Lolo Fernandez

Teodoro Fernández Meyzán (San Vicente de Cañete, Cañete, Peru, May 20, 1913 - Lima, Lima, Peru, September 17, 1996) was a Peruvian soccer player who stood out as a striker. All his football work was accomplished as a player of the Club Universitario de Deportes of the First Division of Peru. He is the greatest idol of the cream team and of Peruvian soccer.

He began his career as a soccer player in March 1930, playing in the reserve team of Universitario de Deportes and at the end of that same year he became the tournament's all-time top scorer, for which he was promoted to the first team. His debut was produced on November 29, 1931, in an international friendly match against Magallanes of Chile. He defended the University shirt for twenty-three uninterrupted years. In that period he obtained six titles, also consecrating himself as a scorer in the Peruvian Soccer Championship seven times.

With the Peruvian soccer team, he played thirty-two games and scored twenty-four goals, being to date the fourth top scorer for the red and white team and the only one on this list to have two trophies: the gold medal of the 1938 Bolivarian Games and the 1939 South American Championship. He participated in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, in the 1938 Bolivarian Games and in six editions of the South American National Team Championship (1935, 1937, 1939, 1941, 1942 and 1947), of which He is the third all-time top scorer with fifteen goals.

He was one of the teams from Peru and Chile that made up the so-called Combinado del Pacífico, made up of soccer players from the Alianza Lima, Atlético Chalaco, Colo-Colo and Universitario de Deportes clubs, who between September Between 1933 and March 1934 they played thirty-nine friendly matches in Europe, being the top scorer with forty-eight goals.

In 1952, Universitario inaugurated its own stadium with the name of Lolo Fernández, being a unique case in Peruvian and South American soccer: a sports venue receiving the name of an active soccer player. In that same year he received the Laureles Deportivos and in 2012 he became a member of the Peruvian Sports Hall of Fame.

Biography

Teodoro Fernández was born on May 20, 1913 at the Hualcará Hacienda in the town of San Vicente de Cañete. He was the second to last of the eight children born to the couple Tomás Fernández Cisneros (manager of the hacienda) and Raymunda Meyzán (housewife). He studied elementary school at the Public School No.1510 in Hualcará. He was married to Elvira Fernández Meyer, whom he married in 1937 and had two children: Teodoro and Marina.

After completing his career as a soccer player, Lolo went on to receive a monthly pension from the club he defended for 23 years, Universitario de Deportes. The team also made a collection so that he could have his own house.Despite that, he worked in the Callao Customs Archive, in sports accessory stores and writing articles in sports weeklies. His coworkers remember him as "a kind and very punctual person". During the 1970s, he directed some practices of the lower divisions of the University, in addition he instructed the young people of the time. The recognition achieved in previous years led him to be invited to some television programs where various tributes were paid to him. On August 30, 1983, a friendly match was held at the Lolo Fernández Stadium commemorating the 30th anniversary of his retirement.

In the same year, he traveled to the United States to undergo an operation. A few years later (1989), he was admitted to the Maison de Santé Clinic due to his advanced age, where he was visited by family, friends and fans of Universitario de Deportes. On Tuesday, September 17, 1996, Fernández died at the age of 83 years. His burial was attended by personalities of all ages, including fans and soccer fans. His coffin was covered with a University flag, and the coffin was paraded around the field of the Lolo Fernández Stadium, simulating a last Olympic round. Upon leaving from the stadium and going to the cemetery, an attempt was made to put the coffin on the float but the number of people forced his remains to be taken on foot to Alfonso Ugarte avenue. His remains were buried in the Parque del Recuerdo Cemetery in the district of Lurín.

Trajectory

University of Sports

In his childhood, Teodoro used to play soccer like any other child, at that time it was very difficult to get a ball and the children managed by playing with improvised or homemade balls. His father did not like that he played soccer, because he said that "his right shoe didn't last long and the left ones stayed new" . Every afternoon together with his brothers and the children of the workers and laborers of the hacienda where he lived They would gather to play in a pampa located next to the farm's chapel.

