By DAN KARELL
With an injury-riddled half-season at Qatari club Al-Rayyan that saw him feature just 10 times the domestic league and AFC Champions League combined, Alvaro Fernandez is ready for the next challenge.
Fernandez, currently a member of the Chicago Fire, is looking for another team to play for outside the United States, with perhaps a move back to Major League Soccer for next season, according to reports out of South America. His contract with MLS expires in December 2014.
Reports in Uruguay have the two big clubs, Nacional and Peñarol, both jostling for position to sign Fernandez, while playing in Liga MX is a possibility as well.
The 27-year-old, nicknamed El Flaco, dislocated his elbow, according to reports, in the 2-1 victory over Al-Sadd in the Emir Cup final, forcing him out of the Uruguay squad for the Confederations Cup.
Since moving to MLS in 2010, Fernandez has been one of the better players in the league, earning his status as a designated player while he was on the Seattle Sounders from 2010 to 2012, helping win two U.S. Open Cup’s with the club. Mid-way through the 2012 season, Fernandez was traded to the Chicago Fire for allocation money, but in 14 games at Toyota Park, he was unable to produce the same results, and was sent on loan last January to Qatar.
Prior to playing in the U.S., Fernandez played in Chile, Brazil, Mexico (with Puebla), and across four teams in Uruguay.
What do you make of this news? Where do you see Fernandez ending up? Should the Fire bring him back for the second half of the season?
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