Legendary Sportscaster José Ramón Fernández Joins ESPN's

November 5, 2007 -- José Ramón Fernández, long considered an institution in Mexican sports journalism, will join ESPN’s Spanish-language commentary team, it was announced today by Norby Williamson, executive vice president of Production. José Ramón will make his debut Tuesday, November 6 alongside Fernando Palomo and Mario Kempes as commentator for the UEFA Champions League match featuring Olympiacos vs. Real Madrid at 2:30 p.m. ET. Sunday, November 11, will mark José Ramón’s first appearance as host of ESPN’s Mexican soccer news and information program Fútbol Picante.

“We are honored to welcome José Ramón Fernández to the ESPN family,” said Williamson. “Over the course of more than three decades, José Ramón built a distinguished career and has become a fundamental part of sports journalism in Mexico. His unique style will fit perfectly into our strategy of serving Spanish-speaking sports fans throughout the U.S. and Latin America.”

Article continues below...

In this new stage of his career, José Ramón said he is enthusiastic about the future: “I am looking forward to the next chapter of my career – my life now is ESPN.”

At ESPN, José Ramón will bring his considerable talent across various platforms, including television, radio and online. On television, José Ramón will join the team of commentators on studio shows Fútbol Picante and Fuera de Juego, aired on ESPN Deportes in the United States and on ESPN in Latin America. He will also be a regular contributor to the company’s Spanish-language edition of SportsCenter. In addition to his television commitment, José Ramón will co-host ESPN Radio Formula in Mexico, serve as a permanent contributor to ESPN Deportes Radio in the U.S., and write a column and conduct a weekly chat for ESPNdeportes.com.

With his direct, sharp and enthusiastic manner, José Ramón has become one of the most credible and respected Spanish-language sports journalists of all time. José Ramón Fernández, whose name is synonymous with soccer for millions of sports fans, began his career with the state-owned television company Channel 13 in Mexico, which became Imevisión and later was privatized as TV Azteca, where he worked for 34 uninterrupted years heading the popular sports programs Deportv, Los Protagonistas and En Caliente as producer and host. José Ramón has covered every FIFA World Cup since 1978 (Argentina 1978, Spain 1982, Mexico 1986, Italy 1990, United States 1994, France 1998, Korea/Japan 2002, Germany 2006); has eight Olympic Games under his belt (Montreal 1976, Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004) and called more than 3,500 first division soccer matches to date.

A native of Puebla, Mexico, José Ramón graduated from Universidad Autónoma with a degree in business administration. His first broadcasting position came while he was a student at Universidad Autónoma as radio play-by-play announcer for the university’s soccer team. His style has left a mark on the communications field in Mexico, where he developed and mentored many television producers and commentators including ESPN’s, Carlos Albert, David Faitelson, Rafael Puente and Ciro Procuna, with whom he will be working closely with again in this next phase of his career.

Source: ESPN