"My father was determined not to continue playing. Major was his opposition when he found out that in the ardor of the game we originated some injuries that we then tried to hide. He thought we'd quit football by hiding our shoes. However, we ran away and got used to playing without shoes. »

Alberto Fernández Meyzán.

Lolo Fernández in 1931.

While he was studying in Cañete, together with his classmates they formed the Huracán de Hualcará club to represent their farm and compete with other clubs in the Cañete Valley. Their debut took place on August 30, 1923 against Alianza San Vicente, after a disappointing first half in which neither team had managed to score, in extra time Lolo scored the winning goal after a strong shot from long distance. After spending almost all his childhood in Cañete, he was sent to the city of Lima at the age of 16 so that he could continue his studies. In Lima he was received by his older brother Arturo, who in those years defended the Ciclista Lima jersey.

Due to his great performances as a defender, Arturo was hired by Universitario de Deportes. Some time later, he took Lolo to try out for the student club and the then president, Doctor Plácido Galindo, saw him play and without further ado, included him in the team's squad. He signed his first professional contract for the amount of 120 monthly soles. In March 1930, he wore the cream jersey for the first time, initially entered the reserve and at the end of that same year he was the tournament's absolute scorer, for which he was promoted to the first team.

Fernandez, Alberto Terry and other "U" players.

He made his debut with Universitario on November 29, 1931, in an international match against Magallanes of Chile. He played as an inside right (his brother José played in the center), in that match he scored the winning goal for the « U”, after receiving a cross from the left by Luis de Souza Ferreira, leaving the Chilean goalkeeper halfway when he came out to intercept the pass. His debut in an official match took place on June 26, 1932 against Sportivo Unión. On July 10 of that same year, he scored six goals in the 8:0 win against Circolo Sportivo Italiano.

In the 1932 amateur tournament, the "U" finished runner-up with five victories and two draws. Fernández was the top scorer in the championship with eleven goals in nine games, crowning himself for the first time as the top scorer in Peruvian soccer. The following year history repeated itself, Universitario obtained the runner-up position and Teodoro was the top scorer in the league with nine goals.

The 1934 tournament generated controversy because, according to the rules of the championship, the points obtained by the first teams and a fraction of what their reserves obtained had to be added in a single table, for which supposedly the title should have be awarded to Alianza Lima; however, the club's leaders complained to the Peruvian Football Federation, arguing that the points of the reserves would have to be added after deciding who would win the First Division title. An extra match was played between both teams with a victory for the university students by score of 2:1, thus obtaining his second national title, officially recognized by the Peruvian Football Federation and the Professional Football Sports Association, in addition Teodoro was the championship scorer for the third time in a row.

The 1935 amateur tournament only had the participation of five teams: Alianza Lima, Sport Boys, Sportivo Tarapacá, Universitario and Mariscal Sucre. It was played between September 15 and October 20. The only team that played all their matches was Sport Boys. The other teams only played two matches and did not continue to do so, since having won the rosados in all their presentations, they were crowned national champions; Universitario finished in third place with three points. In 1936 the championship was not held due to the participation of the Peruvian soccer team in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. A year later the "U" trained by the Englishman Jack Greenwell, achieved the third title in its sports history. He achieved nine wins, three draws and only two losses, scoring thirty-two goals, while the rivals could only beat their goalkeeper fourteen times. Lolo Fernández was once again the scorer with fifteen goals.

Lolo Fernandez (middle) next to the Sports University campus in the 1950s.

The 1941 championship included the participation of eight clubs and was played in two rounds with round-trip matches. However, on the twelfth date the tournament was suspended due to the participation of the Peruvian team in the South American Championship of that year. Once resumed, Universitario de Deportes won the title after beating Atlético Chalaco and Alianza in the last two games Lima by 1:0 and 3:1 respectively. In 1945 they obtained the national title again after ten victories, one draw and three defeats. The championship scorer was Lolo with sixteen scores.

In 1946, for the first time the championship was played using the three-round format. between the three footballers they scored forty-one scores). The club celebrated its silver wedding anniversary and won the 1949 championship, after beating Atlético Chalaco in its last match. The creams, in the final clash, won 4:3. At the end of the 1940s, Lolo could not play regularly due to the constant injuries he began to suffer, however the footballer's discipline made to alternate in some commitments.

