Augusto retires: “I don't feel the extreme passion that always moved me”

Augusto Fernández has announced in a press conference that the time has come to hang up the boots. A decision that affirms has been very thoughtful until arriving at the conclusion that the moment had arrived in spite of feeling well physically. The former of great teams like River Plate, St-Étienne, Vélez Sarsfield, Celta, Atlético de Madrid and international with the Argentine National Team Cádiz does not close the doors for the future and its new stage in the world of football that states he would like it to be in the field of management. Augusto thanked Cádiz for all that it has contributed to him.

This is how the Argentine began his speech: “I am here to communicate that I have decided to end my professional career. It is a decision that I have been considering for months. In February I communicated it to the club and at that moment they showed me that my importance in the team went beyond just playing more or less. I reflected on it alone and as my family and I decided to postpone that decision with the goal and personal desire to return and compete every day and, above all, give us that hug of goal accomplished. During my career I was all heart and then head. My impulse was from enthusiasm. Now I feel like I should be honest with myself and even though I'm physically fine, I don't like to force thingsI accept them as they are and it has been a long time I don't feel that extreme passion that always moved me and that marks me that it is time to close this stage. A way of life for me. “

He also remembered his father, who died a few months ago: “I am sure that my father would be telling me to play until soccer, leave me and I apologize because I do not see things that way And he knows that I'm not afraid of the end. Life goes on and I prefer to make the decision with integrity and having given everything. “Finally, he thanked the club for their support, from the president to all those who have been part of the day to day,” I am grateful to the president for the opportunity, to the coach and my companions for the year, what It has been difficult for me personally and emotionally and they have always been there. I will always have you in my heart and I am very excited to see you all here. “

Manuel Vizcaino, president of Cádiz, accompanied the footballer at his farewell press conference and had words of gratitude for the Argentine: “Augusto is one of the people most honored who have passed through this entity as a footballer since I've been here. It has contributed a lot to achieving the goal and not only for the minutes you have given, you have given what you could, but I remember many moments off the field in which you have been the father and teacher of many classmates and many of us in difficult situations. I remember moments on and off the court in which you have been an example. We will never finish thanking you that a player of your worth has been with us. You are an example and your doors are open. We will do many things together“.

After the intervention of the head of the cadista entity, Manuel Vizcaíno himself on behalf of the club has made him delivery of the Argentina national team shirt with the Cádiz shield as a gift on a special day in his career.

What has Cádiz brought you?. “They have given me the final kick of wanting to finish my career in Cádiz having achieved the goal and with this beautiful band of people who have known how to go through the bad times and who have always made me feel alive. It has given me the desire to finish my degree and I am proud to belong to this institution. Everything they are doing to me is not up to the task, I do not deserve something like that, I thought of something simpler to communicate it. They will always have a little piece of me. “

Professional future. “The president already knows because we have spoken many times. I really like management. I consider that one is a soccer player, but above all one is a person and one has to learn new things. I like management and not the maelstrom of being a coach. Hopefully we can do things together and continue to grow together. I now start a new path from scratch, but with the same enthusiasm as when I played“.

Tips for young people starting their way in football. “I don't like to give advice, but I can speak from my own experience. I was a player who he surpassed himself based on his own self-demand and even my own over-demand. I didn't need external condiments to experience it like this. That meant that I could surpass myself and reinvent myself, but at the same time it caused me enormous wear and tear because I lived like this my entire career. For me, playing badly or losing a game was something that could not be, I did not tolerate it in my life. If I have to give advice, it is that you enjoy, something that I could not do. Not knowing how to enjoy it made me fulfill more dreams than I had ever imagined. I never imagined playing a Champions League, going to a World Cup, a Copa América or playing so many years in Spain. I was able to do it thanks to how I lived it. So now I say enough, because I don't have that feeling. “

Best moment in the Cádiz stage. “Choosing a single moment is difficult because one tends to choose happy moments and if I have to choose I choose another. My father passed away on a Tuesday night and on Wednesday morning I had the need to come to train. I felt supported and contained in a moment as difficult as that. They gave me the containment I needed to get out of those dark days. I am left with that bad moment that they did as little bad as possible for me. “

He has no thorn left in his career. “With the passage of time you realize that everything is learning. Soccer is a sport in which results and numbers rule and now I realize that what remains are people, relationships and respect. When you handle yourself with respect and try to do your best, you don't have to be left with any thorn. I lived this career intensely and professionally. That was rewarded to me and I am proud and grateful. “