colleagues.
‘I know that dressing room had a reputation for being hard but my team-mates were incredibly supportive,’ he continues. ‘We went to Orlando for the winter break and they were very kind to me. They told me so many nice things about what they thought of me as a player and a person. That helped so much.
‘Jackie McNamara was my best pal there. We shared a car through from Edinburgh every day, so he saw me at my worst, but was very supportive.
‘I didn’t like what I had become. When you are not happy with yourself, you are not happy with your life. Everybody thinks the money makes you happy. I was well paid — but I was not happy.
‘It was a struggle because I went to Celtic with aspirations. It wasn’t happening for me and I reacted the wrong way. The really best players use these situations to become stronger. I didn’t.’
Fernandez’s career launched spectacularly when he broke into a successful Deportivo la Coruna team featuring the likes of Rivaldo and Txiki Begiristain (now a director at Manchester City), but he ended up in Scotland after a series of loan spells failed to help establish him as a starting player with the Galician club.
Steve Archibald brought him to Airdrie as part of a batch of Spanish players including goalkeeper Javier Sanchez Broto and the pair signed for Livingston after the Lanarkshire club went into administration.
The idea behind his move to Scotland was to reboot his career
I had the opportunity to be part of one of the best teams in the club’s history
and, when he clinched a £1million transfer to Celtic, he felt ready to flourish.
‘The first two months I was in great shape,’ he recalls. ‘I felt I was doing well in training sessions. I felt sharp, but there was no game time and I fell to the lowest point in my career. Martin O’Neill was fair. There were better players than me at Celtic.
‘I don’t know if Henrik Larsson is the best-ever Celtic player but he must be close. He was not only the best player in the team but probably the one who worked hardest.
‘I remember Seville very well. It was special for me to be taking part in such a big game in my home country.
‘Most of my family were there, including my wife, who was seven months pregnant with our second daughter. It’s a just a shame that we couldn’t win the trophy.’
After a harrowing year, Fernandez was offered a loan spell back at Livingston and helped the club secure its first major honour when he teed up Jamie McAllister for the clinching goal against Hibernian in the 2004 League Cup final.
‘Livingston was my home,’ he says. ‘My first spell there was probably the most enjoyable and the easiest time I had in football.
‘I played my best football by a million miles breaking through at Deportivo — but I was happiest at Livingston and going back to play under Davie Hay. He gave me a chance to rediscover what I loved about the game. It wasn’t an easy time for the club but we managed to win a trophy.
‘And Livingston managed to get me back to a normal state of mind.’
Fernandez is tight-lipped on the specifics of his current role with City — ‘I’m not allowed to talk about it,’ — suffice to say he works closely with his old team-mate Begiristain.
He remains close to McNamara and several of his ex-Livingston team-mates. He also keeps a watchful eye on the Scottish football scene.
Livingston may be dearest to his heart but he retains an admiration for Celtic and insists the club should not be too despondent after the midweek defeat to AEK Athens in the Champions League.
‘Celtic should not feel any shame about going into the Europa League,’ he says. ‘They are an iconic name and that doesn’t change because they are in a different competition.
‘Atletico Madrid won the Europa League last season, so that shows the prestige of the competition.
‘Celtic are not at the same level as 15 years ago, but they have a good team and a really good manager. I hope they do well.’
I went to Parkhead with aspirations but I reacted the wrong way when it proved difficult to get into the team