Teodoro Fernández in his last match with the "U" in August 1953.

Fernández retired from professional soccer on August 30, 1953 at the age of 40, facing the classic rival, Alianza Lima, at the recently inaugurated National Stadium, whom they defeated by a score of 4:2 with three goals from their authorship. At that time, he was not a regular player for the team but due to the injury of the starting striker, he was taken into account to play the 90 minutes of that game. The first of his goals was scored in the 27th minute of the first half after a strong shot with his right leg inside the area, then in the third minute of the second half and, in the thirty minute, he decreed the final 4:2 after receiving a pass by Mario Osorio.

"I will leave with the enthusiasm of 20 years ago. Although the legs are not the same, the heart is still the same. »

Teodoro Fernández, hours before playing his last match against Alianza Lima.

At the end of the match, he made the Olympic turn and was even greeted by his opponents. Two months later his final farewell to the courts took place, exactly on October 14, 1953 in the presence of more than thirty thousand fans who attended to the National Stadium. Two games were scheduled that night, with the team from Hacienda Hualcará playing in the first round against a team of veterans called Los Olímpicos, where Adelfo Magallanes Campos stood out, who scored the only goal for his team. But those from Hualcará, paying tribute to Lolo, scored two goals and won the game.

In the second game, Universitario and Centro Iqueño faced each other, although Teodoro only stayed on the field for the first six minutes, since at that exact moment the stadium announcer announced the final farewell to Cañonero. He took off his cream shirt and handed it to Manuel Arce, who entered in his place.The match continued and ended with a 5:2 university victory.

Peru National Soccer Team

He was international with the Peruvian soccer team thirty-two times and scored twenty-four goals. His debut took place on January 13, 1935 in a match against the Uruguayan team, valid for the South American Championship of that year, which ended with a victory for the Uruguayans by a score of 1:0. His first goal was scored seven days later against the Argentina team.

Jorge Mayor, Teodoro Fernandez and Alejandro Villanueva members of the staff that played the 1935 South American Championship.

A year later, he was part of the Peruvian team that participated in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, reaching the semifinals after comfortably beating Finland by a score of 7:3, with five goals from Teodoro and two from Alejandro Villanueva, and Austria by 4:2, after losing 2:0 and managing to tie in the last fifteen minutes of regulation time. This caused an alleged invasion of the field of play by the Peruvian fans who were in the stadium.

In extra time, Peru managed to score two more goals, obtaining the victory. However, Austria protested to FIFA and was ordered to play a revenge match without spectators, a situation in which the Peruvian government decided that the entire delegation The national team will abandon the sporting event, giving the Austrians the winners of the match. In those Olympic Games he scored 6 goals.

Fernández Meyzán (the third of those below) together with the Peruvian selection that participated in the 1936 Olympic Games.

In the 1937 South American Championship he played four games and scored two goals, the first against Brazil and the second against Uruguay., Bolivia and Panama, Peru obtained the gold medal in the I Bolivarian Games scoring eighteen goals in four matches.

In 1939 they won their first major international title: the South American Championship that was held in the city of Lima. The team played four matches in the tournament and won them all, 5:2 against Ecuador, 3:1 against Chile, 3:0 against Paraguay and 2:1 against Uruguay. Teodoro Fernández was the top scorer in the championship with seven goals, he was also chosen as the best footballer of the tournament.

During the 1940s, Fernández participated with the Peruvian team in three more editions of the South American Championship. The first of them in the 1941 South American Championship held in Chile, where he played four games and scored three goals. The second in the 1942 South American Championship in Uruguay, scoring two goals in three games. And his last international participation with the national team It took place in the 1947 South American Championship in Ecuador, playing three games and scoring no goals. His last game was played on December 20, 1947 against the locals with a zero draw.

