Daniel Fonseca

Daniel Fonseca Garis (born 13 September 1969) is a retired Uruguayan footballer and a current football agent.[1] A former forward, throughout his playing career, he played for Uruguayan side Nacional, as well as Italian clubs Cagliari, Napoli, Roma, Juventus, and Como, and Argentine side River Plate, winning titles with both Nacional and Juventus. At international level, he represented Uruguay on 30 occasions between 1990 and 1997, scoring 11 goals, and also took part at the 1990 World Cup and the 1995 Copa América, winning the latter tournament.[2]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Fonseca and the second or maternal family name is Garis.
Daniel Fonseca
Fonseca playing for Juventus in 1997
Personal information
Full name Daniel Fonseca Garis
Date of birth (1969-09-13) 13 September 1969
Place of birth Montevideo, Uruguay
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1990 Nacional 14 (3)
1990–1992 Cagliari 50 (17)
1992–1994 Napoli 58 (31)
1994–1997 Roma 65 (20)
1997–2001 Juventus 40 (10)
2001–2002 River Plate 0 (0)
2002 Nacional 5 (2)
2002–2003 Como 2 (0)
Total 234 (83)
National team
1990–1997 Uruguay 30 (10)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Fonseca, nicknamed el castor ("the beaver"), started his football career at Nacional, his local team in Uruguay, in 1988. He played 14 games in two years and scored 3 goals.[3]

In 1990, he moved to Cagliari,[4] scoring 17 goals in 50 appearances, playing mostly on the left rather than in his more habitual central position.[3]

In 1992 Napoli signed him and Fonseca managed a more impressive strike rate, scoring 31 goals in two seasons in Naples, including 5 goals in a 5–1 win against Valencia in the first knock-out round of the UEFA Cup on 16 September 1992.[5][6][7] His form and performances drew attention from Roma, who promptly signed him in 1994.[3]

During his time with Napoli, he would occasionally put on the socks of the Uruguay national team, which is a shade lighter in colour than Napoli's socks, saying that they would bring him good luck.[3]

However, his three seasons (from 1994 to 1997) were far from successful. Fonseca usually played as a second striker, supporting the Argentine centre forward Abel Balbo, but, because of the many injuries he suffered, he played discontinuously.[3]

Juventus signed Fonseca in 1997, but he was once again played out of position on the left wing, as he had been at Cagliari and Roma. His goalscoring record in Serie A was very good considering he was not always a first choice player with Roma and Juventus. Fonseca was always regarded as a "super sub", and scored several important goals coming off the bench. During his time with the Turin club, he won one Serie A title, a Champions League runner-up medal and the Supercoppa Italiana.[3]

Injuries ruled him completely out of the 1999–2000 season,[8] (aside from an UEFA Cup match against Levski Sofia on 4 November 1999, which ended in a 1–1 home draw,[9][10] and a Coppa Italia match against Napoli on 16 December 1999, which ended in a 1–0 home win[11][12]), which saw him transferred to River Plate in Argentina.[3] There, he infamously played only during the club's 2000 pre-season. His only match was a pre-season encounter against archrivals Boca Juniors, and Fonseca helped his club to earn a win by scoring the final penalty in the shootout. A few days later, Fonseca would resign from his contract and join Como in 2001.[3] He retired in 2003 after the coach told him that he was no longer a part of the first team's plans.[1]

International career

Fonseca represented the Uruguay national football team on 30 occasions between 1990 and 1997, scoring 11 goals.[13] He was a member of the team that took part at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, and was also in the squad that won the 1995 Copa América.[14]

Style of play

Fonseca was a quick, opportunistic, and hard-working striker, with good dribbling skills, vision, and a powerful shot from distance. This made him capable of both scoring goals and creating chances for teammates.[3] A versatile and well-rounded attacker, Fonseca was also effective in the air, and was capable of playing in several offensive positions. His pace, technique, defensive work-rate, and passing ability meant he could play on the left wing, as well as in a central role, or even in a more creative role as a second striker alongside or behind another striker. He was also an accurate penalty kick and set-piece taker. Despite his ability, however, he was also injury prone.[3][4][7][15][16][17]

After football

Fonseca currently works as a football agent, and has represented several of his compatriots, including Martín Cáceres,[18] Fernando Muslera,[19] and Luis Suárez.[20]

Personal life

His son Matias is also a footballer.[16]

Controversies

In April 2016, he was named in the Panama Papers.[6][21]

Honours

Club
Nacional[22]
Juventus[3]

International
Uruguay[14]

References
  1. "Fonseca about deciding to quit football". Soccerway. 11 February 2003. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  2. "Daniel Fonseca". Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  3. Stefano Bedeschi (18 September 2013). "Gli eroi in bianconero: Daniel FONSECA" (in Italian). Tutto Juve. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  4. "AL CAGLIARI FONSECA, CENTRAVANTI URUGUAYANO" (in Italian). La Repubblica. 12 June 1990. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  5. Rupert Metcalf (21 September 1992). "Italian Football: Juventus are rescued by Platt's strike". The Independent. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  6. Cesare Bardaro (13 September 2016). "Il giorno di un campione del mondo, di un procuratore 'all'attacco' e del sostituto mancato di Platini" (in Italian). calciomercato.com. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  7. "Totti quiere ser como Roberto Carlos" (in Spanish). ESPN FC. 10 July 2003. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  8. Paolo Forcolin (7 October 1999). "Nella Juve si rivede Fonseca "Sto meglio, avrò il mio spazio"" [At Juve Fonseca returns "I'm doing better, I will find space"] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  9. Paolo Forcolin; Giancarlo Galavotti; Salvatore Lo Presti (7 November 1999). "Zidane colora il bianconero" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  10. Salvatore Lo Presti; Francesco Bramardo; Paolo Forcolin (5 November 1999). "Zidane sveglia la Juve" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  11. Paolo Forcolin (15 December 1999). "Dai Fonseca, provaci ancora" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  12. Salvatore Lo Presti; Paolo Forcolin (17 December 1999). "Esnaider riscalda la Juve" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  13. "Daniel Fonseca". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
  14. Michele Bresciani (31 May 2011). "Copa América, storia di un mito – Uruguay 1995" (in Italian). Calcio Sudamericano.it. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  15. Salvatore Lo Presti; Paolo Gentilotti; Filippo Grimaldi (14 February 1999). "La Juve dei piccoli ritocchi" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  16. "Who is Matias Fonseca, the promising striker who has just signed for Inter". www.calciomercato.com. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  17. "VENEZUELA NO PUDO HACER EL MILAGRO" (in Spanish). El Tiempo. 6 July 1995. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  18. "Fonseca, il Napoli e quell'orizzonte che porta a Caceres" (in Italian). Il Corriere dello Sport. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  19. "Muslera frustrated over new deal". www.eurosport.com. 11 October 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  20. Dermot Corrigan (8 April 2016). "Barcelona's Luis Suarez 'a liar' over owed money - ex-agent Daniel Fonseca". ESPN FC. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  21. "Panama Papers: Daniel Fonseca, ex calciatore". L'espresso (in Italian). 7 April 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  22. "Daniel Fonseca". Eurosport. Retrieved 14 December 2015.


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