Statistics

Clubs

National team

Selection	Year	Friendly		Championship South American		Games Bolivarian		Games Olympics		Total		Media Shotgun
		Part.	Goles	Part.	Goles	Part.	Goles	Part.	Goles	Part.	Goles
Selection of Peru Peru Peru	1935	-		3	1	-		-		3	1	0.33
	1936	-		1	1	-		2	6	3	7	2.33
	1937	-		3	1	-		-		3	1	0.33
	1938	-		0	0	3	3	-		3	3	1,00
	1939	-		4	7	-		-		4	7	1.75
	1941	3	0	4	3	-		-		7	3	0.43
	1942	-		6	2	-		-		6	2	0.33
	1947	-		3	0	-		-		3	0	0.00
Total career		3	0	24	15	3	3	2	6	32	24	0.75
↑ Includes Copa Roque Sáenz Peña (1941). ↑ Includes data from South American Select Championship (1935, 1937, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1947). ↑ It includes data from Bolivarian Games (1938). ↑ It includes data from the Olympic Games (1936).

Detail

Complete chronology of the games with the selection of football of Peru
Date	City	Local	Outcome	Visitor	Competition	Goles
13-01-1935	Lima	UruguayURU	1:0	PERPeru	South American Championship 1935	0
20-01-1935		ArgentinaARG	4:1	PERPeru		1
26-01-1935		PeruPER	1:0	CHIChile		0
06-08-1936	Berlin	PeruPER	7:3	THE ENDFinland	Berlin Olympic Games 1936	5
08-08-1936		PeruPER	4:2	AUTAustria		1
27-12-1936	Buenos Aires	BrazilBRA	3:2	PERPeru	South American Championship 1937	1
06-01-1937		UruguayURU	4:2	PERPeru		1
16-01-1937		ArgentinaARG	1:0	PERPeru		0
21-01-1937		PeruPER	2:2	CHIChile		0
08-08-1938	Bogotá	PeruPER	4:2	COLColombia	Bolivarian Games of 1938	2
14-08-1938		PeruPER	3:0	BOLBolivia		1
17-08-1938		PeruPER	2:1	VENVenezuela		0
15-01-1939	Lima	PeruPER	5:2	ECUEcuador	South American Championship 1939	3
22-01-1939		PeruPER	3:1	CHIChile		2
29-01-1939		PeruPER	3:0	PARParaguay		2
12-02-1939		PeruPER	2:1	URUUruguay		0
19-01-1941		PeruPER	1:1	ARGArgentina	Copa Roque Sáenz Peña	0
26-01-1941		PeruPER	1:1	ARGArgentina		0
29-01-1941		PeruPER	0:3	ARGArgentina		0
09-02-1941	Santiago	ChileCHI	1:0	PERPeru	South American Championship 1941	0
12-02-1941		ArgentinaARG	2:1	PERPeru		0
23-02-1941		PeruPER	4:0	ECUEcuador		3
26-02-1941		UruguayURU	2:0	PERPeru		0
18-01-1942	Montevideo	ParaguayPAR	1:1	PERPeru	South American Championship 1942	0
21-01-1942		BrazilBRA	2:1	PERPeru		1
25-01-1942		ArgentinaARG	3:1	PERPeru		1
28-01-1942		PeruPER	2:1	ECUEcuador		0
01-02-1942		UruguayURU	3:0	PERPeru		0
07-02-1942		PeruPER	0:0	CHIChile		0
06-12-1947	Guayaquil	PeruPER	2:2	PARParaguay	South American Championship 1947	0
11-12-1947		ArgentinaARG	3:2	PERPeru		0
20-12-1947		EcuadorECU	0:0	PERPeru		0
Total matches		32			Total goals	24

Statistical summary

Honours of Prizes

National titles

International Titles

Individual awards

Awards

Tributes

Teodoro Fernández received various tributes both during his lifetime and after his death. On October 27, 1952, during the inauguration of the National Stadium of Peru, he received the highest distinction that a Peruvian athlete can receive from the State, the then President of Peru Manuel Odría gave him the Sports Laurels in First Class, for his outstanding career in Peruvian football. A few months before, the Club Universitario de Deportes baptized its new stadium with his name, which was officially inaugurated on July 20 of the same year, with a friendly match against the University of Chile. The Municipal Coliseum of the city of San Vicente de Cañete also bears his name, as well as a section of the Maison de Santé Clinic, where he spent the last months of his life.

T-shirt in tribute to Teodoro Fernández used in 1997.

The Peruvian composer Lorenzo Humberto Sotomayor dedicated the polka Lolo Fernández to him, another song in his honor is the polka El Taita Lolo Fernández with music by Alcides Carreño and lyrics of Fernando Soria. In September 1996, a week after his death, during a match against Ciclista Lima, the Alianza Lima club —classic rival of Universitario— displayed a banner with the phrase Lolo Hasta Siempre Alianza Presente. On September 17, 1997, during a match against Sporting Cristal for the Clausura Tournament of that year, the Universitario footballers wore a shirt with their image stamped on the chest.

In 2013, on the occasion of the centenary of his birth, the gallery Chermany Inks: La Kasa Roja presented an exhibition of paintings by nine artists in tribute to Fernández. Universitario de Deportes organized a festival called Universo Crema , in which various activities such as talks, concerts, autograph signing and a serenade were carried out, in addition an eight-meter-high marble statue was unveiled with the figure of the Cañonero and a limited edition shirt with a design that resembled the shirts of yesteryear worn by the soccer player. Organizations such as the Congress of the Republic, the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima, and the Provincial Municipality of Cañete also recognized his soccer career.

The members of the North Trench together with some soccer players from the club made the largest flag in the country, which measures approximately 100 meters long by 45 meters wide and covers the entire north tribune of the Monumental Stadium. On May 25, 2013, five days after its centenary, the flag was displayed in the game that the merengue team beat the University of San Martín 2:0. In 2015 the Collective of Fans and Members of the Sports University of Trujillo presented a mural 6 meters long by 2.5 meters high that was located on the 5th block of Jirón Pizarro in the historic center of that city.

Curiosities

Mural located in the Lolo Fernandez Stadium with the image of the club idol.

The trio of Fernández Meyzán brothers, made up of Arturo, Eduardo and Teodoro, were the first relatives to obtain a degree in Sports University. Arturo and Lolo celebrated six championships together. In 1934 and 1939 as teammates, then in 1941, 1945, 1946 and 1949 Arturo celebrated as a coach, while Teodoro continued to do so from the playing field. Eduardo, was also a participant in two championships alongside his relatives, in the years of 1945 and 1946.

Despite having spent his entire career at Universitario, he reinforced several teams to play friendly matches. In the 1930s, Lolo along with other soccer players from the "U" such as Orestes Jordán, Vicente Arce, Carlos Tovar and Arturo Fernández reinforced Alianza Lima to represent Peru on a tour they carried out in Chile. He also reinforced Sport Boys, Banfield, Racing Club and Colo-Colo, the president of the latter club offered him a blank check to leave Universitario, however he rejected the offer, as well as the proposals made by other teams such as San Lorenzo de Almagro, Racing Club, Peñarol and R.C. Paris.

Due to the power of his shots, it is said that his shots were feared by rival goalkeepers, it is even known that more than once he broke the nets of the goals of the Old National Stadium of Peru. Lolo Fernández is the Peruvian soccer player about whom the most books have been written.

Records

Lolo Fernandez Statue at the Monumental Stadium.

Con Universitario de Deportes

• Historical scorer of the University Sports Club (161 goals).
• Historical scorer of the classic Peruvian football (29 goals).
• Football player who was most often the top scorer of the Peruvian Football Championship (7 times).
• Peruvian Football Championship winner for three consecutive years (1932, 1933 and 1934).

With the selection of football from Peru

• Historical scorer of the Peruvian selection at the Olympic Games (6 goals).
• Futbolist of the Peruvian selection that more goals turned into an official party (5 goals).
• Soccer player of the Peruvian selection with more goals scored in the South American Championship of Selections (15 goals).
• Soccer player of the Peruvian selection with more matches played at the South American Championship of Selections (24 matches).
• Third historical scorer of the South American Select Championship (15 goals).
• Fourth historical scorer of the Peruvian selection (24 goals).
• First Peruvian footballer to score a triple in the South American Championship of Selections.
• First footballer to achieve a triplet in two consecutive editions of the South American Championship of Selections (1939 and 1941).